History

Long before the first daring French explorers crossed the Susquehanna River in the 1600s and the sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants created a new homeland here, the Delaware and Shawnee Indians hunted throughout the pristine wilderness now known as Snyder County.

During the mid-1700s, conflicts between the Indians and the increasing numbers of immigrant settlers moving into the age-old hunting grounds led to many bloody battles.

But the early Pennsylvania Dutch settlers persevered against repeated attacks by both the French and the Indians and by the end of the American Revolution, these thrifty, honest and hard working people slowly began to carve a real settlement from the Snyder County wilderness.

Originally from the Palentine region of Germany, the Pennsylvania Dutch were so called because the word for German is Deutsch, which sounded like Doitch or Dutch. Over the years, Pennsylvania Germans became Pennsylvania “Dutch.” Seeking freedom from religious oppression and an opportunity to build a better future for themselves, these early German settlers settled along Penns Creek as early as 1745. Other early settlers were Scotch-lrish from the Kittatinny Valley who established a settlement in Selinsgrove in 1755.

Snyder County was officially recognized in 1853. It was named after Pennsylvania’s only three-term governor, Simon Snyder.

The completion of the Pennsylvania Canal in 1831 and the construction of the Middle Creek Valley Railroad in 1871 brought increased business as well as marked growth in the population. Selinsgrove became the marketplace for the entire county.

The canal, dug by hand by mostly Irish laborers, was 40 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Stretching 39 miles from Duncan’s Island to Northumberland along the west bank of the Susquehanna, the canal was an important boon to Selinsgrove’s early growth. The abandonment of the canal in 1901 was a severe blow to the economy of the town and region. There is little evidence of the original canal except for Routes 11&15, which follows the original path along the west shore of the river.