 In the fertile agricultural valleys (not underlain with coal) between the Blue Mountain range in the south to near the Susquehanna River to the north, generations of farming families have helped feed their neighbors in the mines, on the rails, on the canals, and in the towns within and surrounding the county.After settlement of the farms, came a period of diversified, small scale production that lasted until about the late 19th century.After then, more highly mechanized small farms combined livestock and crop production for new, mainly local and regional markets.