Susquehanna County

By Susquehanna County Historical Society

The wild land of Susquehanna County, traversed but not inhabited by the Lenape tribe, was first settled after the Revolutionary War, mostly by veterans in search of affordable land and willing to pioneer. Their families built homes, churches, and businesses and formed thriving agricultural communities, taking advantage of natural resources like timber and bluestone. Rolling hills, clear lakes, and mountain streams form a scenic and peaceful backdrop, attractive to visitors. From the mountaintops, small communities can be seen in the valleys, their white church spires rising above the trees. Influenced by emigrants from New England, the larger towns replicate the neat white houses and shady tree-lined streets of the Northeast.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439638477

Susquehanna County Historical Society

The Susquehanna County Historical Society has selected some of its most distinctive images to illustrate a story of time and place. The narratives have been provided by the staff and friends of the society. Susquehanna County is a photographic journey celebrating the county's bicentennial, as well as its residents who lived in the pioneer spirit.

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Society.

INTRODUCTION

Susquehanna County, one of several counties formed from territory originally claimed by both Connecticut and Pennsylvania, reflects a blend of New England and Pennsylvania traditions. Although the land remained part of Pennsylvania, the majority of pioneer settlers to this northern tier region were actually from Connecticut and other New England states. It was not until 1787, however, that settlement by anyone actually began, as the northeastern corner of the state was covered by dense forest. The wilderness was broken only by an occasional Native American trail used by the Oneida, Delaware, and Tuscarora to penetrate the area’s rich hunting grounds. These trails proved useful to early settlers in exploring the new territory.

Although there were reports that Native American villages once existed near the present-day towns of Lanesboro and Great Bend, none remained by the time of white settlement. Following the successful military expeditions in 1779 against the Six Nations in western New York and northern Pennsylvania, the Native Americans of the region generally migrated from the area. In addition to their trails, they left behind the word Susquehanna, meaning crooked stream of water, as their name for the river that enters the commonwealth in the county’s northeast corner and curves its way through the land. It was from this river that the county took its name; it was along this river that white settlers originally built their homes.

The region first came to the attention of the colonists during the American Revolution. In the summer of 1779, a detachment of men under the command of Gen. James Clinton camped at Great Bend en route to join Maj. Gen. John Sullivan in the campaign to check Native American attacks on border settlements. After the war, many soldiers returned to the area, securing tracts of land either as squatters or through payment to Connecticut or Pennsylvania land companies that claimed ownership.

Records do not show inhabitants in what became Susquehanna County until the spring of 1787, when Philadelphia landowner John Nicholson sent 40 families to settle the region around present-day Brooklyn. In the summer of 1787, two families settled on the Susquehanna River at Great Bend. Within 10 years, scores of families came to make their homes in the wilderness. The uncertainty of land title, however, was a deterrent to rapid settlement. Although the area into which these settlers moved was purchased from the Native Americans as a result of the treaty at Fort Stanwix, concluded in 1868, a dispute over ownership erupted immediately. The controversy over control of this territory, claimed by both Connecticut and Pennsylvania, resulted in court battles and bloodshed.

The Trenton Decree of 1782, which stated that Connecticut had no right to the lands lying within the Pennsylvania charter claims, laid legal groundwork for Pennsylvania control. Settlers who had purchased land through the Connecticut-based Susquehanna or Delaware Land Companies after 1782 eventually were ruled to have no legal title to it. In time, they were required to repurchase their land from Pennsylvania (at a reduced rate) and to pay for whatever improvements had been made to it. Problems persisted for years, and it was not until 1850 that all early land deeds were fully cleared.

By an act of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Susquehanna County was separated from Luzerne County on February 21, 1810. The county was eventually divided into 27 townships and 13 boroughs, and by 1820 it could list 9,958 residents. After much discussion and plotting by rival communities, Montrose was chosen as the county seat.

The dense growth of the forest gave rise to the county’s first industries. Initially many settlers spent much of their time engaged in the production of maple syrup, which could be traded anywhere for all other necessary commodities. Later the trees were felled, and lumbering became the chief industry. These trees were floated downstream to mills and markets, and some eventually found their way to Washington, D.C., where they were used in the building of the original Smithsonian Institution. Furniture, chair, wagon, sleigh, and other woodworking factories were in constant operation and produced an abundance of products necessary for pioneer living. Closely connected with the lumber industry were tanning operations. Hemlock bark was used in the tanning process for the 30,000 sides of leather that were treated per year.

Lumbering and related industries are still big business in the county, but the most important continuously operating industry is agriculture. In the 1930s, there were nearly two cows for every county resident, and dairy farming provided the livelihood for the majority of citizens. Grazing cattle dominated every landscape. Hay crops were exceptionally large, and meadow grass was abundant. Creameries were in operation in nearly every township. Butter was produced by the ton each day, and the railroads ran special milk trains from the county to New York City on a regular schedule.

With the development of farming came the organization of agricultural societies. Each community developed an annual fair, an important event and general holiday. In 1874–1875, granges (patrons of husbandry) were established across the county, many of which still flourish. The lobbying efforts of the grangers and members of other such organizations had a tremendous influence on Pennsylvania legislature and assisted farmers in many ways. Among the programs they championed were paved rural roads, free rural mail delivery, rural electrification projects, and uniform milk prices.

In addition to agriculture and lumbering, other industries developed. A number of foundries operated in the county and produced agricultural implements, stoves, kettles, steam engines, and accessories for gristmills.

Flagstone exists in many parts of the county, especially in the eastern section. Quarries still produce excellent platform stones and building material, but it is the blue stone of exceptional quality that has always found ready markets. Trucks haul stone of various cuts to most large cities.

Railroads came to the area in the mid-19th century. The New York, Lake Erie, and Western approached from the east; the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western; the Lehigh Valley; and the Delaware and Hudson came from the south. The Erie was opened with much fanfare on December 27, 1848, "bearing the President of the United States, Daniel Webster and a large and noble company of the most distinguished citizens of America as guests of the gratified and justly proud directors of the road from the Hudson to Lake