Bastress Township
Bastress Township was formed from part of Susquehanna Township on December 13, 1854 by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The township is named in honor of Solomon Bastress, of Jersey Shore, who was a former member of the legislature and an associate judge.
The first settlers were German Roman Catholic farmers. They migrated to the area beginning in 1837 under the leadership of Father Nicholas Steinbacher. Together they established the parish of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in 1840. The original log church was replaced in by a stone structure in 1853. The parish also established a Catholic school soon after the settlement of Bastress. Immaculate Conception parish and school stand today as a reminder of the German Catholic heritage of the residents of Bastress Township.
Bastress has changed very little since its founding. The community is largely rural and many of the residents are descendants of the first settlers. Since the 1890 census it has grown from a population of 236 to just 574.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Townships Of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
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