Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

Wellsboro was settled in 1806[4] and incorporated in 1830 and was named in honor of Mary Wells, wife of one of the original settlers, Benjamin Wistar Morris.[5] The town was the home of George W. Sears (1821 – 1890), a sportswriter for Field & Stream magazine in the 1880s and an early environmentalist. His stories, appearing under the pen name "Nessmuk", popularised self-guided canoe camping tours of the Adirondack lakes in open lightweight solo canoes and what is today called ultralight camping. The town was also the home of Polish-American mathematician Mateusz Stepczak. Wellsboro was also the site of one of the first factories where light bulbs were mass-produced, using machines whose design remains essentially unchanged from the early 20th century when the Corning company established the plant in the town.

The Robinson House, Jesse Robinson House, Wellsboro Armory, and Wellsboro Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]

Wellsboro is located at 41°44′48″N 77°18′7″W (41.746794, -77.301881).[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.9 square miles (13 km²), of which, 4.9 square miles (13 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.61%) is water.

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 3,328 people, 1,469 households, and 866 families residing in the borough. The population density was 681.0 people per square mile (262.8/km²). There were 1,602 housing units at an average density of 327.8 per square mile (126.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.14% White, 0.39% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

Tioga County Courthouse in Wellsboro.

There were 1,469 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $30,169, and the median income for a family was $39,898. Males had a median income of $37,083 versus $20,492 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,096. About 9.5% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

2013 view of business district in Wellsboro.

WNDA 1490AM (1000 watts) and WNBT-FM (50,000 watts) are owned by Southern Belle LLC. The Wellsboro Gazette is a weekly print publication owned by Tioga Publishing Company which covers news in Wellsboro and surrounding towns. Mountain Home, published by Beagle Media, is a monthly regional magazine headquartered and published out of Wellsboro.

Wellsboro receives television programming from the Elmira-Corning media market.

Map of Tioga County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Residents of Wellsboro may attend the local, public schools operated by Wellsboro Area School District which provides full day kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2013, the District's enrollment declined to 1,526 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2013, Wellsboro Area School District ranked 311th out of 498 public schools for academic achievement of its pupils, by the Pittsburgh Business Times.[11]

Wellsboro residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 14 public cyber charter schools (in 2013) at no additional cost to the parents. The resident's public school district is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools.[12][13] By Commonwealth law, since the District provides transportation for its own students, then Wellsboro Area School District must provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders. Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In 2012, the tuition fees for Wellsboro Area School District were: Elementary School - $8,343.38, High School - $9,951.51.[14]

BLaST Intermediate Unit #17 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes the borough of Wellsboro. Early screening for disabilities, special educations services, speech and hearing therapy and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements.

Community members have access to the Green Free Library located in Wellsboro; the Westfield Public Library which is located on Maple Street, in Westfield; the Elkland Area Community Library located on East Parkway Avenue, in Elkland and to the statewide PA Power Library[15] which is an online library funded with tax dollars from the state's education budget.

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a state university located in Mansfield, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Residents may take courses at a discounted tuition rate for state residents.

• Media related to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania at Wikimedia Commons
• Wellsboro travel guide from Wikivoyage

The interior of the Wellsboro Diner

• Official website
• Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce