page_title: History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
section_title: Jersey Shore
hierarchical_section_title: History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania / Borough histories / Jersey Shore
caption_attribution_description: Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
context_section_description: Jersey Shore was incorporated as a borough on March 15, 1826. The history of Jersey Shore begins about fifty years before it was incorporated and on the opposite bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River in what is now Nippenose Township. Colonel John Henry Antes arrived in 1772 and established a homestead along the banks of Antes Creek. Antes also built a gristmill and his fortified home, Fort Antes, provided a safe haven for the early settlers against raids conducted by Loyalist and Indian forces during the American Revolution. Settlers who had sought refuge at Fort Antes and had returned to the right bank of the West Branch to milk their cows were among the first killed when Fort Antes was attacked just prior to the Big Runaway. These pioneers on the north side of the river were counted among the Fair Play Men a group of squatters who lived outside the jurisdiction of the colonial and revolutionary governments of Pennsylvania. Many of the settlers did not return to the area until after Sullivan's Expedition had forced the Lenni Lenape and other Indians allied with the British further west.
  Jersey Shore was originally named Waynesburg by the two brothers, Reuben and Jeremiah Manning, who laid out the town circa 1785. Around the time that this was happening, a settlement arose on the eastern side of the West Branch Susquehanna River (Nippenose Township), opposite Waynesburg. A rivalry developed between the two settlements, and those on the eastern shore began referring to the settlement on the western shore as the "Jersey Shore," because the Manning family had relocated from New Jersey. The nickname became so fixed that in 1826 the original name of Waynesburg was officially abandoned and changed to Jersey Shore.
  Jersey Shore's location on the West Branch Susquehanna River, just downstream from the mouth of Pine Creek, made it an ideal location for traders and other businessmen who outfitted the pioneers who settled the western most portions of the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley and the Pine Creek valley. Thomas Martin was a farmer who sold his produce to the people of Jersey Shore and to the men and women passing through. Mr. Martin was noted for his strong beliefs regarding the prices that he set. For example, if he believed that his potatoes were worth 35 cents a bushel, he would sell them for 35 cents a bushel; no more, no less. If the competitors would sell potatoes for 50 cents a bushel, Martin would not raise his price, and if others lowered the price to 25 cents per bushel, he would not lower his price. This firmness and fairness allowed Thomas Martin to rise to a position of prominence in Jersey Shore and Lycoming County. His reputation for fairness and honesty was passed onto his son Lewis Martin, who went on to serve as a Lycoming County prothonotary and as a deputy U.S. Marshal.
  The Reverend John Hays Grier arrived in Jersey Shore in 1814. He was a Presbyterian missionary who originally set out from his home of Doylestown Pennsylvania with the intention of serving the pioneers of the west. He stopped one Sunday in Jersey Shore and for the most part never left. He built a strong congregation at Jersey Shore and another upstream on the West Branch in Lock Haven. Grier served the churches in Lock Haven and Jersey Shore for fourteen years before serving alone at the church in Jersey Shore for an additional twenty-three years. Rev. Grier was also elected sheriff of Lycoming County in 1822.
  Jersey Shore was once a major player in the railroad industry. The New York Central Railroad built a large rail car building operation within the boundaries of Jersey Shore in the late 19th century. What had formerly been a minor stop on the Pennsylvania Canal and stagecoach lines was transformed overnight into an industrial boomtown. Over 1,000 skilled mechanics were employed at the car shops. They were able to earn wages that far exceeded the normal income of the average worker in Lycoming County at the time. Other early industrial ventures in Jersey Shore included the American Balance Valve and Machine Works manufacture
caption: A view of historic Jersey Shore
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