History of Wellsboro , Tioga County PA
Wellsborough In 1839
Taken From the Tioga Eagle (Wellsboro, Pennsylvania) , July 24
1839
Transcribed by Nancy Piper
This beautiful village, the county town of Tioga, is situated on the great western state raod, near the centre of the county. It is conveniently laid out, and the evenness of the ground, where it is located, is admirably adapted by nature for the site of a large inland town. The plan of the village combines both neatness and regularity; the streets are sufficiently wide and cross each other at right angles. Wellsboro' was incorporated into a borough by an act of the General Assembly of this state in the year 1830. Since that time it has rapidly improved. During the last year numerous stores and dwelling houses have been erected. Several large buildings are not being built, and among the number is a large church, which will be occupied by those of the Episcopalian denomination. The county buildings have been erected here within the last three years; they are built on Main street, facing south east.
The Court House, in which the County Courts are held four times in the year, is a splendid building; it is built of cut stone, and finished in the best manner. In point of convenience and beauty of architecture, it is inferior to none in the state. On each side of the main building are situated the offices for the county officers, such as the Sheriff, Commissioners, Prothonotary, Register and Recorder, &c. &c.; they are built of brick and made fire proof. The public square, as it is called, is immediately in front of the county buildings; it adds greatly to the beauty of their appearance.
Two large hotels are situated on Main street, near the north-east corner of the public square; one of them is called the "Wellsboro' Hotel," and the other the "Coffee House," kept by Maj. Jas. Kimball; at either of the houses, we presume, the weary traveler, or gentleman-lounger, can have the cravings of the inward man appeased. At the south west corner is situated the receptacle of news - the Post Office, which, by the by, is not a very splendid building, but it has, nevertheless, a very venerable and interesting appearance, when viewed by moonlight.
Southeast of the post office, and on the same street, is located the new Episcopal Church, which, when finished, will be with its glittering spire, quite an ornament to the county town of Tioga county. The Wellsboro Academy stands on an eminence at the southern extremity of the village; it is a near and commodious building, though at present it seems a little our to repau.
At the south-east boundary of the borough, is to be seen peeping from behind a grove of shade and other trees, the splendid mansion of the Hon. S. W. Morris, our present Representative in Congress; it is situated on a gentle rise of the hill, and can be seen from all parts of the village. The house being of a white color and surrounded with evergreens, shrubbery and tall shade trees, presents a beautiful appearance at all seasons of the years.
The face of the country, in the vicinity of Wellsboro' is rapidly improving. The forest trees are disappearing as if by magic and the sound of the axe and saw is heard for miles around, they disequrse together from the rising to the setting of the sun. A steady stream of emigration, composed principally of that truly democratic republican class, the settlers of the soil" - the independent farmers, is pouring in upon us from all parts, but principally from New York state. Land is steadily advancing in price, which indicates that the number of town houses are increasing.
Numerous routes for rail roads near wellsboro' have been surveyed, and the practicability of their construction fully substantiated by eminent engineers. As the county increases in wealth and population, the means of transportation of produce, coal, minerals, &c will be increased by the construction of rail roads. The rail road which is now being made from the Blossberg coal basin to the New York state line, we learn, will be finished or nearly so, this fall. - This road, when completed, will give a grand impetus to business of every description. It passes near the villages of Covington, Mansfield, Tioga and Lawrenceville. The length of the road from the coal basin of Blossburg to the southern boundary of the state of New York, is twenty-six miles, and the length of the New York rail road extending thence to the Chemung canal at Corning, in the state of New York , is fourteen miles, making the distance by a continuous rail road, from the coal mines to the canal, forty miles. The prospects of the Tioga Navigation Company are, we think, flattering; it promises to become one of the most substantial and lucrative in the country. - The real estate in and near those towns, where the rail road passes will, of course, be increased in value, and the towns will rapidly increase in size and population.
The climate of Tioga county is remarkably healthy - the atmosphere is pure and salubrious; and the water which trickles down the mountain steep and meanders along the woodland valley is delightful to the taste and wholesome for the system. In some parts of the county it has a slight tincture of iron and limestone. Tioga county bids fair to become one of the most wealthy and flourishing counties of northern Pennsylvania.
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