History & Folklore
Clinton County
- Formed: 21 Jun 1839 from a portion of Centre County and Lycoming County.
- Name derived from:
- County seat: Lock Haven.
- Named by Jeremiah Church in 1833. Church purchased land adjacent to the Pennsylvania Canal. He surmised that the canal contained a lock and the river made an excellent haven for rafts.
Townships 12 original townships: Allison, Bald Eagle, Chapman, Colebrook, Dunstable, Grove, Lumber, Limestone, Lamar, Logan, Pine Creek, and Wayne. Grugan: Formed from Chapman and Colebrook townships. Keating: Formed from Grove Township.. Lumber Township and the balance of Grove Township annexed to the newly formed Cameron County. Allison Township absorbed by Lock Haven (city) and Lamar Township. Noyes: Formed from Chapman Township. East Keating and West Keating: Formed from Keating Township. Several other townships were formed from existing townships until there were 19 in all: Bald Eagle, Beech Creek, Chapman, Colebrook, Crawford, Dunstable, Gallagher, Greene, Grugan, East Keating, West Keating, Lamar, Leidy, Logan, Noyes, Pine Creek, Porter, Wayne, and Woodward.
Jersey Shore
From the late 1790s until 1826, Jersey Shore officially was called Waynesburg, located on the north side of the Susquehanna, west of Williamsport. During this time, many settlers arrived from eastern New Jersey, and over the years more and more Jersey folk descended upon the Waynesburg area.
The locals on the opposite side of the river poked fun at the newcomers and started calling the Waynesburg shore the Jersey shore. The new name started appearing on maps around 1826.
Snowshoe
Not really in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Snowshoe sits not far from the geographic center of the state. In 1773, local surveyors found a snow shoe hanging in a tree here, not far from the site of an abandoned Indian camp.
Links
See these sites for more information on Clinton County and its history, or to post queries regarding Clinton County genealogy: