Nippenose Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 662 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Nippenose Township was formed as part of Northumberland County in 1786 by a session of the Northumberland County court that was held in Sunbury. It became part of Lycoming County when that county was formed from Northumberland County in 1795. Nippenose Township was originally much larger than it is today, spreading over parts of what are now Clinton, Centre and Lycoming counties. The population of Nippenose Township was 588 in 1890, compared to the slightly higher population of 709 as of the 2010 census.
Etymology
The story behind the name of Nippenose Township is unclear. There are three competing stories. One states that it is named for the Indian phrase "Nippeno-wi", meaning a warm and genial summerlike place. The second story behind the name claims that there was an old Indian named Nippenose who lingered in the valley after it was settled by whites. Apparently this man's nose had been "nipped" by exposure to the frost, hence the name "Nippenose". A third explanation of the name is that there is only one way into and out of the valley without going over a mountain. This gap is bordered on the west by a mountain with nip in the end of it, like a nipped nose.
John Henry Antes
The first colonial settlers arrived in the Nippenose area in 1769. Henry Clark was the first to arrive with a "warrant" to the land from the colonial Pennsylvania government. One of the most prominent early settlers was Colonel John Henry Antes. He is thought to have arrived as early as 1772. His last name is featured prominently in place names in Nippenose Township. Antes Creek, the main creek in the valley, and Antes Fort, a small village, bear his name. Antes built a stockade around his home, and his neighbors came to call it "Antes Fort". Colonel Antes also built a grist mill at the mouth of Antes Creek on the West Branch Susquehanna River in 1777. This mill was burned during the Revolutionary War.
During the American Revolutionary War, settlements throughout the Susquehanna valley were attacked by Loyalists and Native Americans allied with the British. After the Wyoming Valley battle and massacre in the summer of 1778 (near what is now Wilkes-Barre) and smaller local attacks, the "Big Runaway" occurred throughout the West Branch Susquehanna valley. Settlers fled feared and actual attacks by the British and their allies. Homes and fields were abandoned, with livestock driven along and a few possessions floated on rafts on the river east to Muncy, then further south to Sunbury. The abandoned property was burnt by the attackers. Some settlers soon returned, only to flee again in the summer of 1779 in the "Little Runaway". Sullivan's Expedition helped stabilize the area and encouraged resettlement, which continued after the war.
When things finally calmed down in 1792, Colonel Antes returned to Nippenose Township and rebuilt his mill. This second mill was a vital link in the economy of Nippenose Township until 1873 when a new mill was built in its place. Antes furthered his enterprises by building a carding and fulling mill on the banks of Antes Creek in 1810. Antes died in 1820. Ownership of the mills was passed onto his son-in-law Elias P. Youngman. Youngman and his sons expanded the business yet again in 1835 by adding machinery that was able to clean clover seed. Clover seed was very expensive at the time: a bushel of the seed sold for as much as $24.00. Clover was very important to farmers for providing ground cover and as a food supply for their grazing dairy cows.
Antes Fort
The village of Antes Fort rose up around the train station that was built in Nippenose Township to serve the borough of Jersey Shore, to the north across the West Branch Susquehanna River from Nippenose Township. Antes Fort went through several name changes. The surveyor who drew up the town plans called it "Granville". This name was seldom uses as the locals preferred to call it "Jersey Shore Station". The name "Antes Fort" was not bestowed on the village until 1861 when the United States Post Office established a branch there and named it in honor of Colonel Antes' stockade.