A look at Main Street, Muncy PA, Through The Decades
A Work In Progress
For now, look at this as my research notes - not a completed post.
1876, Main street Muncy, Unknown Address
Need to check the directory
Peterman & Son stoves and tinware
Gowers & Son
Tallman & McCarty
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From I80 to Lafayette Street
Stone Cottage Tourist Rest
508 South Main Street Muncy Pa
"On this corner of New and Main streets, c. 1800, stood a log schoolhouse, one of the first erected in Muncy. The school was on an old stage coach route known then as the Danville Road. On this site in 1927 Lee and Twain Brewer erected and opened Brewer Brothers, selling Buicks and Chevrolets from their garage. Harry Stein purchased the garage in 1946 and began selling Dodge vehicles from this location until 1988 when the Stein’s sold the car franchise. The Muncy Bank and Trust Company purchased the garage in 2000 and razed it shortly thereafter.
Before moving to its new location on Pepper Street, the Muncy Female Seminary was located on the northwest corner of High and Main Streets. In 1847 Rev. John Smalley purchased the row of buildings directly across the street and the “Female Seminary” was moved there with Rev. and Mrs. Smalley providing the instruction until 1855.
Susan Lamont Life, who headed the school from 1857 to 1869, created a learning program rich in cultural opportunities – French, Spanish, Italian, German and Latin languages; music; literature; art; and elocution. Under her tutelage enrollment exceeded 200 students. Miss Julia Ross continued to administer the school until the Seminary was phased out primarily by the new Muncy Normal School at the corner of High and Market Streets.
Pepper Street was the main access road to Port Penn, the freight and passenger depot for canal traffic. A great many canal boats, both packet and cargo, were built in Port Penn during the canal days."
"A 1928 Buick offered for sale by the Brewer Brothers of Muncy, was found among the advertising pages of the Luminary. Located at South Main and New Streets, several members of the Brewer family had been blacksmiths crossing over from the horse and buggy era to embrace cars as the emerging mode of travel. The Brewer’s location became Steins Sales and Garage, and currently a branch of Muncy Bank & Trust Co." - From The Muncy Luminary
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From Lafayette street To Penn Street
St James Episcopal Church
215 South Main, Muncy
St. James Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church in Muncy, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was designed by architect Richard Upjohn in 1856, and was built between 1857 and 1859. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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From Penn To High Street
Possibly looking from the Ritz south? The building on the end, far left, is most certainly 46 South Main - The Lycoming County Fire Insurance Company
121 S. Main is today the Genoble Funeral Home
108 S. Main is today the Muncy Public Library
Several of these buildings were razed to make room for the new post office.
101 S. Main is today the Post Office
"Muncy’s Post Office, built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression, was completed in 1938. The lobby contains ceramic art and a mural depicting the epic ride of Rachel Silverthorne. History records Silverthorne riding off to warn the frontier settlers of an impending attack by the British and their allies during the “Great Runaway.”
Diagonally across the street is what was once described as the most beautiful building in Pennsylvania. Built in 1874 the ‘Italianate Stucco’ structure with eyebrow windows was home to the Lycoming County Fire Insurance Company. The firm was established in 1840 as Lycoming County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and in 1870 amended its charter to reflect its business expansion into other counties and states. The company failed when it was unable to pay its insured losses following the Chicago fire of 1871 and the Great Milton (PA) fire of 1880.
The Muncy School District used the building from 1908 until 1936 and then it was converted into apartments – named “Penn Hall.” In 1986 Muncy Borough purchased the building, leading to the founding of The Penn Hall Preservation Corporation that took on the restoration of one of Muncy’s finest landmarks.
Across the street was once the original Sign of the Eagle or Eagle Hotel and private residence dating to the early 1800s. In 1826 the new brick “Eagle Hotel” was built next door. This hotel carried a number of names including Temperance House, Washington Hotel, Coder’s Hotel and Muncy Valley House. In 1920 it became Muncy’s YWCA and later an apartment building."
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From High Street To Water Street
From near Noble Alley, looking south across Water Street.
On the left are signs for the --- Garden Restaurant, Stover Hotel
On the right is the Crawford Hotel, AAA office, and Western Union, and up where Orlandos is today is a sign for "Smokes"
Blac Harry's Peach Cobbler
N.E. Corner of Main and High Streets
(beside the current day post office)
North West Corner of Main and High Streets in 1850
William Cox Ellis Office, George Lewis Home
46 S. Main Lycoming County Fire Insurance Company
From the Muncy Walking Tour - "Diagonally across the street [from the post office] is what was once described as the most beautiful building in Pennsylvania. Built in 1874 the ‘Italianate Stucco’ structure with eyebrow windows was home to the Lycoming County Fire Insurance Company. The firm was established in 1840 as Lycoming County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and in 1870 amended its charter to reflect its business expansion into other counties and states. The company failed when it was unable to pay its insured losses following the Chicago fire of 1871 and the Great Milton (PA) fire of 1880.
The Muncy School District used the building from 1908 until 1936 and then it was converted into apartments – named “Penn Hall.” In 1986 Muncy Borough purchased the building, leading to the founding of The Penn Hall Preservation Corporation that took on the restoration of one of Muncy’s finest landmarks."
"Across the street [from the Italianate fire insurance building] was once the original Sign of the Eagle or Eagle Hotel and private residence dating to the early 1800s. In 1826 the new brick “Eagle Hotel” was built next door. This hotel carried a number of names including Temperance House, Washington Hotel, Coder’s Hotel and Muncy Valley House. In 1920 it became Muncy’s YWCA and later an apartment building."
42 S. Main Tri-Town Modern Dental
39 S. Main William & Smay Attorneys
35 S. Main Fire Station
33 South Main was the Central Hotel in 1890
32 S. Main West Branch Insurance
30 S. Main Salon
32 S. Main West Branch Insurance
30 S. Main Salon
27 S. Main - The Chere
This particular angle, looking north across Water Street, with the Smith/Masonic building on the left, is a popular view for Muncy Post Cards.
1906 Looking North.
Unknown Building on the right, followed by the Smith/Masonic Building
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Smith Building
The building on the left is sometimes referred to as the Smith Building, or the Mason building.
Chere on the right
Looking North From Carpenter Street.
On the left - The Masonic Building, The Bank,
On The Right - Chere
1960s view with the Smith/Masonic building on the left, and ritz visible across water street on the right.
Philco sign, National Bank sign
1940s looking north
The Smith building would be out of sight across the street
5 & 10, and Rexall signts
Stover Hotel sign visible, and The Ritz on down.
20 S. Main Santander Bank
16 S. Main Smoke shop
12 S. Main Main Street Grille
11 S. Main Hair Quarters
8 S. Main Orlandos
1 S. Main, across from Orlandos, was the Commercial Hotel, in 1890'
Looking across water street from the south
The crawford would be out of sight on the right here.
From the Muncy Walking Tour -
"The Muncy Normal and High School building, erected in 1873, was an architectural masterpiece of its day! In its early catalogues it was described as “centrally located, and commands a magnificent view of the entire valley. The Susquehanna Water Gap, six miles below, and the North Mountain, twenty miles in the opposite direction, can be distinctly seen from its upper windows.”
The curriculum of the school included: 1) teachers and normal; 2) college preparatory; and 3) business. About 1922, when the Muncy Normal School became a branch of the Mansfield State College, its function became primarily a teacher education institution until 1927.
In 1908, the school needed more space so they acquired the former Lycoming Mutual Fire Insurance building on South Main Street, directly in front of the Normal School. The “Executive Building” offered additional classrooms, offices and a reading room.
Many of Muncy’s homes operated as boarding places for out-of-town residents and were described in the school’s catalogue as “good boarding and well-furnished rooms in pleasant homes in quiet parts of the town, at reasonable rates…” In 1911, rates were $3.50 per seven-day week; $2.50 to $3 per five-day week.
The building continued in use as a grade and high school until 1932 when Muncy built its native stone school house on West Penn Street. In 1938 the Normal School was razed to make way for Hoffman Seed and Grain Company. Processing corn and grain and selling across the East Coast the mill remained in business until the latter part of the 20th Century when the plant was razed and the McCarty Apartments were built on the vacant lot. "
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From Water Street To North Market
From Water Street To North Market
The Stover Hotel
The Southwest Corner of Main and West Water Street
From the Muncy Walking Tour - "
The original portion of the building on the southeast corner, built circa 1805, belonged to the Brindle-Fahnestock merchant family. When William Petrikin married into the family he added its third floor and attic and it was called the “Petrikin Mansion.” By 1877, it was converted into a hotel and it operated under such names as the Parker House, Commercial Hotel, Hotel Stover and Moran Hotel."
2 N. Main - Today, Journey [Muncy] Bank
Several general mercantile businesses occupied this corner before the Muncy Banking Company organized and opened its doors for business in 1893. The name was officially changed to The Muncy Bank and Trust Company in 1962 and it remains a community-owned bank.
The Ritz, 1938
18 N. Main Fort Brady Hotel [Crawford]
"Just down the street, you’ll find the Fort Brady Hotel. The original section was built circa 1810 as a private residence and is toward the rear of the property. Its next owner, Robert Risk, capitalized on the canal era when he converted the property into a hotel that he managed until 1860. The Risk family built two substantial homes on North Main Street – No. 28 and No. 106. The Fort Brady also was known as the Franklin Hotel, the United States Hotel, the Crawford House and the New Crawford House." - Muncy Walking Tour
The Crawfort Hotel - today Fort Boone
"First Native Americans, and then Colonials as early as 1737, settled in this valley with its broad sweep of the Susquehanna River, rich soil and abundant level, grassy meadows. This is the longest, continuously used road crossing in Lycoming County – at the intersection of four, century-old paths connecting the great water highway to the north, east and west.
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In 1797, settler Benjamin McCarty laid out his acreage into lots, calling it “Pennsborough.” William McCarty and Isaac Walton followed suit. In 1826, the borough’s boundaries were defined and, one year later, the name “Muncy” was adopted – a name taken from the “Monsey clan” of the Delaware Indians.
By the 1830s, Muncy town folks turned their attention to trade – stage coach lines ran to Danville and Northumberland; the business section of town formed between Water and High streets. The Pennsylvania Canal brought easy and cheap transportation and with the canal, and later the railroad, Muncy merchants prospered. Unprocessed grains, locally distilled whiskey, lumber and shingles were shipped to Philadelphia and Baltimore; finished goods, in bulk, came back into the area. The big houses built between the 1840s and 1860s are evidence of their good fortune.
The original portion of the building on the southeast corner, built circa 1805, belonged to the Brindle-Fahnestock merchant family. When William Petrikin married into the family he added its third floor and attic and it was called the “Petrikin Mansion.” By 1877, it was converted into a hotel and it operated under such names as the Parker House, Commercial Hotel, Hotel Stover and Moran Hotel. "
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26 North Main Street
"Two Colonial Doorways, Muncy: Residence of Dr. T. Kenneth Wood. Caption reads: "Built by Benjamin Pott, circ. 1836. Originally in the Shoemaker homestead the doorway has been transferred to Dr. Wood's residence, built in 1850."
27 North Main
Two Colonial Doorways, Muncy: Residence of Miss Sarah McCarty and Mrs. Lucy Cooke Caption reads: "Built by Benjamin Pott, circ. 1836"
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Benjamin Pott House, 29 N. Main Street, Muncy. Site number 119 in "A Survey of Historic Sites and Landmarks of Lycoming County".
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From Market Street To Grant
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34 North Main - The McCarty House
Later was the Creative Necessities Floral Shop
From The Muncy Walking Tour -
"The McCarty House, on your left, has been enlarged since the original log structure was erected circa 1800 by William McCarty. William and his brother, Benjamin, and their Walton cousins were Muncy’s founding fathers. William laid out this section of Muncy using the standard municipal grid pattern. Considered Muncy’s oldest surviving building, its low ceilings preserved heat in the winter as did the New England-style central fireplaces. Oral history attests to deer and bear being shot from the front door.
John McCarty, William’s son, worked at his blacksmithing trade from the carriage house located to the rear of the family homestead. Here he would have artfully shaped heated iron into useful items for the household and for his fellow tradesmen – working on a variety of tools for the wheelwright and farmer.
Muncy Historical Society, on your right, is housed in a Federal-style building with Greek Revival elements. Built by John McCarty, circa 1812, the original four-room structure was set back from Main Street and its newer sections, bordering Main Street, were added by the mid-1850s. Its squirrel tail/beehive bake oven survives in the colonial kitchen.
Dr. Edward Kittoe’s dentistry and medical office was located here until the 1850s when Muncy merchant Thomas Clapp purchased the property for his family. It remained in the Clapp Family until the flood of 1936 when the H. Forest Clapp family donated the building to the town of Muncy for its historical society.
Restored by the WPA in 1937, the building was home to Muncy’s Public Library for many years. This building, along with many properties located in Muncy’s northern low-lying areas, lies in the flood plain and, in 1972, had five feet of water on the first floor."
40 N. Main Muncy Historical Society
101 N. Main Pic Brothers
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North Main Street, Muncy Pa
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READ MORE
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I See...
By The Gazette & Bulletin
LET'S TURN BACK THE CLOCK ON THE TOWN OF MUNCY ...
Seventy-five or more years When the Hon William Cox Ellis was burgess... High constable, George Hinkle, councilmen, L. Esabach, S. Sprout, M. Brewer, John Beeber and T.M. Trumbower, Simon Schuyler and Adam Rankin were justices of the peace of the Borough.
Most every family "kept" chickens, and occasionally a cow... Neighbors, were close friends days. It was not unusual for a neighbor woman to hand a loaf of bread over the back fence to another neighbor woman... Hush! but it's so, cows grazed along the streets, and oxen teams propelled big wagons loaded with lumber and railroad ties... Down to the Port Penn, canal boat wharf.
JOHN M BOWMAN was cashier of the First National, which was located at Main and Water Streets... The Rev A.H. Augbe was pastor of the Lutheran Church: The Rev. J. B. Cuddy, pastor of the Methodist Church: The Rev. A Heron, pastor the Presbyterian Church: The Rev G T McNair, pastor Baptist Church ... The churches in those days boasted of a large number members, which was_ also true of Sunday schools attendance.
WHEN it came to hotels You did not have to go hungry In sir that little There village... No Sir... the Woodward House, on Water Street, Muncy Valley House, J. Van Buskirk, proprietor, Main Street: Ritter House, and United States hotel.... Rates, dollar a day, three meals a night's lodging and did they put on a feast for a ------------- with the other In "stuffing" vou. The cooks at- these hotels, came from the hills, and how they could and make pies . The Muncy Hills still boast of good cooks.
THE town had or one newspaper a weekly The Muncy Luminary ... This paper boasted of its age, and it had a right to do it. G L I (hope haven't missed any initials) Painter was its editor and publisher.... In the editorial office, all the village squabbles were settled. Political arguments were numerous, political slates made... It the favorite, medium for publicity society gossip, weddings, births and deaths.
... Yes Indeed The paper is still published, and reaches the G&B editorial room each week... Then there Thomas Painter, a druggist and telegraph operator.
OUTSTANDING STORES Clapp and Smith dry goods, Cook and Son, dry goods; J M. Girnerd music and variety store; George Gruse and Son, boots shoes: R. M. Green and hardware, and stoves; N.B. Hall, dry goods: Thomas Lloyd merchant, M C McReynolds, milliner, Noble and Co., dry goods: C P Ritter, furniture and undertaker; John H. Rooker, merchant tailor: L.S. Smith, dry goods and Whitacre and Wendenall, grocer.
THERE were several rage and wagon makers vide numerous blacksmith shops, harness makers, all which enjoyed a thriving business... The Lycoming County O U A M met every Wednesday evening over the post office. The Muncy Lodge F and A M conducted meetings every Thursday evening on or before the full moon. William A. Probst was railroad station agent . . , Enos Hawley was postmaster and handed out mail in the small office on Main Street.
MUNCY-Today is one the most thriving and standing small towns along Susquehanna Trail ...And not so small at that.
Daily Gazette and Bulletin
Williamsport, Pennsylvania •
Wed, Aug 9, 1950
Page 2
1890 index, listing businesses in Muncy
On Page 2 of the Sanborn Map in 1890:
De Hass & Bro Carriage Factory
Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
Muncy Valley Hotel
Presbyterian Church
On Page 3:
Brewer Bros Carriage Shop
J. Cable Carriage Shop
Central Hotel
Commercial Hotel
Crawford Hotel
Public School
Union Opera House
1890 South Main Muncy
Page 2 right
1890 South Main Muncy
Page 2 right
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"For the sake of reminiscing, auto and truck dealership ads in the Muncy area were taken from early issues of The Luminary. It lists year, car make, dealer and location, and include: 1923, Ford, Sones Brothers, (no location); 1948, Ford cars and trucks, Murray Motor Co. 101 N. Main; 1948, Kaiser Frazer, Brelsford Motors, N. Main; 1951, Chrysler, Harvey F. Corson, west of Muncy; 1951, Chevrolet, Floyd & Ward Gilbert, Market & Water Sts, also Broad St., Montoursville; 1962, Rambler, L. J. Eakers’s Garage, 100 N. Main; 1962, Dodge, Stein’s Sales & Service, Main & New Sts.; Selling Dodge Brothers Motor Cars, H. J. Bartlow." - The Muncy Luminary
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Residence of Henry Johnson, Muncy, 1875
Methodist Episcopal Church
Doors
Muncy Seminary, Jerry Blakeslee, Mr Wesley Fairchilds
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