SUN-GAZETTE Archives Above, the Weightman Block, a West Fourth Street office, apartment and theater complex originally called the Herdic Block. William Weightman, husband of Anne Weightman, bought the block after Peter Herdic's bankruptcy.

First novel by an Black American woman, and the First Schoolteacher for Black children in

Lycoming County

Julia C. Collins (c. 1842 – November 25, 1865) was a Black school teacher in Williamsport who contributed essays and other writings to “The Christian Recorder,” a publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In January 1865, Collins’ novel, “The Curse of Caste,” or the “Slave Bride,” written while she was a schoolteacher was published in “The Christian Recorder” and is considered to be the first novel by a Black American woman.

Collins has another first in the record books. She was the first teacher in Lycoming County to teach Black children. In the April 16, 1864, issue of “The Christian Recorder,” Collins’ appointment as a teacher was announced. At that time, there was no school building for the children.

Collins was honored with a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker in 2010. The dedication ceremony took place on the Susquehanna River Walk and Timber Trail, not far from the location where Collins is thought to have lived and taught.

Her marker is also the first in Lycoming County to honor a woman, the first to honor an African American, and the first to honor an artist.

First European in

Lycoming County

At one time, Lycoming County was considered the New World. Frenchman Etienne Brule (c. 1592 – c. June 1633) is credited as the first European to enter the region when it was occupied by Iroquois and Huron tribes. Brule was the first European explorer to journey beyond the St. Lawrence River into what is now Canada.

In 1615, Brule left Canada to help secure territory for New France and descended the West Branch Susquehanna River. He was taken captive by a local Indian tribe near present-day Muncy, before escaping and returning to Canada.

1800’s Wealthiest Women

in the World

On Williamsport’s Millionaires’ Row on West Fourth Street lived the wealthiest woman in the world in the late 1800s. She was Anne Weightman Walker Penfield, the “Woman Midas,” as she was called in her obituary.

Born Dec. 15, 1844, Weightman lived with her family at Ravenhill, in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.

In 1862, Weightman married Robert J. C. Walker and they later moved to Williamsport, where her father purchased thousands of acres after the financial collapse of Peter Herdic. Walker was a business partner of Weightman’s father and Herdic’s biggest creditor when Herdic declared bankruptcy in 1878. While she lived in Williamsport, Weightman helped manage the extensive real estate holdings.

When Walker died in 1903, Weightman inherited $10 million ($189,680,000 in 2022). When her father died a year later, she inherited Ravenhill, his entire estate of $60 million, his properties in Williamsport, and a partnership in his drug company. She later married the wealthy Frederic Courtland Penfield in 1908 and in time was worth $120 million. “The New York Times” called her “one of the wealthiest women in the world.”

The World’s First Little League Baseball Game

Sure, many of us are very aware this is the birthplace of Little League but how much do you know about that first ever game? In 1938, Carl E. Stotz hit upon the idea for an organized baseball league for the boys in his hometown of Williamsport. Stotz had no sons of his own, but often played ball with his young nephews and wanted a way to provide an organized program for them.

In 1939, Stotz founded the Little League program as a three-team league and on June 6, 1939, the first ever Little League baseball game was played in Williamsport between Lundy Lumber and Lycoming Dairy. Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy 23-8 in a lot across from the Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, which is now home to Original Little League.

First Academy Award

won by a local

Actor, director, producer, writer and special effects supervisor Tom Woodruff, Jr. is the first Academy Award winner to hail from Williamsport. Woodruff grew up in Loyalsock Township and attended Loyalsock Township High School, graduating in 1977. He then enrolled at Lycoming College, where he graduated in 1980 with majors in business administration and theater.

Influenced by classic films such as Planet of the Apes and Frankenstein, Woodruff headed to Hollywood and quickly broke into the film industry, securing early film credits for the 1984 film “The Terminator” and in 1986 for “Aliens.”

Some of Woodruff’s most notable works include” Death Becomes Her” (1992), “The Santa Clause” (1994), “Alien: Resurrection” (1997), “Starship Troopers” (1997), “Cast Away” (2000), “It”(2017) and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018).

Woodruff won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for his work on the 1992 dark fantasy film “Death Becomes Her.” That same year he was also nominated for the same award for “Alien 3.”