I had previously visited Colonel Denning State park in Spring of 2020. The previous post can be found here. The Park, in north-central Cumberland County, has 273 acres of woodland and a 3.5-acre lake. It serves as a gateway to the 96,000-acre Tuscarora State Forest, which surrounds the park.These scenic and historic public lands are located in Doubling Gap, so named by the “S” turn where Blue Mountain doubles back on itself.
Although never a colonel, William Denning (1737-1830) served as a Revolutionary War sergeant from March 1778 to April 1780 in Nathaniel Irish’s Company of Artillery Artificers in Benjamin Flower’s Regiment. Stationed just outside of Carlisle at Washingtonburg Forge (now Carlisle Barracks), Denning earned his place in history making wrought iron cannons for the Continental Army. Unfortunately, none of Denning’s cannons survive today.
After the Revolution, William Denning lived out his life near Newville and is interred with his only son and daughter in the Big Spring Presbyterian Church cemetery in Newville. His monument reads, “The patriotic blacksmith and forger of wrought iron cannon during the Revolutionary War.” It is not known when or who added the “Colonel” to Sergeant William Denning’s name.
Colonel Denning State Park became a state recreational area around 1930, under the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. It was developed formally in 1936 through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-111 in Perry County.
As a bonus, here are some looks at a nearby church camp known as Doubling Gap Center Camp YoliJwa.
