Lock Haven AT 150
Last weekend, the city of Lock Haven is had an anniversary. A nice even one—People like those nice round numbers. You never heard of anyone really celebrating the fifty-seventh anniversary of anything. But we get all excited if the number ends in a zero, or sometimes a five.
So we had. On Saturday, Lock Haven had been a city for a hundred and fifty years.
About a third of you have already skipped to the Sports section. Some of the more historically astute people are asking “But didn’t we do that anniversary in 1983?” No, we didn’t. Lock Haven turned 150 in 1983, but it’s been a city since 1870. Let me explain, and I’m only going through this once, so pay attention.
Lock Haven was founded by Jeremiah Church in 1833. At the time, it was a small, unincorporated community, later known to be a borough. That was the community’s status until 1870, when the city fathers changed things a bit, and incorporated as a city of the third class. Communities incorporate, and based on population, are assigned the designation. So Lock Haven is a city based on the incorporation articles the politicians wrote up at the time. So, yay! We’re celebrating the anniversary of paperwork!
It all happened on March 28, 1870. To celebrate, I thought I’d write a little about what was going on in our city at the time.
Wilson Kistler moved to Lock Haven that year. Kistler lived at 302 West Church Street. He ran a tannery, and became very heavily involved in many of Lock Haven’s activities. When the Ross Library opened up forty years later, he was the first president of the board.
Levi Mackey, who lived on Water Street, was immediately elected the first mayor of Lock Haven. Mackey, among many other things, was involved in building the new Great Island Presbyterian Church, which was under construction at the time. It was something of a long process, beginning in 1863 and more or less concluding with the steeple in 1872. The congregation was meeting there in 1870, as Lock Haven became a city.
Also recently completed was the new courthouse. Founder Jerry Church had donated land for the courthouse, over on East Church Street, but that building wasn’t doing the trick anymore. The county commissioners chose to build a new (and current) courthouse on Water Street, which was completed in 1867. So as Lock Haven became a city, the courthouse was only three years old.
The Opera House was only two years old at the time. In need of entertainment that went beyond the average newspaper, Lock Haven built an Opera House on East Main Street, and opened it for shows. Over the years, many amazing shows were held there, including some famous performers.
The Central State Normal School was chartered that year. You’d know it as Lock Haven University. But that was only on paper, at first—The school was chartered in 1870, the first brick laid in 1873, and didn’t open for classes until 1877.
In 1870, Lock Haven was still growing. Much of the western end was still open, with nothing built there yet. The Hill Section, up along South Fairview Street, was just beginning to be settled. The first home built on South Fairview was at 333, and was a year old at the time. It was owned by a lumberman named Charles Wait. In 1870, new homes were just beginning to spring up in that area.
1870 was a new beginning for Lock Haven. A hundred and fifty years ago, we became a city, choosing a new government, working on new infrastructure, and growing. A century and a half ago, we became a city.
