Williamsport, the county seat of Lycoming County, was incorporated as a city on January 15, 1866. The city is the original home of Little League Baseball, founded in 1939 as a three-team league. The Little League Museum and Little League World Series (held annually) is on the other side of the Susquehanna River in South Williamsport, where Little League Baseball now has its headquarters. Williamsport also hosts the Williamsport Crosscutters minor league baseball team of the New York-Penn League.
 
In the late 1800s, Williamsport was known as "The Lumber Capital of the World" because of its thriving lumber industry. Williamsport once had more millionaires per-capita than anywhere in the world. Today, "Millionaires' Row", a collection of Victorian homes once owned by the lumber era's wealthiest families, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and provides a glimpse of the Victorian lifestyle and wealth acquired from the lumbering industry.
 
While over 30,000 residents call it home, Williamsport is also a college town, as it is the home of three post-secondary institutions, Lycoming College, Pennsylvania College of Technology and Newport Business Institute. Adding to the cultural base of Williamsport are venues such as the Community Arts Center, which hosts a wide variety of entertaining events each year. The city's downtown area also holds monthly artisan activities including First Fridays, creating an opportunity for local artists to showcase their work in conjunction with downtown businesses.