Tidioute

Tidioute Borough (est. population 764) celebrated its bicentennial in 2006. 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 and has been translated as meaning, “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 on the northern bank of the Allegheny River about 1 mile apart.

Tidioute developed into a lumber town with eight steam-powered sawmills. A mill dam was built from the north bank of the river to the middle of the three Courson Islands. The early town contained a number of stores, taverns, mechanic shops, and boarding houses. Samuel Hunter’s family became prominent community members in the early 1800s. The family founded the Hunter Lumber Company. Jahu Hunter constructed a magnificent mansion 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 exploded in the 1860s, and with it came an unprecedented area 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 quickly 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.