This house is often referred to as the "Jessie Shoemaker House," however, this would be inaccurate. Jessie's house is on South Main Street, just a block north of New Street. This house was built by him as a wedding gift for his bride, Almira Lowmiller and built around 1860. They raised their six children here and resided in the home until their deaths. Emily and Jessie took over the house and used
it as a school for the overflow of children that came to the area during Muncy's hayday in the 1880s. The house has been radically reconditioned after the devistating flood of 1972 caused by Tropical Storm "Agnus" and the flood waters reached within 11 inches shy of the second floor. It is the only time in this homes' history where flood waters reach such a height. This house has survived several major floods: 1896, 1936, 1972, 1996, 2011, and 2018. 1896 was noteworthy as being one of the worst floods prior to 1972, and the 1936 flood still survives in living memory of many of our senior citizens recalling the water in their early childhoods. But around here, 1972 (Agnus) remains the most formidable and in recent living memory. It's important to note that many of the older homes on the north end of Muncy are survivors of these floods. We have seen a great number of them disappear through FEMA by-offs, rathe than our local government spend monies given to them through grants to spend on infrastructures and environmental changes to reduce flood risks. Instead, those funds were earmarked for "other improvements" rather than for what the monies were in intended. My historic home, and many like it in North Muncy, are endangered. It's important that we elect boro officials that will do the right thing to preserve our neighborhoods, rather then tearing them down. It loses tax revenue and creates more space that the boro now must "maintain." It shrinks our tax base and destroys our town's historical legacy.
