Williamsport, PA news and local guide

In 1763, during the French and Indian War, the Battle of Muncy Hills was fought between Native Americans and colonists seeking homesteads on Native land, and in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768 the British bought the land that became Lycoming County from the Iroquois. Lycoming County was formed from Northumberland County on April 13, 1795, covering 12,500 square miles of north central Pennsylvania. The first house in Williamsport, James Russell's inn at what is now East Third and Mulberry streets, was built in March 1796, and that year the first recorded birth and the first school, a log addition to what became the first courthouse, followed. The lawyer Andrew Tulloh built the first brick house on Front Street in 1798, a post office opened in 1799 and William Winter opened the first store on Third Street in 1801.

More about Williamsport

In 1831 Jacob L. Mussina founded the Repasz Band, described as the oldest brass band in America still in existence. The West Branch Canal opened on October 15, 1834, and public schools and the town's first bank, the West Branch National Bank, opened in May 1835. Before the Civil War the city was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Williamsport prospered on its lumber industry, and its population peaked at 45,729 in 1930 before declining after the Depression. The city is the birthplace of Little League Baseball, whose headquarters and World Series are in South Williamsport across the river, and it is home to Lycoming College and the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Sources Wikipedia: Williamsport, Pennsylvania