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.

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.

Part of the western border which divided colonial and Native American lands north of the river was defined by "Tiadaghton Creek".

The colonial government recognized the tribal claim and so all land west of Lycoming Creek was considered Native American and off bounds for settlement.

The two messengers, Patrick Gilfillen and Michael Quigley Jr., were ambushed and robbed by Native Americans and later jailed by Loyalists, but escaped and made it to Philadelphia on July 10.

In the early summer of 1778 news came of a group of Native American warriors, perhaps accompanied by Loyalist and British soldiers, heading for the West Branch Susquehanna River valley to destroy settlements.

[2] Robert Covenhoven, who had served under George Washington in the Continental Army, rode west along the ridge of Bald Eagle Mountain to warn settlers at Fort Antes (opposite what is now Jersey Shore) and the western part of the valley.

Some settlers soon returned, only to flee a second time in the summer of 1779 in the "Little Runaway", when another force of Native Americans and British soldiers attacked the valley again.

[3] Also in 1779, Sullivan's Expedition destroyed at least forty Native American villages in New York and helped reduce attacks to stabilize the area and encourage resettlement.

[5] The closest borough to the "Tiadaghton Elm" site is Jersey Shore in Lycoming County, which has a week-long Town Meeting each year over the Fourth of July.