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  #1  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 1:02 PM
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Coudersport, PA

Coudersport (pop. 2,546), located in far north-central Pennsylvania, is the seat of Potter County (pop. 17,457). The town is located along the Allegheny River, only a few miles from its source, deep in the heavily wooded Allegheny Plateau. US Route 6 passes through Coudy, a route that ties together PA's Northern Tier and serves as a popular tourist route. The town was the HQ of national cable giant Adelphia until it was destroyed by internal corruption.

Coudersport was incorporated in 1848, and boomed a few decades later as a center for logging. The trees ran out around 1910, and the town stagnated. In the 1950s, Eliot Ness spent his final years there.

Coudy gained fame in the late 20th century as the unlikely HQ of the nation's 5th-largest cable provider: Adelphia. The region saw significant population growth and development throughout the 90s and early 00s, until bank fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud toppled its economic crown jewel. Adelphia's cable assets were acquired by Time Warner and Comcast.

Coudersport is a lovely, pristine town that reminds me of Northern New England moreso than most of Pennsylvania. Its residential area is quite low-density, large wooden houses on large lots. Its downtown balances architectural conformity with individuality, and is remarkably well-preserved.







Coudersport welcomes you!


Potter County Courthouse was completed in 1853.


Potter County Jail




















































Adelphia completed this $30 million, 72,000 sq ft downtown HQ in 2002... just months before the accounting scandal unfolded. Designed for 275 employees, it now sits empty. This building has attracted little interest.








the mighty Allegheny






for some reason... tiny Coudersport has a massive Freemasons complex... here's the Scottish Rite Consistory


















I have no idea...






...


Austin (pop. 562) is located 15 miles south of Coudersport in southwestern Potter County, surrounded by Susquehannock State Forest. Austin grew up as a logging town. In 1911, the Austin Dam failed... killing 78 people and spawning a documentary narrated by Willie Nelson.

Austin is not much to photograph, but it interested me because it is home to the smallest school district in Pennsylvania (by enrollment/population). There are about 180 students K-12... and rapidly shrinking.













Austin Area School... so tiny











Last edited by Evergrey; Jun 22, 2011 at 1:15 PM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 1:28 PM
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Nice job. You covered Coudersport better than I did a few years ago. But the reason I did not cover it quite as much as I wished I had now is because of that road sign you have in your picture. After taking longer than I expected to get to Olean NY, and then to Coudersport, I saw that it was 73 miles to Jersey Shore and that was all mountain roads (some not even paved, I found out as I went; I almost went over a cliff when the road switched from asphalt to crushed stone halfway through a curve). Driving from Olean to Jersey Shore seems like the most time-consuming drive there is.

Considering you also showed Renovo, which place felt more isolated? Coudersport was the most isolated town I've ever been to in Pennsylvania.

I'll ask you what you asked me when I posted my Coudersport thread: Did you get to Shinglehouse?
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 1:32 PM
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Glad to see such a pretty town!

Thank you very much for your pictures, Evergrey!

I like this kind of towns, surrounded by woods and quiet. As you´ve said, Coudersport is lovely. I like those large wooden houses, which remind me to New England, of course.

Congratulations for your nice pictures and greetings from Madrid, Spain!
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 2:03 PM
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It's not a good sign when the first thing you see in a small town is a sign basically asking you to not kill yourself.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 2:16 PM
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Beautiful town & scenery.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 2:35 PM
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I really like these little towns nestled around mountains and valleys. looks very peaceful and beautiful. Since I'm not in a position to visit these type of places, I always appreciate the people who take the time to share their photos with us. Thanks! And yeah, that banner would not be a good selling point for the town.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 4:11 PM
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Originally Posted by xzmattzx View Post
Nice job. You covered Coudersport better than I did a few years ago. But the reason I did not cover it quite as much as I wished I had now is because of that road sign you have in your picture. After taking longer than I expected to get to Olean NY, and then to Coudersport, I saw that it was 73 miles to Jersey Shore and that was all mountain roads (some not even paved, I found out as I went; I almost went over a cliff when the road switched from asphalt to crushed stone halfway through a curve). Driving from Olean to Jersey Shore seems like the most time-consuming drive there is.

Considering you also showed Renovo, which place felt more isolated? Coudersport was the most isolated town I've ever been to in Pennsylvania.

I'll ask you what you asked me when I posted my Coudersport thread: Did you get to Shinglehouse?
A. I did not make it to Shinglehouse. I have never visited Shinglehouse, though it is home to Oswayo Valley High School... which my high school competed against in a few sports (though not my sport, football, as they don't field a program). The name is awesome... and I'd like to see it... but Shinglehouse will be an unlikely visit as it's really out of the way and probably doesn't offer much.

B. I would love to drive PA-44 someday! Jersey Shore and Coudersport actually share some history... despite being 73 miles apart. When settled, the Coudersport area had little connectivity to the outside world. It was densely forested and had little agricultural value beyond potatoes, so supplies had to be brought in along a wagon trail from Jersey Shore... which is pretty much PA-44. There is even an "Old Coudersport Pike" near Jersey Shore.

C. Renovo is definitely more remote/isolated than Coudersport... in terms of location, setting, feel, economy, etc. I stick by my statement that Renovo is the most remote town over 1,000 in Pennsylvania... though Galeton might give it a run for its money (location on US-6 and the fact that is is closer to both Coudersport and Wellsboro than Renovo is to the admittedly larger Lock Haven make it feel less remote. Reasons Coudy is less remote than Renovo:

1. It is located closer to other towns over 1,000. A Coudersport resident can reach Port Allegany (17 miles west), Shinglehouse (20 miles north), Galeton (22 miles east), Smethport (27 miles west) and Emporium (27 miles south) before a Renovo resident can reach Lock Haven (28 miles southeast). Coudersport is one of a constellation of small Northern Tier towns, while Renovo is really an outpost on its own. There is nothing within 45 miles of Renovo to the north, west and south. And while Lock Haven is much larger than any of those towns listed, Coudersport can access a similarly-sized small regional city (Olean, NY) in only a few more minutes. At the next level, Renovo does have quicker access to even larger small cities like Williamsport (65 min), which I suppose counts for something.

2. Coudersport is located on US-6, a relatively significant highway used as both a through route tying together PA's Northern Tier and a major tourist corridor. Renovo is not located on a through route. Few people would have any reason to drive through Renovo beyond curiosity and pleasure rides. Renovo is close to Hyner View, however, a rather famous State Park. My hometown of St. Marys has a sign on PA-120 East that says "Emporium 19; Renovo 64"... yet I never made it to Renovo until a couple years ago. Outside of interstate highway control cities, it is very uncommon to see mileage signs of towns so far away in Pennsylvania.

3. Coudersport is twice the size of Renovo, which makes a big difference at this scale. It has more amenities and businesses. Coudersport is vibrant and active while Renovo is a bit of a twilight zone. Coudersport was HQ of a major national corporation until a few years ago, and today is the location of a major unit of Level 3 Communications.

4. Coudersport is located in a densely forested, rugged environment. However, it is also near some lightly populated potato-growing regions, such as Roulette to the west and the Oswayo Valley to the north. So Coudersport has more of a "hinterlands population" than Renovo, which is located in an even more dramatic setting along the West Branch Susquehanna. There are a few villages strung out along narrow river flatlands, but beyond that... there is nothing close to Renovo.

5. Coudersport is a county seat, and acts as the economic, social and administrative hub for Potter County. Renovo is quite detached from the population center of Clinton County (Lock Haven and its satellite villages).

That was a absurdly detailed analysis of perceptions of remoteness, but I enjoyed being such a dork.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 4:40 PM
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^Those are interesting facts that do a good job explaining the situation. All those factors can make a difference. And combined, they can make a huge difference.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 6:08 PM
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Even the small towns of the northeast have more history than the big cities of the south.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 7:28 PM
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Very quaint.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 8:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Phil McAvity View Post
It's not a good sign when the first thing you see in a small town is a sign basically asking you to not kill yourself.


great set, evergrey. i like coudersport -- it's remote, but i don't think it feels isolated. it's small, but it's a central node for God's Country. and it was real nice of them to make a path for the allegheny like they did.
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Old Posted Jun 22, 2011, 11:35 PM
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Beautiful little town. So many great, historical buildings. It's a shame about the multimillion dollar renovation sitting empty. Looks like a nice building. Great photos, thanks!
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Old Posted Jun 23, 2011, 3:22 AM
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Another great tour. I am digging the mysterious isolation of north-central PA.

I bet the local kids have awesome stories about this place:


Fun fact - the state with the lowest suicide rate also has the lowest rate of divorce: New Jersey.
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Old Posted Jun 23, 2011, 3:48 AM
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I bet the local kids have awesome stories about this place:
Looks like the Addams Family house.
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Old Posted Jun 23, 2011, 3:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Evergrey View Post

C. Renovo is definitely more remote/isolated than Coudersport... in terms of location, setting, feel, economy, etc. I stick by my statement that Renovo is the most remote town over 1,000 in Pennsylvania... though Galeton might give it a run for its money (location on US-6 and the fact that is is closer to both Coudersport and Wellsboro than Renovo is to the admittedly larger Lock Haven make it feel less remote. Reasons Coudy is less remote than Renovo:

4. Coudersport is located in a densely forested, rugged environment... Renovo, which is located in an even more dramatic setting along the West Branch Susquehanna. There are a few villages strung out along narrow river flatlands, but beyond that... there is nothing close to Renovo.

That was a absurdly detailed analysis of perceptions of remoteness, but I enjoyed being such a dork.
Awesome tour! I've only been to Coudersport once, but I remember that I was surprised by how nice it seemed (in comparison to many of the old towns in the valleys of north central PA). Glad to see it still looks good. I fully agree about Renovo's isolation. The West Branch's course north of I-80 and west of Lock Haven is just very rugged country.
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Old Posted Jun 23, 2011, 4:55 AM
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Jersey Shore???
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  #17  
Old Posted Jun 24, 2011, 7:35 PM
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Jersey Shore???
Jersey Shore is a small town between Lock Haven and Williamsport along the West Branch Susquehanna. It received its name because it was settled by people from New Jersey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_PA
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  #18  
Old Posted Jun 25, 2011, 2:11 AM
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^ I did tours of Lock Haven & Williamsport a few years back and missed Jersey Shore. That's a double dork move on my part.

Love the scary old house, and the town looks great. PA is a wonderful state for big cities, small cities, and small town pics. Thanks Eg.
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Old Posted Jun 26, 2011, 12:31 PM
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Thank you.

Can't get enough of these small Pennsylvania towns.
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  #20  
Old Posted Jul 12, 2011, 7:37 AM
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No one knows how important this town is to modern Internet services. Nice tour.
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