Most of the settlers did not return to their farms until after Sullivan's Expedition had driven off the Indian and Loyalist threat. John McMeens, a native of South Carolina, was one of the first to return to the area. He had settled along the river in 1776. He fled during the Big Runaway and returned in 1791. McMeens rose to a position of prominence in Lycoming County. He was a county commissioner, state commissioner, and member of the initial committee that explored to possibility of building the Pennsylvania Canal that improved navigation on the Susquehanna River. McMeens also represented the area in the Pennsylvania General Assembly from 1814 to 1818.