Long Williamsport History Lesson for you: Williamsport is known for its Queen Anne and Italianate Victorians. The high school mascot is “The Millionaires” because Williamsport was once a boom town—the “Lumber Capital of the World”—and had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country. These millionaires, wanting to show off their new-gotten wealth, built grand and ostentatious mansions that line “Millionaire’s Row” on West Fourth Street including this one, the Peter Herdic House.
Herdic was a lumber baron (and mayor, hotel and real estate owner, inventor, developer and philanthropist...all around v. busy guy) who built this Italian Villa Style home in 1854-55. The pink is original according to a paint analysis. The grounds were originally much bigger and included two tennis courts and a carriage house. When Herdic went bankrupt in the panic of 1878, he sold off lots carved out from the grounds.
The thing that made Williamsport’s output so far and above others and made the people like Peter Herdic so rich, was the creation of a “boom” or fence in the river that held back logs waiting to be milled—up to 300 million feet of lumber (where a typical sawmill could only process 100,000 feet a WEEK.. This meant that winters (where the river froze over and logs couldn’t be sent downriver) and a mill’s current capacity wasn’t an issue. There was always a ready supply waiting for the mills to mill so the owners of those mills became very wealthy very quickly.
Eventually, as is the fate of every virgin forest in America, the mountains and hills surrounding Williamsport were stripped of their massive forests and the industry suffered. This decline was aided by the river, which, without the forests tempering rainfalls, became more volatile and kept flooding (this is particularly galling to me as a levee was built in the 1950’s to end the flooding, effectively cutting off the city from the river). A flood in 1889 washed away 300 million feet of lumber and the sawmills of Williamsport were never able to recover their corner on the market.
As the wealth and industry disappeared, the houses along Millionaire’s Row fell into deep disrepair—too big and expensive to maintain. The Herdic House was no exception: suffering a fire (which left the roof open for years), foreclosure (no doubt aided by the lack of roof), and a massive commercial addition (where the front bay window and twin porches were removed). Thankfully, it was deemed important enough to save and in 1979, 100 years after it’s heyday, restoration work began. In 1984, it was sold to two sisters who opened a restaurant, which is still in operation today.
I learned a ton reading this article.
A whole lot of information about the renovation here.
Other Sources: Williamsport Millionaires Row; West Fourth Street Story
