Tioga County (pop. 41,981) is east of Potter County. It is Pennsylvania’s fourth-largest county in square miles.
The county reached its peak population of 52,313 in 1890, but has been growing since 1930. It was named for the Tioga River, whose waters eventually flow into the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.
The county seat of Tioga County is the borough of Wellsboro (pop. 3,264).
The Arcadia Theatre in Wellsboro dates from 1921. It was remodeled, with four screens, in 1997.
The Tioga Central Railroad runs a 24-mile railroad for visitors (summer and fall only), going north from Wellsboro, on a portion of the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad.
West of Wellsboro is “The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania,” also known as Pine Creek Gorge. The deepest point on the 47-mile gorge is 1,450 feet from the rim.
A private, 100-foot overlook tower is located on the east side of the canyon. Visitors pay $3 (credit card only) for admittance.
The borough of Mansfield (pop. 3,625) is the home of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, a public liberal-arts university with about 2,700 students.
Mansfield was the birthplace of night football, hosting the first game with electric lights in 1892 (Mansfield Normal School vs. Wyoming Seminary).
Tom McMillen (born 1952) played high school basketball in Mansfield before starring at the University of Maryland and in the NBA. He was later a Congressman from Maryland. In college, he majored in chemistry and was a Rhodes Scholar.
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