City Clerk William S. Corter was sort of a hero at City Hall today. He “saved” the City Charter; a document almost as precious to Williamporters as the Declaration of Independence. And it all started as an accident.

It was about 5 p.m. yesterday and the City Clerk was in his office preparing to go home but just then while walking past the fireplace, he heard a noise overhead and if something was giving way. Instinctively, his arms went up. His hands grasped the framed Charter.

The nail holding the frame was about 10 feet from the floor. It pulled out, dropping the frame to the top of the mantelpiece where it fell into Mr. Corter’s hands.

Today the Charter has a new and lower location in the office behind the city clerk’s desk.

City Hall officials who heard about the almost fantastic “rescue” agree that the charter would have surely been torn had it continued coming down. Since there is glass on both sides — because there is handwriting on both sides of the document it probably would have shattered.

The document was signed by Governor John F. Hartranft on February 4, 1876, although Williamsport officially became a third-class city on January 15, 1866. The charter is worn through in several spots where it was creased at the time.

The 75-year-old document had a close call but was saved because it happened to fall at the right time.