Montoursville was incorporated as a borough on February 19, 1850. The history of the borough begins about forty years prior to its formal incorporation. John Else migrated to the Montoursville area from Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1807 with his family when he was just ten years old. His father had a farm along Mill Creek in what is now Mill Creek Township. John Else worked to build the first permanent bridge over Loyalsock Creek in 1815. This was the first of many improvements that he helped build to establish Montoursville as a viable community in the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley. Else also built many of the structures in Montoursville, including its first permanent home.