Tiadaghton Elm
Pine Creek Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Here July 4, 1776, pioneer settlers of the West Branch resolved independence from Britain. This historic tree still stands about two miles from here at the junction of the Susquehanna and Pine Creek.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
This marker honors the Tiadaghton Elm, where tradition holds that pioneer settlers of the Susquehanna's West Branch resolved their independence from Britain on July 4, 1776. Living on the far frontier beyond the colony's official authority, these settlers governed themselves and acted on their own convictions. The famous tree associated with the event long stood near the junction of the Susquehanna and Pine Creek.
Why it matters
The legend of the Fair Play settlers' declaration embodies how the drive for liberty took root even in America's most remote frontier communities.
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Related events
- · Fair Play Declaration of Independence
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Tiadaghton Elm
Pine Creek Township, PA · est. 1947
According to local tradition, settlers of the West Branch frontier gathered beneath the Tiadaghton Elm on July 4, 1776, and drew up their own resolves declaring independence — reportedly before word of the Continental Congress's action had reached them. These pioneers, governed by the self-organized "Fair Play men," lived beyond the formal reach of the colony and made their own rules. Their bold declaration became a cherished symbol of frontier self-government.
Fort Antes
Jersey Shore, PA · est. 1947
Colonel Henry Antes built this stockade in 1776 at the mouth of Antes Creek on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, near the region's first gristmill. When the frontier collapsed in the panic of 1778 known as the Great Runaway, settlers fled downriver and the abandoned fort was burned by Native raiders—leaving the valley emptied of the families who had briefly tried to hold it.
Clinton County
Lock Haven, PA · est. 1982
Clinton County was carved from Lycoming and Centre in 1839 and most likely named for New York's Governor DeWitt Clinton, the champion of the Erie Canal. Its ground carries an older memory: the 1776 'Tiadaghton Declaration of Independence,' when frontier 'Fair Play' settlers reportedly declared their own independence in the same season as the Continental Congress. By the 19th century the county was a busy lumbering center, and Lock Haven, its seat, became a city in 1870.
Fort Reed
Lock Haven, PA · est. 1947
On the exposed western edge of colonial settlement, William Reed's stockaded house stood as the farthest line of defense for families along the Susquehanna's West Branch. In an era of frontier raids, such fortified homesteads gave scattered pioneers a place to shelter when danger threatened. A monument near the bridge now marks where this pioneer outpost once guarded the valley.