| Wellsboro, Pennsylvania | |
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| — Borough — | |
| The Wellsboro Diner | |
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Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Tioga |
| Settled | 1806 |
| Incorporated (borough) | 1830 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,306 ft (398 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 3,328 |
| • Density | 681.0/sq mi (262.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC) |
| Zip | 16901 |
| Area code(s) | 570 |
| Website | www.wellsboroborough.com |
Wellsboro is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, 52 miles northwest of Williamsport. Early in the twentieth century, Wellsboro was the shipping point and trade center for a large area. It had fruit evaporators, flour and woolen mills, a milk-condensing plant, marble works, saw mills, foundry and machine shops, and manufactories of cut glass, chemicals, rugs, bolts, cigars, carriages, and furniture. In 1900, 2,945 people lived here; in 1910, 3,183 lived here. The population was 3,328 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Tioga County[1], and also home to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.
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Wellsboro was incorporated in 1830 and was named in honor of Mary Wells, wife of one of the original settlers, Benjamin Wistar Morris. The town was the home of George W. Sears (1821 – 1890), a sportswriter for Forest and Stream magazine in the 1880s and an early environmentalist. His stories, appearing under the pen name, "Nessmuk" popularized self-guided canoe camping tours of the Adirondack lakes in open, lightweight solo canoes and what is today called ultralight camping. Wellsboro was also the site of one of the first factories where light bulbs were mass-produced, using machines whose design remains essentially unchanged from the early 20th century when the Corning company established the plant in the town.
Wellsboro is located at (41.746794, -77.301881)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.9 square miles (13 km2), of which, 4.9 square miles (13 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.61%) is water.
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 3,328 people, 1,469 households, and 866 families residing in the borough. The population density was 681.0 people per square mile (262.8/km²). There were 1,602 housing units at an average density of 327.8 per square mile (126.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.14% White, 0.39% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.
There were 1,469 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the borough the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $30,169, and the median income for a family was $39,898. Males had a median income of $37,083 versus $20,492 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,096. About 9.5% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
The Marcellus Formation, a massive formation stretching between New York and West Virginia, has enough natural gas to possibly meet U.S. demand for 20 years, according to some experts. It may become the most productive shale gas field in the U.S. Wellsboro residents have been profiting from their proximity to the Marcellus Shale. Revenue for the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad doubled in 2009 because of the demand for transporting sand, which is used by the natural gas industry for hydraulic fracturing operations. The company has purchased new locomotives and track, and is hiring new workers.
Some local farmers have received land lease payments from natural gas companies amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. East Resources, Inc. drilled 42 wells in 2009 and expects to drill 200 more in 2010.
Despite the influx of economic activity and money, some local residents are wary of the side effects of the natural gas operations. They worry about damage to roads from heavy trucks and water contamination from the hydraulic fracturing process.[4]
Various gas wells only 2 to 6 miles (depending on the well) west of the Tioga River near Hills Creek State Park are known to have 10,000-18,000 times over the federal drinking water standard for radium, 22,000-40,000 times the limit for gross alpha, and 38 times the limit for uranium. However these are only samplings from four different wells. Other gas wells in the area could have more or less contamination and may include other toxic substances.[5]
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