Peter Herdic

Peter Herdic (1824–1888) was a lumber baron, entrepreneur, inventor, politician, and philanthropist in Victorian era Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. He was the youngest of seven children born to Henry and Elizabeth Herdic on December 14, 1824 in Fort Plain, New York. Herdic's father died in 1826 and Elizabeth Herdic remarried shortly thereafter. She was widowed again prior to 1837 when she moved her family to Pipe Creek, New York near Ithaca. Herdic attended school for just a few years while he worked on his mother's 50-acre (200,000 m2) farm. Herdic left his mother's farm in 1846 and arrived in Lycoming County later that same year, where he settled in Cogan House Township.

Herdic would go on to become one of the wealthiest men in Pennsylvania and was a major figure in the development of the lumber industry throughout North Central Pennsylvania. Herdic donated large amounts of land and money to various churches in Williamsport. Peter Herdic was the inventor of the Herdic cab (a precursor to the taxi), which was a two wheeled horse drawn carriage with side seats and a rear entrance. Peter Herdic died on February 2, 1888 as the result of a concussion sustained when he slipped and fell on ice while inspecting his waterworks in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.