Lumber City became known and was built by the growing timber trade and was first called Lumberville.
In 1850-51, a wooden covered bridge was built across the river, and by 1858 Lumber City was the third borough to incorporate in Clearfield County after Clearfield and Curwensville.
It’s described as a “pleasantly situated borough on the north side of the West Branch River.
Main Street, the principle thoroughfare of travel, and in fact the only one passing through the town east to west, contains along its sides a number of fine residences of brick and frame material.
Lateral streets lead from Main to the river. On the South side of the river is a steep bluff, or mountain, several hundred feet high; but the beauty of the slope is somewhat marred by the cutting out of its best timber.”
(History of Clearfield County by Cass Aldrich)
By 1878, Lumber City had “two churches, schoolhouse, gristmill, shook factory, two dry goods stores, three hotels, two physicians and several shops,” according to the 1878 Atlas of Clearfield County published by J.A. Caldwell.
