The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the United States states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch of the river, which flows from Upstate New York through Pennsylvania and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay, as well as areas that lie along the shorter West Branch in Pennsylvania.[Nash, Gary B. " The Quest for the Susquehanna Valley: New York, Pennsylvania, and the Seventeenth Century Fur Trade," in New York History, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 3–27. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, January 1967. ]
History and architectural features
As of 2014, seventeen of the oldest covered bridges in the United States were located in the Susquehanna Valley.
[" 25 things to know about Susquehanna Valley history" (photo slideshow). Lancaster, Pennsylvania: WGAL-TV, April 14, 2014.]
Geography
Historians and environmentalists at the Chesapeake Conservancy have described the Susquehanna River as the "lifeblood" of the Chesapeake Bay and also as "extension of the Susquehanna Valley that the Atlantic Ocean has steadily flooded over the last 15,000 years."
[" Envision the Susquehanna," in "Regional Initiatives." Annapolis, Maryland: Cheasapeake Conservancy, retrieved online February 2023.]
Within Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna Valley is linked inextricably with the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which extends from Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland through Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. Pennsylvania's connections to the watershed are "primarily in the counties along the Susquehanna River, the West Branch of the Susquehanna, and their tributaries," according to Shelby Splain. "Located in the middle of the commonwealth, about half of the land in Pennsylvania drains into it."[Splain, Shelby Weaver. " Telling a Fuller Story about African American History in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed," in Pennsylvania Historic Preservation. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, October 14, 2020.]
Communities in the valley
Main Branch
Cities
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Oneonta, New York
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Binghamton, New York
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Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
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Scranton, Pennsylvania
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Sunbury, Pennsylvania
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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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York, Pennsylvania
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Havre de Grace, Maryland
Counties
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Otsego County, New York
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Delaware County, New York
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Chenango County, New York
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Broome County, New York
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Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
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Tioga County, New York
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Bradford County, Pennsylvania
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Wyoming County, Pennsylvania
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Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
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Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
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Columbia County, Pennsylvania
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Montour County, Pennsylvania
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Potter County, Pennsylvania
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Tioga County, Pennsylvania
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Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
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Snyder County, Pennsylvania
[Ellis, Franklin. History of that part of the Susquehanna and Juniata valleys, embraced in the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886.]
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Juniata County, Pennsylvania
[Ellis, History of that part of the Susquehanna and Juniata valleys, embraced in the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.]
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Perry County, Pennsylvania
[Ellis, History of that part of the Susquehanna and Juniata valleys, embraced in the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.]
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Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
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Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
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York County, Pennsylvania
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Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
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Cecil County, Maryland
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Harford County, Maryland
West Branch
Cities
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Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
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Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Counties
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Cambria County, Pennsylvania
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Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
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Centre County, Pennsylvania
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Clinton County, Pennsylvania
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Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
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Union County, Pennsylvania
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Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
See also
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Life On The Upper Susquehanna 1783–1860
External links
