Called the "Gem of the Endless Mountains," Sullivan County has been a crossroad and ethnic melting pot in the highlands of northern Pennsylvania for more than two centuries. There are villages, ghost towns, family farms, and hunting camps scattered along valley floors and clinging to the mountainsides. Early lumber mills were built along the Big and Little Loyalsock Creeks and tributaries in the early 1800s, and outdoor sports and modern tourism became major industries in the 20th and 21st centuries. Land speculation by companies such as Asylum Land Company led to the development of coal, lumber, and railroad industries throughout the county.