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Williamsport was incorporated as a borough on March 1, 1806, and as a city on January 15, 1866. The city is the original home of Little League Baseball, founded in 1939 as a three-team league. In the late 19th century, when Williamsport was known as "The Lumber Capital of the World" because of its thriving lumber industry, it also was the birthplace of the national newspaper ''Grit'' in 1882. Williamsport once had more millionaires per-capita than anywhere in the world. The area's local high school, the Williamsport Area High School, uses The Millionaires as its mascot. ==Founding fathers== The founding fathers of Williamsport were Michael Ross and William Hepburn. Both men played a great role in the formation of Lycoming County and the establishment of Williamsport as the county seat. Michael Ross was born in Scotland on July 12, 1759. He and his mother migrated across the Atlantic Ocean in 1772 and landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They became indentured servants to Samuel Wallis, known as the "Land King" of the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley. Wallis had extensive holdings in Muncy Township. Wallis brought Michael Ross and his mother to Muncy Township where Ross was trained as a surveyor's assistant. Michael Ross must have made a good impression upon Wallis, since Wallis gave Ross of land and a favorable letter of recommendation. Ross quickly became a successful surveyor and farmer. He was able to use his profits to purchase of land along the West Branch Susquehanna River, between Loyalsock and Lycoming Creeks. This land originally called "Virginia"〔 was to in time become Williamsport, the county seat of Lycoming County. William Hepburn was in County Donegal, Ireland in 1753. He migrated to the Thirteen Colonies in 1773 or 1774. Hepburn lived in the Sunbury area for a short time before moving up the West Branch Susquehanna River to what is now Duboistown where he worked for Andrew Culbertson in digging the race for Culbertson's Mill. Hepburn also joined the local militia. During the American Revolution, the West Branch Valley came under attack from Loyalist and Indian forces. These attacks were known as the Big Runaway in 1778 and the later Little Runaway in 1779. Hepburn rose to the position of colonel and was the commanding officer at Fort Muncy, Samuel Wallis' fortified home in Muncy Township. Hepburn, reportedly, gave the orders to Robert Covenhoven and Rachel Silverthorn to spread the word of the impending attacks. Following the Big Runaway, Hepburn kept a permanent connection with the Covenhoven family by marrying, Crecy Covenhoven, the sister of Robert. Hepburn also bought of land, to the west of Ross' holdings. His land, known as "Deer Park", combined with Ross' "Virginia" would eventually become Williamsport. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Williamsport, Pennsylvania」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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