News of Yesteryear and Historic Williamsport is a section of the web site by Robin Van Auken dedicated to educating and entertaining visitors of all ages with stories and illustrations of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and its surrounding towns.

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.

2018-07-15T12:01:50-04:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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A Heroic Duo

Rachel Silverthorn warns the settlers (WPA mural) While Gen. George Washington's Continental Army fought the British, settlers along the Susquehanna River also considered themselves at war with the displaced Indians. Conflicts escalated daily. Rumors of a planned massacre of settlers were taken seriously. In August 1778, the Big Runaway began along the

2019-10-09T16:49:20-04:00By |History, News of Yesteryear|
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Samuel Wallis and the ‘Great Runaway’

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, ambitious, persistent, and untiring land speculator who ever

2023-04-07T15:32:17-04:00By |Lou Hunsinger Jr., News of Yesteryear|
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Tumultuous Years Leading up to the French and Indian War

During the tumultuous years leading up to the French and Indian War, early settlers in Northcentral Pennsylvania had two choices: They could leave the fertile valleys of the Susquehanna, or take their chances with sporadic AmericanIndian raids during which farms were destroyed and entire families would be slaughtered.

2024-10-15T15:14:05-04:00By |History, News of Yesteryear|
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Indians of Susquehanna

Prehistoric American Indians skillfully managed the natural bounty of the Susquehanna River region by living in accordance with the seasons. They hunted, fished, gathered nuts, berries and other wild foods, and they cultivated corn, beans and squash. According to archaeologists, Indians were successful in populating the New World for more than 16,000 years --

2024-10-15T15:27:52-04:00By |Archaeology, History, News of Yesteryear|
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Lycoming County: Williamsport Firsts

Scott Barn in The Narrows, Lycoming County Williamsport, Pennsylvania is a small metropolis with a dramatic history. Famous throughout the world for its impressive forest products, it once boasted more millionaires per capita than any American city. A hale and hearty pioneer village on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, early

2019-10-09T16:49:58-04:00By |History, 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

2020-09-19T17:18:08-04:00By |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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