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Warren County, PA
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Created on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and
Lycoming Counties and named for General Joseph Warren.
It was attached to Crawford County until 1805 and then
to Venango County until 1819 when it was formally
organized. Warren, the county seat was laid out in 1795
and incorporated as a borough on April 3, 1832.
 French
explorers visited the area in 1739 and 1749.
Pennsylvania acquired the land from Indian nations in
1784, in the “Last Purchase.” “Mad Anthony” Wayne’s
campaign in the Old Northwest, in 1794, finally made it
safe for settlers to stay in northwestern Pennsylvania.
David Mead contested the ownership with the Holland Land
Company until 1796. The acrimony raised by “actual
settlers” suits against the powerful absentee land
companies’ titles slowed the growth of the area. The
Cornplanter reservation land was acknowledged to belong
to the Seneca Indians from 1791 until the Kinzua Dam was
completed, in 1964. At first, lumber was abundant and
was floated down many streams to where it could be sold.
The rafting lumber business lasted from 1800 to 1900.
Today, second and third growth trees are harvested and
logging companies continue, managed under regulations.
Agriculture and population developed slowly, but oil and
gas have been profitable since the 1870s. The county was
especially favored by railroad access. Warren welcomed
the Erie Railroad in 1859, followed by branches of the
Pennsylvania and the New York Central. Metal, concrete,
and tobacco products prospered here in the past. Oil
refining and lubricant manufacturing are still important
activities, as is furniture making. In the five years
from 1987 to 1992, the county’s figure for value added
(to the national economy) from manufacturing rose 86
percent Although 15 percent of land is in farms, meat
and dairying are the areas in which agricultural
receipts are competitive with other rural counties. |
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