"It is better to choke back than to sell into this market," Henderson said.

NYMEX gas futures have dropped from over $4 per million British thermal units a year ago to just above $2 this week. In the Marcellus region, prices are even lower, touching levels where drilling is uneconomic.

Local energy firms hold out little hope for a near-term rebound, bracing for a longer rough patch instead.

Justin Kastner, a manager with Global Land Partners, a company that secures leases for oil and gas companies, said his staff has halved this year from 16 to eight.

"There is just too much gas," said Kastner. "I expect to see a downturn for the next two years."

The local economy is feeling the pinch too.

Foreclosure notices filed in Lycoming County, where Williamsport is located, between January and October hit their highest since the data was first collected in 2006, according to Realty Trac.

The 200-room Holiday Inn, which was one of five new hotels opened in Williamsport after 2009 and stayed fully booked throughout the rush, had more than 70 vacant rooms last week, according to receptionist Beth Smith.

"Every day I felt overwhelmed, the phone ringing off the hook, minding everyone coming in," she said about the drilling peak time two years ago. The lobby was less hectic now and cleaner without the workers bringing mud in from the well sites, though Smith said she missed the action.

The boomtown buzz is also gone from the Old Corner Hotel bar, one of Williamsport's oldest watering holes.

"It felt like every night was a Friday night," said general manager Kate Myers. "It is back to normal now."

(Additional reporting by Richard Valdmanis and Scott DiSavino; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)