Sayre

By Sayre Historical Society

Sayre dates to 1783, when a gristmill was built along Shepard Creek. Greater Sayre began around 1870 at a railroad junction near the Susquehanna River. Activity at that junction led to the community eventually named Sayre. Sayre experienced phenomenal growth with the expansion of the Lehigh Valley Railroad operations. Its reputation as a railroad town began to fade after World War II, ending with the demise of the railroad by the 1970s. In its place, Guthrie Healthcare now provides the strongest influence on the town. Today the hospital s position in Sayre is as important as the railroad was in its heyday, both serving as the keystones of a town that thousands call home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Oct 25, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439639009

Sayre Historical Society

The Sayre Historical Society was established in 1989 to preserve historical information and artifacts relating to the history of Sayre. Through their extensive archive, Sayre chronicles the community�s rich heritage and evolution.

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INTRODUCTION

Sayre, once a part of Athens Township, includes one area called Milltown that dates back to 1783, when a gristmill was built along Shepard (Cayuga) Creek. Greater Sayre began in 1870 at the junction of two railroads in the plain between the Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers. The activity at that tiny train station led to the development of a small community referred to as Southern Central Junction, but which was soon named Sayre.

The railroad was the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and the history of Sayre was tied into the successes and failures of that enterprise over the next century. The Lehigh, with its huge complex of shops for building and maintaining its rolling stock, employed thousands of workers. In addition, the many train crews operating out of Sayre included hundreds of additional workers. This railroad proved to be the major employer and economic force not only for Sayre but the entire surrounding area as well. Sayre grew as a railroad town. By 1890, the population of the community was large enough that Sayre’s citizens petitioned the Bradford County Court to become an incorporated borough with its own local government. The court agreed, and the Borough of Sayre was officially established on January 27, 1891.

For the next few decades, Sayre experienced phenomenal growth, which corresponded with the expansion of the railroad operations. Sayre, however, was more than a railroad town. Over the years it was home to thousands of residents. Many were working on the railroad, but many others were employed in thriving businesses, medical and service professions, banks, small industries, transportation systems, recreation, hospitals, schools, real estate, and workplaces in neighboring communities. In the earliest years, farms and farmers were a part of the town.

The history of 20th-century Sayre is a microcosm of American history. A large number of immigrants, mainly from Europe, made Sayre their home during the decades of heavy immigration to the United States. Their cultural influence helped create Sayre’s persona. Wars dating from the Spanish-American War up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan included hundreds and hundreds of servicemen from the town. During both World War I and World War II, a canteen service operated by area citizens near the Lehigh Valley Passenger Station became renowned for its charity. Issues such as workers’ rights and the movement for equality for women saw activity here. Prohibition and its end had the same effect on Sayre as on the remainder of the country. The Great Depression of 1929 brought the borough a very diminished economy, and the recovery during and after World War II throughout the country was emulated in Sayre. Every economic recession in the nation was felt locally, and each time Sayre recovered with the rest of the United States.

Churches, some of which predate the borough’s incorporation, have had a strong influence on the community. Citizens have generously supported both public and private schools. Many organizations, service clubs, fraternities, and sororities have helped enrich Sayre by providing support for an endless number of civic projects.

All through these years, Sayre’s citizens were politically active, with strong interest in local, county, state, and national government and corresponding elections. Sayreites cheered the country’s entry into the space age and participated in the computer revolution and other technological advances during the last half of the 20th century. New business concepts changed the downtown. Events in Sayre reflected the larger world in epitome.

Sayre’s reputation for being a railroad town began to fade after World War II, and the 1970s marked the end of major railroading operations. The mystique of the old railway continues, but its influence on the community is a pittance of what had once been a dominating force. Instead, Guthrie Healthcare System has become Sayre’s economic and social anchor. Guthrie began in 1885, during the early years of the railroad in Sayre, as the Robert Packer Hospital. It continued to grow as the railroad declined. Today as a regional medical center, its position in Sayre is as important as the railroad was in its heyday.

For detailed information on each topic referred to above, the reader is directed to A Century of Memories, Sayre, Pennsylvania, 1891–1991. Copies can be found in all the Valley public libraries as well as in the Library of Congress. Readers may also research topics about Sayre history in the magazine of the Sayre Historical Society, the Sayre Quarterly, now in its 22nd year of publication. It is also available at the local public libraries or by contacting the society.

One

IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY

A BUSY LITTLE TOWN

Sayre is located in the middle of the Valley in this postcard view from Round Top in Athens Township. The Valley is a local term for the cluster of neighboring communities of Sayre, Athens, South Waverly, and Athens Township, Pennsylvania, and Waverly, New York.

The reason for Sayre and its neighboring communities being referred to as the Valley is evident in this grand view overlooking the town from Sayre Hill and showing the gentle, rolling hills in the background. Guthrie Healthcare and Sayre High School stand out in the center of this view.

The proximity of Sayre to