Lanesboro, PA

Lanesboro sits where the Susquehanna River's valley meets Starrucca Creek, and its history follows that junction. Martin Lane called the settlement Lanesville in 1829; his son Jesse changed the name to Lanesboro in 1832, and the borough incorporated in 1889. The surrounding falls and two valleys made it a distribution point for goods, while the Erie Railroad's crossing over Starrucca Creek put the borough on an engineering map. The Starrucca Viaduct, completed in 1848, is a 1,040-foot stone bridge with 17 arches rising about 100 feet above the creek.

That bridge still carries Norfolk Southern and New York, Susquehanna and Western freight trains, so Lanesboro's signature structure remains part of the working railroad landscape. Main Street/State Route 171 and local State Route 1009 lead through the borough toward the viaduct and Luciana Park on Depot Street. The D&H Rail Trail follows the former railroad bed north through Lanesboro, and the Susquehanna Community School District and part of Barnes-Kasson Hospital sit within the borough limits. Lanesboro puts a school, hospital, trail, creek crossing, and a working freight line around one memorable stone bridge.