South Williamsport is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in Lycoming County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It is famous for hosting the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...

. The population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

South Williamsport celebrated the

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

of its incorporation as a

in 1986. On November 29, 1886, the Lycoming County court incorporated the villages of Rocktown, Billman, and vicinities as the borough of South Williamsport. The land had previously been part of Armstrong Township. The first recorded inhabitants of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

valley were the

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

speaking

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

s. Their name meant "people of the muddy river" in Algonquian. Decimated by

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s and

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

fare, they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated into other tribes by the early 18th century. The lands of the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...

valley were then chiefly occupied by the

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

phratry In ancient Greece, a phratry (, derived from ) was a group containing citizens in some city-states. Their existence is known in most Ionian cities and in Athens and it is thought that they existed elsewhere as well. Almost nothing is known about th ...

of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

, and were under the nominal control of the Five (later Six) Nations of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

purchased land from the

in the

Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the Iroquois and Great Britain (accompanied by negotiators from New Jersey, Virginia and Province of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotia ...

of 1768, opening what is now Lycoming County to settlement. After the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Lycoming County was formed from Northumberland County, on April 13, 1795. The county's area was originally over and several other counties were subsequently formed from it. Williamsport, across the river from South Williamsport, was also founded in 1795 and chosen as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The first

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

in what is now South Williamsport is believed to have been Aaron Hagerman, a transplanted

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

er, who is thought to have arrived shortly after the end of the

. Hagermans Run, which flows through the borough, bears his name. One of the predecessor communities was "Rocktown". And another was Bootstown. One of the first businesses was a

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

established near the mouth of Hagermans Run by Michael McDonough. Another early entrepreneur, Jacob Weiss, gave the village a push toward borough status by purchasing a tract of 40

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s and laying out town lots. Weiss also established a

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or Yard (land), yard where bricks are made, pottery firing, fired, and stored, or sometimes Commerce, sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed ...

near McDonough’s tavern and for many years operated an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

mill and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. From those early times to the present, South Williamsport’s fortunes have been linked to those of Williamsport.

Sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s and

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

factories were among the most prosperous industries in both communities. Planing mills and woodworking factories of all types reached a peak of activity during the logging boom of the post-

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

years of the last century. The industry gradually declined in the 1890s when the surrounding hills were finally stripped of saleable lumber and the logging crews moved west. Today, manufacturing diversity is the rule. The area is reforested with second-growth

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, providing scenic beauty as well as woodland recreational opportunities. In South Williamsport, prime employers include: Little League Baseball, Inc., Keystone Friction Hinge, South Williamsport Area School District and the New Lycoming

Bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

. Although

Bald Eagle Mountain Bald Eagle Mountain – once known locally as Muncy Mountain – is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of central Pennsylvania, United States, running east of the Allegheny Front and northwest of Mount Nittany. It lies alo ...

to the south and the river on the north have restricted development in South Williamsport, growth has been steady. In 1890, there were 2,900 residents. About 600 young scholars attended 10 borough schools. The 2000 census counted 6,412 residents and today, 1,534 students are enrolled in thre
South Williamsport Area Schools
Central Elementary (K-4) is on West Mountain Ave. Rommelt Elementary (5-6) is on West Central Ave. South Williamsport Area Jr./Sr. High School, Home of the Mountaineers, is on Percy Street. The

School District A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

is also home to one of the oldest high school football stadiums in the state, Rodney K. Morgans Stadium, which is built into the hillside directly between Central and Rommelt Elementary Schools.

Geography

South Williamsport is located at (41.229179, -77.000464), and is surrounded by the

to the north (with Williamsport north of the river), Armstrong Township to the east and south, and Duboistown to the west. As the crow flies, Lycoming County is approximately northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and east-northeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²), of which 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (11.37%) is water. The South Williamsport flood-control levees are in the Baltimore District of the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

and have been cited as "levees of maintenance concern". Failure to repair them will result in loss of federal assistance in a flood.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,412 people, 2,735 households, and 1,775 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 2,884 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.74%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.44%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population. There were 2,735 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $34,018, and the median income for a family was $40,673. Males had a median income of $31,892 versus $22,088 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $18,658. About 8.1% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over. Major ancestry groups reported by South Williamsport residents include:

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- 37%, Irish - 12%,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

- 10%, English - 8%,

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

- 5% Polish - 4%, French (except

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

) - 3%, Welsh - 1%, Scots-Irish - 1%,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

- 1%, Swedish - 1%,

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

- 1%

References

External links

*
South Williamsport Area School District
{{authority control Boroughs in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Susquehanna River Populated places established in 1790 1790 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links