Although the settlement of that part of Lycoming County in the neighborhood of the present borough of Jersey Shore was not made until some time after that in the vicinity of Muncy, the two municipalities were incorporated at the same time, March 15, 1826.

The first settlement was made near the village of Antes Fort on the opposite side of the river from Jersey Shore. One of the earliest pioneers was John Henry Antes, who afterwards became famous in the early history of the county in both civil and military life. He rendered most valuable service in the Revolutionary War, having risen through merit alone to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also held several county offices and was for two terms sheriff of Northumberland County. He was born in Montgomery County and came to this section in 1772, settling at what is now Antes Fort, named in his honor. He immediately entered into the business activities of the infant settlement. He erected a grist mill soon after his arrival in the valley where grain of all kinds was ground for many years. The first grinding machinery installed was simply a large coffee mill through which the grists were run. This was very primitive milling, but those were primitive times. It was a great convenience to the people who had settled in the immediate neighborhood. The mill was destroyed by the Indians at the time of the "Big Runaway." Colonel Antes also erected near the mill an important fortification, known as Fort Antes.

Another of the early settlers of this vicinity, who afterwards became prominent, was Samuel Stewart, the first sheriff of Lycoming County. He owned a large tract of very fertile land, containing about 800 acres a short distance below Jersey Shore. Stewart was a man of immense proportions and was considered the strongest man in the county. He had the distinction of fighting the only duel ever known to have been fought in the West Branch Valley and the last one in Pennsylvania. This was with the celebrated John Binns, of Sunbury, and occurred near the site of the present town of Lewisburg. After one shot, and neither hit, a reconciliation was effected.

The land on which the present borough of Jersey Shore is located was surveyed on six separate warrants to several parties, among whom were Richard Manning and Richard Forster. They made location in 1785 and, because they both were from Essex County, New Jersey, and from that part of the state lying along the ocean shore, the name of Jersey Shore was given to it. It was at first named Waynesburg, but the present appellation, which was originally given to it in derision, stuck to it and finally became the only name by which the town was known. Richard Manning had two sons, Reuben and Thomas, and Samuel Manning, son of Thomas, was the first child born in the village. One of the Mannings laid out the place in town lots in 1800.

One of the most prominent citizens of the early days was Thomas Martin. He was a man of marked personality and of the strictest integrity, but he was peculiar about some things. He had a large farm for those days and believed that every farm product had its price and was worth no more, no less. He fixed the price of potatoes at 35 cents a bushel and nothing could make him deviate from this. If others were selling for 50 cents, his price remained at 35 and if prices elsewhere were 25 cents his still continued as he had fixed them. One of his sons was Lewis Martin, who afterwards served as prothonotary of the county and as deputy United States marshal. He was a famous boniface and for many years kept the American Hotel which stood on the site of the present Lycoming Hotel. He was a well known character in Williamsport for many years.

Another remarkable man of the early period was the Rev. John Hays Grier. He was born near Doylestown in 1788 and was ninety-two when he died. After being engaged in various enterprises, he studied theology and became a minister of the Presbyterian Church. He came to Lycoming County in 1814 and was proceeding up Pine Creek on his way west. His first stop was at the Pine Creek Church in Jersey Shore. He was induced to stay there for a few Sabbaths. He liked the people and they liked him. He was called to this and the Great Island Presbyterian Church at Lock Haven, serving each on alternate Sundays, and remained with the latter for 14 years and with the former for 87 years. He was sheriff of the county in 1822 and altogether was one of the most important men in the community for a great many years.

Abraham Lawshe established a tannery in Jersey Shore in 1803 and for a period of years was a most successful business man. His two sons, Robert and John, also became successful business men in the community and both of them served in the legislature of the state. In April, 1806, Jersey Shore was made a United States postoffice and was incorporated as a borough by the act of the legislature March 15, 1826. Since then it has been several times enlarged by various acts of the general assembly.

In addition to those already mentioned, Jersey Shore has had some very distinguished citizens, among them the Hon. Anson V. Parsons, at one time secretary of the commonwealth and state senator, and afterwards president judge of the counties of Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill and of the court of common pleas of Philadelphia. He was the author of a number of law treatises, notably the well known work, "Parsons’ Equity Cases." His son, the late Henry C. Parsons, a well known lawyer of Williamsport, who was a member of the convention which adopted the present constitution of the state, afterwards mayor of Williamsport and president of the West Branch National Bank, was also a native of Jersey Shore. It was also the residence for many years of the late James Gamble, at one time a member of congress, member of the legislature and president judge of Lycoming County. The late L. L. Stearns, of Williamsport, began his business career in Jersey Shore.

When the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad was built through this section it passed the somnolent little town on the other side of the river, two miles away. But what did the people care? They had a canal and a stage coach and what more did they want? Merchants enjoyed a good trade and they had no use for fast freights or passenger trains.

But the railroad did come eventually in spite of them. It came from an unexpected direction and revolutionized the town. The Beech Creek and Fall Brook roads, now a part of the New York Central system, were built and the junction made at Jersey Shore. And then like magic the whole character of the village changed almost overnight. The population increased by leaps and bounds. The town grew and prospered as all railroad towns do. And then came the building of the mammoth car shops at Avis just across Pine Creek.

Jersey Shore became the center of an industry that employed, and still does, upwards of 1,000 skilled mechanics at wages which run into hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

These shops, which are properly a part of Jersey Shore, are among the largest in the country and are constantly being added to. The company has recently added the building of steel cars to its other activities. There has also been added to the equipment of the shops a large power and boiler plant by which waste is entirely eliminated. It cost $500,000.

The car shops are the dominant industry of Jersey Shore and contribute largely to the prosperity of the town and that of the neighboring borough of Avis, but there are some others worthy of mention, notably the C. C. Young Manufacturing Company, successors to the American Balance Valve and Machine Works, which manufactures railroad valves. Another live industry is the Susquehanna Silk Mill, one of the largest and best equipped in the country, employing about 400 people. Then there is the Jersey Shore Creamery Company, and a number of smaller concerns, all of which are prospering.

The community spirit in Jersey Shore runs high and no better evidence of this is needed than the statement of the fact that the Y. M. C. A. has a membership of 1,000, about one-sixth of the whole population. It is doubtful whether any better showing than this can be made by any organization of a like character in the United States. Jersey Shore has a model high school building erected at a cost of $235,000. There are also the modern bank buildings of the Jersey Shore Trust Company, the Union National and the First National banks. The Jersey Shore Herald, the town’s one newspaper, also occupies a fine modern building, as does the Order of Odd Fellows. The fraternal organizations and the service organizations all have a large membership and are in a flourishing condition.

The social atmosphere of Jersey Shore has been in no way lost by the wave of commercialism that has gripped the town, but still exists as it always has in the past. The town is a delightful place in which to live.

The future of Jersey Shore is assured and should the New York Central Railroad ever decide to build its line up the river to make a shorter western route from New York to Chicago, Jersey Shore will probably become one of the most important points on the New York Central system. Its population in 1920 was 6,100.