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McKean County is presently a 1000 square mile tract of land located in the north central part of Pennsylvania. It is bordered to its west, south and east by the Pennsylvania counties of Warren, Elk, Cameron and Potter, to its north by the New York State counties of Cattaraugus and Allegany. It is situated in the Appalachian Plateau province beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
On April 2, 1681, King Charles II of England deeded William Penn a vast amount of land in the New World. Penn sent three ship-loads of settlers from Europe to settle the New World by promising freedom from oppression, freedom of worship and the right to own property. After his death in 1718 the unsettled and unsold Indian lands were taken over by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Large tracts of Pennsylvania land were purchased by - most notably - the Holland Land Company of Amsterdam, Holland and William Bingham of Philadelphia. Two million and one million acres respectively. Under the treaties of 1784 the lands of McKean and adjoining counties were ceded to Pennsylvania by the Six Nations Indians, within a year thousands of acres were sold by lottery. In 1796 John Keating made his first purchases here (buying 300,000 acres from the original buyers), and a year later a line was traced for a road. Surveying was done at an early date and before the close of the first decade of the nineteenth century the territory was explored, and a few villages established.
The original lands of Mckean County were part of Lycoming County (our parent county). In 1804 the land was divided and McKean County, named for Thomas McKean second Governor of Pennsylvania, was born. It was during his Governorship that McKean County was originally created by Act of Assembly. In 1843 a portion of the land was sold to become Elk County, in 1860 a portion became Cameron County.
When McKean County was established there was one known permanent settlement. It is unclear as to where the first settlement was established, but certain historians believe it to be Ceres. The Keating Land Company had purchased land from the William Bingham holdings and Francis King was sent to pioneer their acquisition. Governor McKean encouraged New England families to migrate to the area. In addition, settlers came from Germany, Sweden, France, England, Ireland, and Italy. The land was lush with heavy timber which aided in the development and economic livelihood of the 1800's and early 1900's,along with the discovery of coal, gas, and oil. The wilderness was beautiful with it's hills, valleys, waterways, and changing of the seasons, but it was also very harsh at times. Lack of transportation and communications made life difficult, but they persevered. The greatest growth came during the 20th century, along with a decline in economic prosperity.
McKean History Contributed by Connie S. Frederick
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