 During the height of the lumber industry in Lycoming County, 1861–1891, the various mills produced 5.5 billion board feet (13,000,000 m³) of lumber.Williamsport became one of the most prosperous cities in Pennsylvania and in the United States.Men like James H. Perkins, Peter Herdic, and Mahlon Fisher became millionaires while many of the men who actually worked in the river struggled to survive on the wages paid to them by the lumber barons.