Fair Play Men
The Tiadaghton Elm in 1939, site of the Fair Play Men's Declaration of Independence
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 Location of the Tiadaghton Elm in Pennsylvania
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| Location | River Rd. (SR 1016 / old US 220), at Bonner Ln., SE of Avis, Pennsylvania |
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| Nearest city | Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 41°10′48″N 77°16′43″W / 41.18°N 77.27865°W |
| PA marker dedicated | April 30, 1947 May 6, 1947 |
The Fair Play Men were illegal settlers (squatters) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley of Pennsylvania in what is now the United States. Because they settled in territory claimed by Native Americans, they had no recourse to the Pennsylvania colonial government. Accordingly they established what was known as the Fair Play System, with three elected commissioners who ruled on land claims and other issues for the group. In a remarkable coincidence, the Fair Play Men made their own declaration of independence from Britain on July 4, 1776 beneath the "Tiadaghton Elm" on the banks of Pine Creek.
The British colonial government purchased land from the Iroquois in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768, opening new lands in Pennsylvania and New York for settlement, including what is now Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Lycoming County is about 100 mi (160 km) northwest of Philadelphia and about 165 mi (265 km) east-northeast of Pittsburgh.
However, some of the treaty's Line of Property (or Purchase Line) border along the West Branch Susquehanna River was disputed. Part of the western border which divided colonial and Native American lands north of the river was defined by "Tiadaghton Creek". The colonists claimed this was Pine Creek (further west, giving them more land), the Iroquois and other tribes claimed it was Lycoming Creek (further east). The colonial government recognized the tribal claim and so all land west of Lycoming Creek was considered Native American and off bounds for settlement. Despite this, illegal settlers settled in the disputed area along the West Branch Susquehanna River, the west bank of Lycoming Creek, Larrys Creek, and especially at the mouth of Pine Creek.
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