Westfield Borough was Formed 1867 from Westfield Township
Here below is some of the history as recounted from the 1976 bicentennial celebration. Most of this information was from Mrs. Mary Eaton. I actually delivered the Star Gazette paper to her and her husband in 1980, 1981 and 1982 before I left for the military. Both of them were some of the nicest people that I've ever met!
Here is an excerpt from http://www.joycetice.com/articles/1976west.htm about Westfield:
Westfield Borough shows as Priestville in the early Bingham Estate Map
Westfield was originally known as Priestville. This name probably derived from the fact the area was a central point for missionaries traveling between Hornell, NY and Williamsport, Pa. Since Priestville was the name of the first post office (Henry B. Trowbridge being the first postmaster), the name, Westfield, was apparently chosen after 1820
Reuben Cook Sr. was the first white settler within the present Boro limits. He lived in a log cabin built between 1806 and 1808, on the south bank of the river across from the present Satellite gas station. Ayers Tuttle was the first permanent settler in 1810 and built the first grist mill on the present Floyd English property. In 1825 he opened the A. Tuttle Inn. Jessie Lapham, a native of Rhode Island, bought 200 acres here in 1816 and became the first carpenter and surveyor
Dr. Barton Streeter was Westfield's first physician, arriving in 1830. His housecalls were made on horseback to all nearby settlements. He charged a dollar for the first mile and fifty cents for each succeeding mile. Office calls were thirty-five cents
In 1891 Dr. Arthur Bottum established a hospital in his home, the former Leland Scott House on Main Street. He made an incubator there in which a small premature baby was kept for a time. The hospital closed in 1899 upon the death of Dr. Bottum
The Good Samaritan Hospital was operated by Dr. Hervey Hagedorn in his home during the 1920's -- the former home of the superintendent of the H.H. Crary Tannery. This building is now the home of Mayor and Mrs. William Snyder who operate the Westfield Home for the Aged
In 1976 the only physician in town is Dr. Stuart Davis. He is that rare kind --- a general practitioner who also makes house calls
The first lawyer was Augustus Streeter, who settled in 1830. He and Butler B. Strang studied law under A.J. Monroe in Knoxville. Strang, who was elected D.A. in 1856, went to the State Legislature in 1860. In 1870 he became Speaker of the General Assembly, and later served two terms in the Senate
The first church organized here was the Methodist Episcopal Church. Although begun in 1830, it wasn't officially organized until 1855. The Episcopal Church was organized about 1882. The present church was built and services were begun in 1895, as St. John's. The Wesleyan Methodists erected their church in 1870 and the Baptists organized theirs in 1891. All of these churches are located on Church Street
F. Strang came here from Lawrenceville in 1830 to open the first General Store. Other pioneer merchants about this time were Luke Scott, James Turner and Will Simmons. In 1844 Richard Krusen entered the mercantile field and quickly became an important civic leader. In 1846 John Montanye built and operated the first tannery at the site of the present Eberle Tannery.\
Krusen Cemetery was established in 1867 by Richard Krusen, on a mound eight feet high and a hundred feet in diameter. It was soon filled, so Mt. Pleasant Cemetery was opened in 1892. Just east of the Boro, on Route 49, is the Champlin Cemetery.\
The jockey hitching post in front of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Brace on Main Street was brought to Westfield by E.G. George in 1820
Westfield's first school was built about 1829 on the corner of Main and Lincoln -- the present site of the Valley Dollar Saver. The present Westfield Elementary School was built in 1914. An addition was constructed in 1938. The first and only woman to hold the office of Tioga County Superintendent of Schools was Sarah I. Lewis Krusen, who served from 1876 until 1880. The last County Superintendent to serve was Harold Swayne of Westfield. The office was abolished in 1971
The Cowanesque Valley Joint School District, composed of Knoxville Boro, Westfield, Clymer and Brookfield Townships, was formed in 1948 and 1949. It was joined by Westfield Boro in 1950 and by Chatham in 1959. The new Cowanesque Junior and Senior High School opened in 1958, and in 1966 the Northern Tioga School District was formed from the Cowanesque, Elkland and Williamson jointures
Westfield was organized as a borough on February 16, 1867. Butler B. Strang was sworn in as the first burgess. Councilmen were Richard Krusen, James Masten, Simon Wilcox, S.B. Lewis and Thomas Sanders
The Westfield Index, established by McNaughton and Leach in 1873, was the first newspaper. It was discontinued in 1874, but the following year O.S. Webster bought the press and founded the Westfield Idea. E.M. Bixby changed the name in 1878 to the Westfield Free Press. Presently it is the Westfield Free Press-Courier, a merger of the Free Press and The Knoxville Courier. The manager and editor is Marie Pepero of Galeton
Two railroads completed laying tracks to Westfield in 1882. The Fall Brook (later the New York Central) started in Lawrenceville, Pa and eventually extended to Ulysses. The Addison and Pa. (later part of the Baltimore and Ohio) reached Westfield, then later extended to Gaines and Galeton. The railroad is now W.A.G. --- Wellsville, Addison and Galeton. Passenger service was discontinued several years ago
The Farmers and Traders Bank was established in 1885 with E.M. Tucker its president, and is now one of over thirty branch banks of the Commonwealth Bank and Trust Co., with headquarters in Wellsboro
Early farmers raised cigar-leaf tobacco in our valley. At least two companies in Westfield manufactured cigars during the 1880's. One company was in the present Crary Hose rooms. The cigar business here ended when mass production elsewhere made it uneconomical, and famers turned to the more profitable business of dairying. The cleared hilltops and the river valley land were found to be ideal for forage crops
The first milk plant opened in the early 1900's s the Helvetia Milk Company. Until 1932 it was operated by the Borden Company, and is presently the Eberle cut shop. The M.H. Renken Dairy of Brooklyn, NY was established in 1927 in the eastern part of the borough, continuing operation until 1962. After it closed, the milk was transported to the main plant in Middlebury Center.
The first volunteer hose company was organized in 1890. The Crary Hose Company is constantly updating their equipment and servicing the community when fire or other emergencies strike
In 1898 a telegraph was brough into the Boro by the Postal Telegraph Cable Company of New York. Electrical service was initiated in 1925 by North Penn Power. The first producing gas well came in on the Ray French farm in 1935. Television cable service arrived in 1951.
More information as stated above can be found at http://www.joycetice.com/articles/1976west.htm