Photo Copyright James Fitzpatrick

Wellsboro, a town of beauty and culture rich in natural resources and the County Seat of Tioga County, might be set down in any section of New England and find itself in familiar surroundings. Founded in 1806 by settlers from Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia, it was incorporated in 1830. The town was named in honor of Mary Wells, wife of one of the original settlers, Benjamin Wister Morris.

It is a matter of historical record that this section of the state was part of the Connecticut Grant; consequently it was settled by many of the early New England colonists. The large houses set well back from the streets on spacious well-kept lawns are truly indicative of the planning of New England towns. Noted for beautiful elms, maple trees and wide boulevards with gas lights, this is a village of pleasant homes and hospitable people.

View some of Wellsboro's Historic Houses and Buildings

History of Statue of Wynken Blynken and Nod

History of Tioga County
Between 1628 and 1762, three kings of England issued four separate charters giving all or part of the land in today's Tioga County to three different states - Massachusetts, twice to Connecticut, and to William Penn who founded Pennsylvania. State ownership was finally resolved 20 years later when the Continental Congress awarded Pennsylvania the land in the 1782 Decree of Trenton.

Seneca Indian lands, including Tioga County, remained closed until the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix when holdings were sold to Pennsylvania. Settlement was slow due to the county's rugged terrain, dense virgin forests, and its lack of roads and navigable waterways. In 1787, a New Yorker named Samuel Baker was the first white man to settle the area when he constructed a cabin on the Tioga River at Lawrenceville.

In 1796, work was completed on the "Williamson Road", which extended from Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Painted Post, New York. It is now known as Route 15 and designated the Northern Sector of the "Appalachian Thruway." Construction of other major roads - the Morris State Road , today called Route 287, and the East and West State Road, now known as Route 6 - were completed in the early 1800's.

The area that is now Tioga County was part of Lycoming County - founded on April 13, 1795 and before that both were part of Northumberland County. In 1797, Lycoming County created a new township - Tioga - that included all lands of the present day Tioga County.

It was through the efforts of the Pine Creek Land Company, a group of Philadelphia citizens who bought and sold property in Lycoming County, including Tioga land, that Tioga County was formed. To induce more people to come to the area, the land company was able to get the state to pass an "Omnibus Bill" on March 26, 1804. The bill broke the 12,000 square mile Lycoming County into five additional counties; they included Clearfield, Jefferson, McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties.

When formed, Tioga County had one township - Tioga - and 500 - 600 residents. The county's population peaked in 1890 at about 54,000 before declining along with the coal and lumber industries. Now, Tioga County includes 30 townships and 10 boroughs.

Today, the county is populated with the descendants of early settlers - English descendants of the the New England immigrants, the Welsh and Polish who worked the coal mines and some Pennsylvania Germans.

On March 21, 1806, two years after influencing the legislature to create Tioga County, the Pine Creek Land Company was able to get Wellsboro designated as its county seat. The only family living there was that of Benjamin Wistar Morris, the company's agent, who named the 150-acre town for his wife, Mary Wells. In 1830, the town became the first in Tioga County to be incorporated as a borough. Its population then numbered 250.