Potter County

Coudersport, the county seat, is a borough in Potter County. Named to the National Register of Historic Places, Coudersport’s downtown is a superb example of a 19th Century small town. The Victorian brick stores and restaurants, as well as the old fashioned Coudersport Theatre, attractive Courthouse Square and many Victorian homes, make Coudersport a delightful place to explore. A top the courthouse is a replica of one of only six courthouse Statues of Justice in the United States to not have a blindfold. The original can be viewed inside the courthouse. Coudersport is home to the Maple Festival, held the first weekend in May, as well as a farmers market on the Courthouse Square during the summer months. You can also try your luck at the Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm.

Austin can be summed up in one phrase, “The Best Town by a Dam Site”. The site of Potter County’s worst disaster, the Austin Dam ruins, is located one mile north of town. In 1911, a 50 foot tall, 535 feet wide concrete dam failed, sending a torrent of water and debris down stream destroying most of the unsuspecting town and claiming over 80 lives. Today, a memorial park was created around the ruins of the dam. Hiking, camping, and fishing are popular activities at the 76-acre park.  The E.O. Austin Museum, located in downtown Austin, was built to honor the town’s founder, and honor and preserve the history of the area.

Galeton was founded in the late 19th century, a product of the lumber boom, its population peaked in 1904 with a population of 4,200. When the lumber industry diminished so did the population. Today, Galeton offers a wide variety of specialty shops for the sportsman, antique hunter, and crafter, as well as stores to fit your everyday needs. The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum preserves and interprets the colorful heritage of Pennsylvania’s prosperous lumber era when the white pine and hemlock were the wealth of the nation and the annual Bark Peelers Convention pays homage to the lumber era. The lake at Centertown Park creates the perfect site for fireworks at Galeton's famous annual Fourth of July celebration, with the surrounding mountains acting as a natural amphitheater. Denton Hill State Park is located in one of the heaviest snow areas in Pennsylvania which makes the perfect atmosphere for the ski season and snowmobiling.