Peter Herdic - Leadership

Leadership

Peter Herdic used his wealth to gain political power in Williamsport and Lycoming County, and led the drive to have Williamsport chartered as a city in 1866. He spent $20,000 to get elected mayor of Williamsport in 1869. Local saloon keepers reported that Herdic would leave $10 and $20 bills among the bottles of their taverns for anybody that would vote for him in the election. Prior to Herdic's arrival, the Newberry section of Williamsport was known as Jaysburg and had vied with Williamsport to be the county seat of Lycoming County. Herdic saw to it that the rival community on the west bank of Lycoming Creek would no longer compete with Williamsport by leading the cause to annex the community to Williamsport. Herdic had such influence that he was able to have the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad move their passenger station from the Pine Street area to his Herdic Hotel on West Fourth Street. Herdic was able to profit from this since the trains would now deposit their passengers at the door of his opulent hotel.

The Williamsport Passenger Railway Company was founded by Peter Herdic. This precursor to the trolley system, later followed by the bus system, was a form of public transit. It was one of Herdic's few business ventures that was not profitable. He divested himself of the Williamsport Passenger Railway Company in 1879, a time in Herdic's life when he lost most of his wealth (only to reacquire most of it soon after). Peter Herdic used his position as an owner of the Susquehanna Boom to maintain high levies on the lumbermen who floated their logs down the West Branch Susquehanna River. These lumbermen teamed together to seek relief from the high levies from the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Peter Herdic used his wealth and political connections to buy the votes of many of the members of the assembly. He had to borrow heavily against his holding to provide the legislators with the money needed for their votes. This heavy borrowing combined with the Financial Panic of 1873 lead to Peter Herdic's eventual bankruptcy in 1878.

Peter Herdic was knocked down, but he was not knocked out. He would regain his wealth soon after by leading the building of various waterworks in several U.S. cities including Selinsgrove and Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Orlando, Florida and Cairo, Illinois. He also continued to be a leading citizen of Williamsport.