Smethport. County seat for McKean County since 1807, when land agent Francis King surveyed town lots. The first cabin was built in 1811 by Arnold Hunter; but permanent settlement was delayed until 1822. First courthouse built in 1827.

500 W Main St. (US 6) at courthouse, Smethport, PA, United States

McKean County. Formed March 26, 1804 out of Lycoming County. Named for Gov. Thomas McKean. Smethport, the county seat, was incorporated 1853; here the "Bucktails," famed Civil War regiment, assembled in 1861. Oil, gas, and lumber spurred the county's early economic growth.

County Courthouse, 500 W Main St. (US 6), Smethport, PA, United States

Bucktails, The. At the call of Col. Thos. L. Kane, 100 Civil War volunteers assembled here on Apr. 24, 1861, to go to Harrisburg. Tails of buck deer, worn as distinctive insignia, provided the name of the famed 42d Regiment, of which they were the core.

U.S. 6 at courthouse, Smethport, PA, United States