Warren in Warren County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
People in Early Warren
| | Walkable Warren | |
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 16, 2026
1. People in Early Warren Marker
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Walkable Warren
Walkable Warren is a local initiative intended to promote healthy lifestyles by encouraging foot traffic and bicycling as alternative modes of travel in and around the City of Warren. Warren has a wealth of scenic landscapes, historic architecture, public parks, and trails, all worthy of being showcased and that are best experienced on foot or by bicycle. Recommended routes of travel between the Warren/North Warren Bike/Hike trail, core downtown, and a few of our public parks are marked by Walkable Warren signage along our public streets. We encourage you to step out of the automobile as a source of travel and, instead, experience Walkable Warren on foot or bicycle. Pedestrians please use the sidewalks. Bicyclists must obey all traffic laws.
General William Irvine (17411804)
General William Irvine was born in Ulster, Ireland, and attended Trinity College in Dublin, studying medicine. Irvine came to Pennsylvania in 1763 to represent Cumberland County at a convention in Philadelphia denouncing British tyranny. He raised and commanded the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment and, in 1779, was promoted
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In 1785, General Irvine was sent to locate donation land, land that was to be given to Revolutionary soldiers as payment for their service. Irvines excursion up the Allegheny River made it to the mouth of the Conewango Creek, just six years after Brodheads punitive expedition demolished the Native American villages on the Conewango at the Buckaloons. It was during this venture that General William Irvine first envisioned the purchase of 207 acres at the mouth of the Brokenstraw Creek. Today the land known as Irvine.
Holland Land Company
The first permanent structure in Warren was built by the Holland Land Company in 1796, a square log block-house built of hewn logs without a floor, window, or chimney. The house was a depot of supplies and stood until 1840 on the northwest corner of Water Street (now Pennsylvania Avenue West) and Market Street, Warren.
Thomas Struthers (18031892)
For a time known as the wealthiest man in Warren, Thomas Struthers was born in Ohio in 1803. His parents were some of the earliest settlers in that territory, and Struthers grew up on
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 16, 2026
2. People in Early Warren Marker (right) at Wetmore park
Thomas Struthers hoped to bring the railroad to the area in order to make the land in Warren County more valuable. A railroad would allow people to transport things into and out of the area quickly and inexpensively. If the lumber on the land that Struthers owned was easier to take to markets outside of Warren County, then the land would be very valuable when Struthers sold it. Beginning in the 1830s, Struthers worked to bring the railroad to Warren. It was a long, hard struggle, and it was not until 1859, over twenty years after he started working on the project, that the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad finally arrived. Struthers railroad and the railroads that followed helped make Warren a wealthy community. Struthers became active with many other improvement strategies over time, including the building of other railroads, the improvement of rivers for navigation, and the building of street railways in places as diverse as Ohio, Iowa, and California.
Thomas Struthers built the Struthers Library Theatre on the corner of Liberty and Third Streets. Before 1883, the community of Warren had no permanent library. Struthers felt so strongly that Warren needed a library that he offered to build one and give it to the community. Struthers thought that the building could also be a theatre and that the money from the theatre could be used to support the library. The library was moved to Market Street in 1916 and the Struthers Library Theatre continues to flourish, named the Outstanding Historic Theatre of the Year by the League of Historic American Theatres in 2018. A true community asset!
The Diamond
As far back as 500 B.C., an ancient Native American civilization occupied the land, now known as Warren, a fact verified by the discovery of prehistoric Native American burial mounds in 1941.
In 1749, in response to the English traders, Captain Cιloron de Blainville floated down the Conewango Creek and steered his canoes out onto the Allegheny River. Halting his expedition to land his men and mark his visit with a lead plate, he claimed the land in the name of the King of France. In 1784, with the assistance of Chief Cornplanter, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix deeded the land to the government, giving the white man clear access to the land.
On April 18, 1795, an act was passed by the PA State Legislature to promote the settling of the frontier by establishing settlements, now known as Erie, Waterford, Franklin, and Warren. It was determined that Andrew Ellicott and General William Irvine would go forth to survey and lay out the lands. Warren, named by General William Irvine for Revolutionary soldier General Joseph Warren, was determined to be located at the junction of the Conewango Creek and the Allegheny River. Andrew Ellicott and General Irvine, protected by the state militia from a Native American war, mapped out 524 lots with six streets running nearly east to west and ten nearly north to south. The center of the lots are known as The Diamond, where you stand now.
Edward D. Wetmore(18611946) For whom this park is named, Edward D. Wetmore was grandson to Lansing Wetmore, one of Warrens pioneer settlers. Edward graduated Lafayette College, earning his law degree from Columbia. He was admitted to the bar but never actively practiced law. Edward engaged in the lumber industry, serving as president of the Kinzua Lumber Company. He successfully developed the Struthers-Wells Corporation, served as vice-president of the Pennsylvania Gas Company and president of Warren Bank and Trust Company. Edward D. Wetmore, along with J. P. Jefferson, built and presented to the Warren Library Association the present home of our public library. He was one of the founders and a past president of the Conewango Club and, at the time of his death, the oldest living member of the Shakespeare Club.
Chief Cornplanter(17381836)
Cornplanter, also known as Gy-ant-wa-kia or John OBail, was Chief of the Seneca Nation and a war Chief of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. After the British lost the Revolutionary War, Chief Cornplanter was instrumental in convincing the Six Nations of the Iroquois, including the Seneca Tribe, to negotiate with the newly formed US Government. He became a strong diplomatic influence in aiding the government in negotiating settlements and treaties with other Iroquois tribes. Chief Cornplanter was a dominant force in two such treaties. First, in 1784, Cornplanter traveled to the Six Nations villages to encourage ratification of the Fort Stanwix Treaty. The chiefs of the Six Nations, as well as the Delaware and Shawnee tribes, did ratify the treaty. The Fort Stanwix Treaty was intended as a peace treaty between the United States Government and the Six Nations of the Iroquois.
Chief Cornplanter was granted 600 acres in Forest County near West Hickory, 300 acres in Venango County near Oil City, and 600 acres on the Allegheny River in Warren County, about three miles below the New York State boundary in Pennsylvania. Chief Cornplanter sold the Forest and Venango County tracts and kept the Warren County tract. In 1794, Chief Cornplanter helped to negotiate the Treaty of Canandaigua, also known as the Pickering Treaty, between the United States Government and the Six Nations of the Iroquois. This treaty provided land and access for the Seneca Tribe but would later be rescinded by the United States Government to make way for the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir.
Archibald Tanner (17861861)
Archibald Tanner came to Warren from Ohio in 1816. He came by keelboat with a small stock of goods and groceries to set up a store in the corner of Daniel Jacksons tavern at the corner of what is now Hickory Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. As his business grew, Mr. Tanner built his own store across the street on the river bank. He chose Warren as a new beginning community and, through perseverance and hard work, established himself as a notable businessman in town.
He was deputy postmaster, first county treasurer, published the first newspaper, partnered with L. F. Watson to sink the first flowing oil well in Warren, was an inventor, helped to erect the First Presbyterian Church in 1832, and was revered for his honesty and integrity, and admired by all. His was an original intellect, with large self-sustaining resources, ingenious, inventive, eccentric, with an appreciation for humor and the ridiculous. Archibald Tanner died February 15, 1861, at the age of 75.
Laura Tanner Scofield (18231909)
A native of Warren, Laura was the daughter of early Warren settlers Archibald and Margaretta Tanner and wife to Glenni W. Scofield, attorney, judge, congressman, and abolitionist.
Laura did much to further the cause of Women's Rights, helping to form the Political Equality Society of Warren, an organization dedicated to winning voting rights for women. She was interested in anthropology and while in Washington D.C. wrote articles for the Women's Anthropological Society, including a scholarly article on "Cornplanter, Chief of Six Nations." For the centennial celebrations of Warren in 1895, all the preparations were carried out by women. A letter from Susan B. Anthony to Laura Scofield congratulated Warren "on having attained the ripe old age of one hundred." Anthony also recognized that the celebration had been "managed entirely by women."
Erected by Warren County Historical Society, Blair, Community Foundation of Warren County, City of Warren.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1785.
Location. 41° 50.873′ N, 79° 8.787′ W. Marker is in Warren, Pennsylvania, in Warren County. It is at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Market Street (U.S. 62), on the right when traveling east on 4th Avenue. The kiosk location is the north side of Wetmore Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 211 4th Avenue, Warren PA 16365, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania and specifically in the Pennsylvania Wilds. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Warren County (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Louis Arch (within shouting distance of this marker); Struthers-Wetmore-Schimmelfeng House (within shouting distance of this marker); Struthers Library Building (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Thomas Clemons (approx. 0.2 miles away); The "Point"... Yesterday and Today! (approx. Ό mile away); Soldiers and Sailors Park (approx. Ό mile away); Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Warren.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2026, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 16 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 29, 2026, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
