Louis E. Hunsinger Jr. live’s in Williamsport, and has written extensively on local history as well local professional baseball history. He is freelance writer who contributes frequently to “Webb Weekly.” Many of his articles appear on News of Yesteryear.

Water Tower Square Once Home to C. A. Reed Paper Products

One of the most thriving commercial office and warehousing locations in the Williamsport area is the Water Tower Square at 1000 Commerce Drive, near the foot of Chestnut Street in Williamsport. It occupies the site of the former C.A. Reed Paper Products Company. C.A. Reed Paper Products Company was a flourishing part of Williamsport’s [...]

2017-06-12T16:34:17-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Lycoming Remembers Muncy Abolition Riot

Arrival of Europeans in Africa, by Nicolas Colibert (1750 - 1806). Engraving after a drawing by Amédée Fréret, Paris, 1795 made to celebrate the first abolition of slavery on 4 February 1794 . By Lou Hunsinger Jr. Williamsport Sun-Gazette The issue of the abolition of slavery excited great passions throughout the United States [...]

2018-07-14T17:50:58-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Gov. William Packer

Williamsport and Lycoming County have contributed many outstanding men and women to the field of public service during the years at the local, state and federal levels. One of the most distinguished of these was William Fisher Packer, who served as the 14th governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Packer is the only Lycoming County [...]

2018-07-15T12:04:09-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Tunnison Coryell

The life of Tunnison Coryell, one of Lycoming County's and Williamsport's most notable men of accomplishment and finance in the 19th century, spans the period of Williamsport evolving from a sleepy frontier village to a city of diverse great industries. John F. Meginness writes in his "History of Lycoming County," "Tunnison Coryell was closely associated [...]

2016-11-29T12:24:52-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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West Branch Canal

The transportation of goods, services and people was a rough and inefficient undertaking in the Susquehanna Valley in the early 1800s. This would change with the advent of the West Branch Canal in the 1830s. Colonial and later state officials envisioned the idea of canals as far back as the mid-18th century.

2018-07-15T12:01:50-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Samuel Wallis and the ‘Great Runaway’

The Bailiff House at Muncy Terraces. Samuel Wallis was among the giants of early Lycoming County history -- probably the largest landholder in the area in the last 30 years of the 18th century. According to John F. Meginness' monumental "History of Lycoming County" written in 1892, Wallis was "the most energetic, [...]

2019-06-19T17:21:05-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Lycoming Presbyterian: Lycoming County’s oldest church

The year was 1792, George Washington was unanimously re-elected President of the United States, Thomas Mifflin was serving as the first Governor of Pennsylvania, both the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Mint were established, there were 15 states in the Union, the most recent being Kentucky, and "The Farmers’ Almanac" was published for the [...]

2020-09-19T17:18:08-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Ray Keyes

Ray Keyes The man who dominated the sports scene in Northcentral Pennsylvania for more than 50 years was neither an athlete nor a sports executive but a sportswriter. That man was Ray Keyes. Although his name was inextricably linked with Williamsport and its environs for more than 50 years, Keyes was actually born [...]

2016-11-29T12:24:56-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Trolleys: A Williamsport mass transit staple for 70 years

Williamsport Trolley The most enduring and perhaps best remembered form of mass transit in Williamsport were the trolleys. Their 70-year run is still commemorated today with the running of the Herdic, Weightman and Stotz trolleys. The era of intra-city transportation began with the trolleys or streetcars in the late 1850s and early 1860s. [...]

2016-11-29T12:24:56-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Ten Hours or No Sawdust: Sawdust War of 1872

Sawdust riot. America in the 1870s was rife with labor strife and turbulence. The lumber camps and sawmills of the Williamsport area were no exception. In 1872, Williamsport’s “lumber boom” was in full flower and great fortunes were being made by a select few. Unfortunately, the great wealth did not make its [...]

2021-04-19T17:00:51-05:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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