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Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The population was 30,706 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Williamsport-Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Combined Statistical Area.
History
Williamsport was incorporated as a borough on March 1, 1806, and as a city on January 15, 1866. The city is the original home of Little League Baseball, founded in 1939 as a three-team league.
In the late 1800s, when Williamsport was known as "The Lumber Capital of the World" because of its thriving lumber industry, it also was the birthplace of the national newspaper Grit in 1882. Williamsport once had more millionaires per-capita than anywhere in the world. The area's local highschool, the Williamsport Area High School, uses The Millionaires as its mascot.
City "firsts"
1778 - The first purpose built cemetery is opened on what is now the site of Calvary United Methodist Church on West Fourth Street.
1786 - The first house was built in Williamsport. James Russell built is inn on what is now the corner of East Third and Mulberry Streets in downtown.
1796 - The first recorded childbirth in Williamsport was James Russell the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Russell and grandson of James Russell of the Russell Inn.
1796 - The first school is built as a one room log addition to the building that would eventually become the first Lycoming County Courthouse. Caleb Bailey was the first teacher.
1799 - The first post office is built at the corner of Third and State Streets in what is now downtown. The post office was later converted to a saloon.
1801 - The first store is opened by William Winter on Third Street.
1849 - The first Market Street Bridge is built over the West Branch Susquehanna River. It was opened as a toll bridge to cover the state's costs of $23,797.
1854 - The first brewery is opened. The brewery was sold to Henry Flock in 1865. This brewery was run by the Flock family until the 1940s. The Flock's business survived Prohibition by converting to a dairy.
Geography and climate
Williamsport is located at (41.244428, -77.018738), and is bordered by the West Branch Susquehanna River to the south (with Armstrong Township, South Williamsport, Duboistown and Susquehanna Township south of the river), Loyalsock Township to the east and north, Old Lycoming Township to the north and Woodward Township to the west. As the crow flies, Lycoming County is about northwest of Philadelphia and east-northeast of Pittsburgh.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.7 km² (9.5 mi²). 23.0 km² (8.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (6.92%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,706 people, 12,219 households, and 6,732 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,335.1/km² (3,456.3/mi²). There were 13,524 housing units at an average density of 588.0/km² (1,522.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.11% White, 12.73% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.
There were 12,219 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 18.0% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,946, and the median income for a family was $33,844. Males had a median income of $26,668 versus $20,196 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,707. About 13.7% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Williamsport operates on a "Strong Mayor" form of governing, meaning the mayor has the power to do something without consent of the city council. The current mayor of the City of Williamsport is Mary B. Wolf.
Mayors
Former mayors (1968-Present)
See also: List of Mayors of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Economy
Williamsport is well known for the Lycoming aircraft engines made by Textron.
Transportation
The town is served by Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT), although the airport is located several miles east of the city in the town of Montoursville.
Current developments
The Williamsport Downtown Gateway Revitalization Project, begun in 2004, has been set into place in order to attract more people (both citizens of the Williamsport community and visitors) to the Downtown Williamsport area, as the last major transit project sought to do the exact opposite and has rerouted people around the city for years.
Construction on the Market Street Bridge, the first of many projects, began in June 2004. Physical work is expected to take four years, ending in 2008; three planned for the new bridge, and the last is scheduled for work on Via Bella.
The first two-lane bridge has been built just upstream of the existing structure. Demolition of the old bridge has been completed. Another two-lane structure will be built at the same location as the old bridge. The new upstream bridge will carry Route 15 southbound traffic, while the new downstream bridge will carry Route 15 northbound traffic.
From the old Donut Deli next to the Basin Street Shops on Via Bella, a coffeeshop franchise] has been constructed and was opened in late September, early October 2006. It currently enjoys many customers, especially in time for the holiday season with the addition of certain holiday beverages to the menu.
The growth of food-services and sit-down restaurants in the area has also seen interest, especially in the new Aspen Square complex built aside Pine Street which featured the first Quiznos sub shop in the area (which closed later when a second Quiznos, only a few miles away, opened in a more strategic spot on Maynard Street, next to the Pennsylvania College of Technology) and a take-out only Pizza Hut, the second of the franchise in the area.
Keystone Coffee, built in the same building complex as the Quiznos on Maynard Street (next to the recently-built Sheetz convenience store, Wendy's, and Blue Bird carwash), opened on April 1st, 2006, and features a great coffeehouse cultural atmosphere and "Starbucks-style" beverages and lower prices, perfect for those who are anti-Starbucks, of which there are many in Williamsport's growing college community.
A new 8+ screen movie theater is being built on West 4th Street, which will be an incredibly simple addition to the community as the closest upscale theater had been at the Lycoming Mall, at least fifteen miles away from the city center.
Other initiatives planned include the construction of a riverside amphitheater next to the new Market Street Bridge, a multi-purpose arena where hockey and ice skating would be available, a conference center with a pedestrian cable-stayed bridge spanning from the amphitheater across the highway to the center, and some other officials have even suggested the construction of an Imax theater in the downtown area.
The Lycoming Mall, placed in what could be called the "extreme Greater Williamsport Area" in Pennsdale, recently undergone a major growth spurt. In 2006 alone, Old Navy, Borders Bookstore (with Seattle's Best cafe'), Macy's (converted from Kaufman's), Best Buy, and Dick's Sporting Goods have all come to the mall and seems to have fulfilled the wishes of the mall owners of revitalizing the one wing of the mall, which had become stagnant after the destruction of the mall's internal movie theater after the Great Escape theater (12 screens) had been built across the parking lot.
North America's biggest fully air-supported structure , and the third largest in the world, has been constructed directly adjacent to the Lycoming Mall in Muncy township and opened on November 1st, 2006. Called the STN Sports Dome, it has 135,000 square feet of usable space for field sports, training, tournaments, leagues, clinics and special events.
Future development of the Lycoming Mall area has already gotten underway in December 2006 with the announcement of another retail and restaurant center that will provide 135,000 more square feet of economic development in Lycoming County. Plans have been announced that the square footage of this retail development center will be even larger and will include a Target, Michael's Arts and Crafts, a new Circuit City building (relocating the current Circuit City establishment from inside the immediate Lycoming Mall area), and a possible restaurant chain (plans for an Applebee's had been scratched during the last major mall development, and rumors have started that it may be chosen for this most recent development).
Williamsport "First Fridays" is a new addition to Williamsport monthly tradition. On the first Friday of each month, businesses, restaurants, and personal shops in the area come together to display a set theme (local photography, works of local artists, etc.) in each of their storefronts in order to bring pedestrians into the city.
Education
Williamsport is the home of two colleges, Lycoming College and Pennsylvania College of Technology, as well as the Newport Business Institute.
Williamsport Area School District consists of:
Williamsport Area High School is the site of a renowned music program, Ranked in the Top 100 in the country.
Catholic Schools include Saint John Neumann Regional Academy, which has five campuses in Lycoming County and provides education for pre-Kindergarten thru 12th grade students.
Libraries
The James V. Brown Library is Williamsport's public library. The library offers books, DVDs, CDs, wireless Internet access, local history archives, the Lycoming County Law Library, and premium online reference resources. James V. Brown is a Family Place library, offering preschool and early learning opportunities, as well as programming for teens and adults.
Sports
The Little League World Series is held annually on the other side of the West Branch Susquehanna River in South Williamsport, where Little League Baseball now has its headquarters. Williamsport also hosts the Williamsport Crosscutters baseball club of the New York-Penn League.
Media
The local newspaper is the Williamsport Sun Gazette. The local news/talk radio stations are WRAK/WRKK 1400/1200 kHz, and WWPA 1340 kHz. Williamsport is ranked #271 by Arbitron in terms of its radio market.
External links
