Local Records #4 Conclusion

The word "Post" in naming the township is spelled without beginning with a capital letter, thus bringing a memorable, historian mark to a common level of fence posts. The writing of the petition indicates practiced hand, word applied and the spelling is correct except as to the word "applyd". The signatures are clear and most of them are businesslike. Evidentally, these signers had been taught penmanship.  The ancient town record, nearly eighty years old is well worth preservation in showing the public spirit of the early settlers, and the earnest effort to secure an important public improvement. In those days much of the travel to the new settlements here came by way of Williamsport, the Block House and the Tioga River. The early settlers encountered great hardships ,and were subjected to much expense in keeping passable the lines of travel.   The first road from what is now Blossburg was on the east side of the Tioga River, probably to avoid building bridges over Crooked Creek and the Cowanesque River.
The project for a new road indicates that the valley on the west side of the river north of Lawrenceville had become more  or less cleared of the forest, and improvement demanded an outlet. The first bridge across the mouth of the Canisteo was not built till about 1833. The early inhabitants in all of these river valleys suffered much inconvenience, often serious peril by the spring and fall freshets that rendered fording impossible.


Notes by Kitty .
The road from Williamsport, Pa was called the Williamson Road after the founder of Bath, NY-- Col. Charles Williamson. It was started in 1792 in Nothumberland, Pa.  The Block House is Liberty, Pa  today. There is an annual  Block House celebration there each summer.


    Like most local residents, I was under the impression that the 1792 Road followed the path of old U.S. Rt.15 in Lindley  until I read this article. It may explain why the Corning /Blossburg Railroad-1839/40  is on the east side of the Tioga River, also.




 Thanks to Ellis Grist -(who grew up on the Koplin farm across the tracks from the present Harris Farm ), there is a copy of the deed of the Koplin/Grist farm ( Now in Town of Lindley Historian files at the Lindley Town Hall. ). The deed mentions a ford in the Tioga  River on this property .This would be someplace close to the present Wetlands built during the I 99 highway construction. This  FORD would have provided a crossing to the west side to the Tioga River
 
It is interesting to note that the designers of the present Interstate I99 -considered some of the same issues that Col. Williamson, Benjamin Patterson  and the German  road builders faced back in 1792..


 The story of the building of the Williamson  Road is a topic for another day. The Joyce Tice website has some of the story..


Kitty ..




Williamson Road Sign        Morris Run-Arnot ,Pa  Exit  I99

Historic Roadside Marker    Williamson Road   1792