DuBois Area Historical Society

George Shaffer was the first permanent inhabitant of what is DuBois, moving into the wilderness area in 1812. He arrived with his wife and three sons to settle on 320 acres of land. They built a log cabin near the present intersection of W. Long Ave. and Main St. George Shaffer died in 1812 long before John DuBois would pass through the area for the first time in 1842 and even longer until he returned to live here in 1872. Much of George's original acreage was passed along to his grandson, Henry. He did not value the land, finding what would be central DuBois to be low and swampy and began to sell it off in one-acre parcels. The owners were left to determine their own roads resulting in the narrow streets in DuBois today. Henry eventually sold all of his land and moved to Lawrence Township near Clearfield to escape the growing population.