Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. The county is part of the North Central region of the commonwealth.
Lycoming County comprises the Williamsport metropolitan statistical area.
About northwest of Philadelphia and east-northeast of Pittsburgh, Lycoming is Pennsylvania's largest county by land area.
History
Formation of the county Lycoming County was formed from Northumberland County on April 13, 1795. The county was larger than it is today. It took up most of the land that is now north central Pennsylvania. The following counties have been formed from land that was once part of Lycoming County: Armstrong, Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Forest, Elk and Cameron.
Lycoming County was originally named Jefferson County in honor of Thomas Jefferson. This name proved to be unsatisfactory. The name change went through several steps. First a change to Lycoming County was rejected, next the name Susquehanna County was struck down as was Muncy County, before the legislature revisited and settled on Lycoming County for Lycoming Creek, the stream that was the center of the pre-Revolutionary border dispute.
County "firsts" 1615: The first European in Lycoming County was Étienne Brûlé. He was a voyageur for New France. Brule descended the West Branch Susquehanna River and was held captive by a local Indian tribe near what is now Muncy before escaping and returning to Canada.
1761: The first permanent homes were built in Muncy. Three log cabins were built by Bowyer Brooks, Robert Roberts and James Alexander.
1772: The first gristmill is built on Muncy Creek by John Alward
1775: The first public road is built along the West Branch Susquehanna River. The road followed the Great Shamokin Path from Fort Augusta in what is now Sunbury to Bald Eagle Creek near modern-day Lock Haven.
1786: The first church built in the county was Lycoming Presbyterian church in what was known as Jaysburg and is now the Newberry section of Williamsport.
1792: The first sawmill was built on Lycoming Creek by Roland Hall.
1795: The first elections for Lycoming County government are held soon after the county was formed from Northumberland County. The elected officers were Samuel Stewart, county sheriff and the first county commissioners were John Hanna, Thomas Forster and James Crawford. Andrew Gregg was elected to represent Lycoming County in the United States Congress, William Hepburn was voted to the Pennsylvania State Senate and Flavel Roan, Hugh White and Robert Martin served as representatives in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
1823: The county government funded the construction of the first bridges over Loyalsock and Lycoming Creeks.
1839: The first railroad is built. It connected Williamsport with Ralston in northern Lycoming County. The railroad followed Lycoming Creek.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. Lycoming County is the largest county in Pennsylvania by land area and second-largest by total area; it is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The county has a humid continental climate which is warm-summer (Dfb) except in lower areas near the river which are hot-summer (Dfa). Average monthly temperatures in downtown Williamsport average from 26.5 °F in January to 72.4 °F in July, while in Trout Run they average from 25.5 °F in January to 71.2 °F in July.
Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau
Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau (which also appears mountainous) in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch of the Susquehanna enters Lycoming County from Clinton County just west of the borough of Jersey Shore, which is on the northwest bank of the river. The river then flows generally east and a little north with some large curves for to the city of Williamsport, followed by the borough of Montoursville (both on the north bank) as well as the boroughs of Duboistown and South Williamsport (on the south bank).
The river flows just north of Bald Eagle Mountain (one of the northernmost ridges of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians) through much of its course in Lycoming County, but it passes the end of the mountain and turns south just before the borough of Muncy (on the east bank). It continues south past the borough of Montgomery and leaves Lycoming County, where it forms the border between Union and Northumberland Counties. From there the West Branch merges with the North Branch Susquehanna River at Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and then flows south to the Chesapeake Bay.
Major creeks and watersheds
The major creeks of Lycoming County are all tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River. On the north or left bank of the river they are (from west to east): Pine Creek (and its tributary Little Pine Creek) which the river receives just west of Jersey Shore; Larrys Creek, which the river receives about south of Salladasburg; Lycoming Creek which the river receives in western Williamsport; Loyalsock Creek which the river receives between Williamsport and Montoursville; and Muncy Creek (and its tributary Little Muncy Creek), which the river receives just north of Muncy. Loyalsock and Muncy Creeks are also the major watersheds of Sullivan County.
Finally there is White Deer Hole Creek, the only major creek in Lycoming County on the right bank (i.e. south and west) of the river. It is south of Bald Eagle Mountain, and flows from west to east. The river receives it at the village of Allenwood in Gregg Township in Union County. Other creeks found on the right bank (south and west) of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Lycoming County are relatively minor, including Antes Creek in the Nippenose valley (in Limestone and Nippenose Townships), Mosquito Creek (at Duboistown), Hagermans Run (at South Williamsport), and Black Hole Creek (at Montgomery).
The entire county is in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The percent of the county drained by each creek's watershed is as follows: Pine Creek, 15.27%; Little Pine Creek, 11.25% (if these two are considered together, 26.52%); Larry's Creek, 7.17%; Lycoming Creek, 17.80%; Loyalsock Creek, 13.23%; Muncy Creek, 4.82%; Little Muncy Creek, 5.86% (if these two are considered together, 10.68%); and White Deer Hole Creek, 4.40%. Minor creeks account for the rest.
Adjacent counties Lycoming County is one of the few US counties to border nine counties, a result of its large area.
Tioga County (north) Bradford County (northeast) Sullivan County (east) Columbia County (southeast) Montour County (south) Northumberland County (south) Union County (southwest) Clinton County (west) Potter County (northwest)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Lycoming County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)115,736114,593112,306106,71099,68797.74%96.53%93.55%91.90%87.30%Black or African American alone (NH)1,7392,7795,1415,0605,6721.47%2.34%4.28%4.36%4.97%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)912112341911910.08%0.18%0.19%0.16%0.17%Asian alone (NH)3214545036639230.27%0.38%0.42%0.57%0.81%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census122427xx0.01%0.02%0.02%Other race alone (NH)12932751033830.11%0.03%0.06%0.09%0.34%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census9741,8014,931xx0.81%1.55%4.32%Hispanic or Latino (any race)4006417991,5592,3740.34%0.54%0.67%1.34%2.08%Total118,416118,710120,044116,111114,188 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 114,188. The median age was 41.8 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial and ethnic composition is shown in the table below.
59.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 40.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 46,603 households in the county, of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.0% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 52,625 housing units, of which 11.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.2% were owner-occupied and 32.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.6%.
2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 120,044 people, 47,003 households, and 31,680 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 52,464 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 0.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.5% were of German, 11.7% American, 9.0% Irish, 7.4% Italian and 7.3% English ancestry.
There were 47,003 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.
Law and government For the past century, Lycoming County has been reliably Republican, going Democrat only in the Democratic landslides of 1936 and 1964.
County commissioners Scott L. Metzger (R) Marc C. Sortman (R) Mark A. Mussina (D)
Law enforcement agencies Pennsylvania State Police Williamsport Police Department Lycoming County Sheriff's Office South Williamsport Police Department (and DuBoistown borough) Lycoming Regional Police Department (Cummings, McHenry, Porter, Piatt, Nippenose, Old Lycoming, Hepburn, Lycoming Townships and Jersey Shore borough) Montoursville Police Department Muncy Police Department (and Brady Township) Muncy Township Police Department Hughesville Police Department (and Picture Rocks Borough) Pennsylvania College of Technology Police Department Lycoming County Probation and Parole Department
Fire departments Williamsport Bureau of Fire - Station 1 Woodward Township VFC - Station 2 Independent Hose of Jersey Shore - Station 3 South Williamsport VFC - Station 5 Nippenose Valley VFC - Station 6 Nisbet VFC - Station 7 DuBoistown VFC Station - 8 Clinton Township VFC - Station 12 Montgomery VFC - Station 13 Old Lycoming Township VFC - Station 14 Hepburn Township VFC - Station 15 Trout Run VFC - Station 16 Ralston VFC - Station 17 Loyalsock VFC - Station 18 Williamsport Regional Airport - Station 19 Montoursville Fire Department - Station 20 Washington Township VFC - Station 21 Eldred TWP VFC - Station 22 Muncy Township VFC - Station 23