Tidioute

Tidioute is roughly seven miles up the River from where East Hickory Creek runs into the Allegheny at East Hickory. Thomas Arters, who arrived in the area by canoe on the Allegheny River, is credited with founding the community.

The town’s name is derived from Native American origins and has been translated to mean “there is a trap set (habitually),” “straight water,” “seeing far,” and “cluster of islands.” In the 1850s, Tidioute consisted of two villages, Upper Tidioute and Lower Tidioute. Both villages were located on the northern bank of the Allegheny River, approximately a mile apart. At this location on the Allegheny, the River runs from east to west before making a turn to the south.

Tidioute developed into a lumber town with eight steam-powered sawmills. Sawmills were in operation in the immediate vicinity, and the milled timber was brought to the riverbank for rafting downriver. A mill dam was built from the north bank of the river to the middle of the three Courson Islands.

The early town contained many stores, taverns, mechanic shops, and boarding houses. Samuel Hunter’s family became prominent community members in the early 1800s. When the water in the creeks feeding the River was high and running, several hundred men were employed in the lumbering business.

From an overlook accessible to the public, located across the river, the Courson Islands in the River below, and the layout of the nineteenth-century lumber town can be seen. It is a spectacular view and well worth the effort to see.

The Samuel Hunter family was a prominent pioneer family in the area in the early nineteenth century. The family founded the Hunter Lumber Company, which proved to be particularly successful. Jahu Hunter constructed a magnificent mansion, a splendid Second Empire residence along Main Street that still stands today.

By the 1850s, the town had a population of around 400, with 15 sawmills in operation. The oil industry experienced a surge in the 1860s, and with it came an unprecedented era of prosperity for Tidioute. The small town swelled to an oil boom center of several thousand. However, like most oil boom towns in Pennsylvania, the petroleum stock quickly petered out, and Tidioute’s population promptly returned to the hundreds rather than thousands.

Tidioute is home to the Pennsylvania State Championship Fishing Tournament, held on the last weekend of September each year. In this “catch-and-release” tournament, fish must be taken from the Allegheny Reservoir, Tionesta Lake, the Allegheny River between Kinzua Dam and Hunter Station, or the Brokenstraw or Conewango Creeks. The two-day tournament includes a carnival, parade, dancing, junior fishing derby, craft shows, prizes, and fireworks.