 The town developed as a port on the Allegheny River, and provided a place where travelers coming overland from the Susquehanna River could continue by boat.In the 1800s natural gas was discovered in the area, which led to the expansion of industries including glass firms, chemical plants, cheese factories, machine shops, brick plants, sawmills, planing mills and tanneries.The area also produces crude oil and it is not unusual to see small gas or oil wells and storage tanks in fields, forests or back yards in the region.