Williamsport's Lumber Barons

Williamsport's Lumber Barons. The Timber Trail. , Risk-taking entrepreneurs, Williamsport's lumber barons orchestrated the industry that put Williamsport on the map. They amassed phenomenal wealth, and their enterprise built Williamsport's economy, financed its hallmark architecture, and forged its political strength. With the lumber barons' prosperity, however, came the depletion of regional forests and the exploitation of thousands of laborers. The lumber barons created monopolies, squelched labor unrest, and used political influence to further their interests. At the same time, many lumber barons gave substantial donations to build Williamsport's churches and libraries and to help the needy. , The lumber barons owned all aspects of Williamsport's lumber business, including the forests that supplied the timber and the Susquehanna Boom that funneled logs to the city's mills. They owned the sawmills, planing mills, and woodworking factories and were involved in the industries that supported these businesses, from railroads to banks to real estate companies. , Millionaires' Row , By the late 1880s, Williamsport boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city. Though little remains of the sawmills, canal, boom, and railroads that forged that wealth, the mansions of Millionaires' Row vividly recall the fortunes made from the region's forests. Stroll down West Fourth Street, and you will note various architecture styles from the Victorian Era, from the palatial ltalianate Park Place to the elegant Queen Anne-style Rowley House Museum. , Baron of Barons , No one left a more enduring imprint on Williamsport than did Peter Herdic. He moved to Williamsport in 1853, and over the next 25 years, invested in nearly every business in town, from timberlands, sawmills, and the Susquehanna Boom to railroads and gas works. He established Millionaires' Row, financing several of Williamsport's most beautiful buildings, including the present day Park Place. Once worth an estimated $10 million, Herdic went bankrupt in 1878 and died ten years later in 1888.