The Lycoming County Prison: Then and Now

Throughout history, the question of how to punish criminals has been answered quite differently. Throwing the misdeed-doer in jail has not always been the solution. Corporal punishment, forced labor, and social ostracism were methods more often used in medieval Europe, in England and colonial America. But by the 18th century, the first prisons in

Salladasburg and its founder

One of the most picturesque towns in the western part of Lycoming County is Salladasburg. It also is the home of the noted Cohick's Trading Post, a Lycoming County institution.Captain Jacob Sallade founded Salladasburg in 1837, laying out lots for the town and building Lutheran and Presbyterian churches there. Larry's Creek Bridge Located on Larry's

Early railroads in Lycoming County

The arrival of the railroads in Lycoming County came fairly early but it was somewhat tentative.The first railroad in the Williamsport area was the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad, which was incorporated by the Pennsylvania legislature on June 9, 1832. But it would not be until 1839 that the railroad was fully operational.According to an article

2016-11-30T10:20:10-05:00By |News of Yesteryear|

When Johnny Went Marching to War

Civil War Soldiers' Monument in Muncy Cemetery. Lycoming County, like other areas across the North, answered President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion by the Confederate states with great patriotic fervor. Within 12 days of the Confederates firing on Fort Sumter, Lycoming County mustered three companies consisting

Christmas of 1942

A war was raging across the globe and there were many vacant chairs at dinner tables that Christmas of 1942. They were vacant either through the absence of a loved one serving his country in some far flung place across the world, or sadder yet the chairs may have been made permanently vacant to due

A Renovo Mystery

The following is a reprint from Grit: America’s Greatest Family Newspaper A Renovo Mystery Dec. 15, 1882 A newsboy delivers Grit to a rural customer. RENOVO -- Patrick Shelly, a well-known citizen who held the positions of the town council, high constable, and tax collector, was found dead along the water's edge of

2021-03-11T11:45:03-05:00By |News of Yesteryear|

Charles A. Rubright

There were numerous Lycoming County soldiers held prisoner by the Confederates during the course of the Civil War. Charles A. Rubright is one of the most notable examples. Rubright was born in Prussia on May 14, 1842. He and his family moved to America in 1845, settling in Jarrettsville, Maryland. Rubright's father died in

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