The Davis Hollow Cabin was featured as a location in the film The Pale Blue Eye as the home of detective Augustus Landor. The cabin is located in Moraine State Park very near a marina. Originally built in 1780, the cabin is one of the historic facilities along the North County Trail. Over the years, the cabin fell into disrepair and nature took its toll. In 2005 a group of volunteers got together to conserve the cabin (the Friends of Davis Hollow Cabin). The cabin is available for rent in the warmer months.
I somehow was expecting this building to be a lot more isolated. In the film, it is usually depicted under a blanket of snow with a wide offset view of the front of the building. Here are some different views of the building in Spring and some of the nearby “reality” adjacent to the marina.
We will return back to eastern Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks after our swing through the western part of the commonwealth. Pennsylvania has quite a few old iron furnaces spread across the state. In fact, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site lies near the border of Chester and Berks counties. Not far away is the site of the Warwick Iron Furnace. The site is part of Warwick Furnace Farms, a historic district that includes the ruins of the early iron furnace owned by Anna Rutter Nutt, widow of Samuel Nutt. The ironmaster’s house and workers’ houses, as well as a historic farmhouse and barns now used in the operation of a working farm.
Anna Rutter Nutt was the daughter of Thomas Rutter, who erected the first ironwork in Pennsylvania. Samuel Nutt bought the original tracts of land with partners William Branson and Mordecai Lincoln, the great great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The furnace was managed by George Taylor when the first Franklin Stoves were cast here. The furnace operated through the 1860s and supplied the iron used in the iron-clad ship the USS Monitor during the Civil War. The 786 acre historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
I visited back in early Spring. The landscape around here is lovely and well worth a trip.
Our next stop in the swing through western Pennsylvania is McConnells Mills State Park. The signature of this park is a 19th century gristmill and adjacent covered bridge. It occupies 2,546 acres of the spectacular Slippery Rock Creek Gorge, which is a National Natural Landmark. Created by the draining of glacial lakes thousands of years ago, the gorge has steep sides while the valley floor is littered with huge boulders. Scenic overlooks and waterfalls are popular natural attractions.
The park has distinctive geology. The bedrock formed more than 300 million years ago as layers of sand, mud, and peat built up in what was a coastal area. After becoming rock, these different layers were lifted to the surface in several mountain-building events. The different strengths of these rocks cause them to erode differently, helping to make the varied landscape of the park. The gorge and the dramatic topography of the park were created by glaciers during the past two million years.
The Cleland Rock Scenic Vista – unfortunately this has become a bit overgrown.
Presque Isle State Park is a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that extends into Lake Erie and is the state’s only “seashore.” It offers a beautiful coastline and many year round recreational activities, including swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling, and in-line skating. It is a significant birding hotspot. The Tom Ridge Environmental Center is near the entrance to the park.
The neck of the peninsula is attached to the mainland four miles west of downtown Erie. The peninsula creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for the city of Erie. The bay attracts many pleasure boats and worldwide freight traffic, making Erie an important Great Lakes shipping port.
A National Natural Landmark, Presque Isle is a favorite spot for migrating birds. Because of the many unique habitats, Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state’s endangered, threatened, and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania.
The North Pier Lighthouse.The Presque Isle Lighthouse.These structures take the term ‘houseboat” literally.The Perry MonumentSome views of wetland habitat that are so valuable for birds and other critters.
West along the shores of Lake Erie is the 587-acre Erie Bluffs State Park. The park offers one mile of shoreline, 90-foot bluffs overlooking Lake Erie, and access to Elk Creek, a shallow stream steelhead fishery. Significant natural features include several plant species of conservation concern, uncommon black oak woodland/savannah habitat, Great Lakes region sand barren ecosystems, and forested wetlands.
The Elk Creek access area provides fishing and boat launch areas.
Oil Creek State Park lies in northwestern Pennsylvania in the Oil Creek Valley. It is the site of the world’s first commercial oil well. The park preserves the history of the early petroleum industry by interpreting oil boomtowns, oil wells, and early transportation. The scenic creek carves a valley of deep hollows, steep hillsides, and wetlands and provides opportunities for kayaking, wildlife watching and fishing. Hiking is a popular activity here, and a 36 mile loop trail has two shelter areas that support backpackers.
At the time of my visit, work on the Petroleum Center Bridge blocked egress through the park. However, following the detour to the other side of the park is well worthwhile.
The site of the former Petroleum Center Train Station.Can’t get there from here.
On the hill above Oil City is Murray’s Scenic View, overlooking the city and Oil Creek. It is a very nice view, and there is even a small restaurant for a drink or a snack.
One of Pennsylvania’s iconic state parks is Kinzua Bridge. There is a large visitor center and an opportunity to walk out onto the old railroad viaduct with impressive views of the valley below.
The Viaduct was once the longest and tallest railroad structure at 2,053 feet long and 301 feet high. It was partially destroyed by a tornado during 2003. Reinvented as a pedestrian walkway in 2011, visitors can stroll 600 feet out on the remaining support towers, peer miles out into the Kinzua Gorge, and gaze down through the partial glass platform at the end of the walkway. The Kinzua Bridge State Park Visitor Center features great views, self-guiding exhibits, and information about the surrounding area.
A view to the valley below. This photo really doesn’t do it justice.Some exhibits in the Visitor’s Center.A unexpected photo op – the Swedish Viking Ship sculpture in nearby Mt. Jewett.
A day out in the rural areas of Lancaster County will provide many encounters with horse drawn buggies, whether in motion or stationery. Sundays tend to be particularly busy, with people going to church or visiting neighbors.
A small child looks on …Traffic Gap with a miniature of the Clock Tower (full size below).People who drive buggies need to shop too. Stores in the area often have hitches, or even simple open sheds, for horse parking.
The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community, established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata, Lancaster County. The grounds of the community are now owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and are administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The Cloister’s website can be found at https://ephratacloister.org and provides the following information:
Conrad Beissel, Ephrata’s founder, came to the site in 1732 seeking to live as a hermit following his own religious ideas. He believed earthly life should be spent preparing to achieve a spiritual union with God at the Second Coming he felt would soon occur. By the early 1750s, nearly 80 celibate Brothers and Sisters were housed in impressive Germanic log, stone, and half-timbered buildings. At the same time, nearly 200 family members known as Householders, occupied nearby homes and farms.
Celibate members followed a life of work balanced with hours of private prayer. Wearing white robes, they adopted sparse diets, and slept little, all in an effort to provide discipline as they prepared for an anticipated heavenly existence. Labors included farming, papermaking, carpentry, milling, and textile production. The Cloister was known for the German calligraphic art of Frakturschriften, created in a distinctive style considered the first of this folk art produced in America, self-composed a cappella music written using Beissel’s rules for four-part harmony (with over one-thousand original compositions), and an ambitious printing establishment creating works for the use of the community and neighbors, including the translation and publication of the 1500 page Martyrs Mirror for the Mennonites, the largest book printed in colonial America.
The Society declined after the death of the charismatic Beissel in 1768. The last celibate member died in 1813 and the next year the remaining Householders incorporated into the German Seventh Day Baptist Church. Members continued to live and worship in the Cloister buildings until the close of the Church in 1934. Marie Kachel Bucher, the last surviving resident of the Ephrata Cloister, died on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98.
Here is a look at the exterior of the buildings. There was an event going on that Day called “Charter Day” which was wrapping up as I was arriving in late afternoon.
It’s not that often that one comes across a covered bridge with an associated historic site. Poole Forge, in Eastern Lancaster County, is just such a place. The 26-acre site also has a preserved historic Ironmaster’s mansion, children’s playground, picnic pavilion, ball field, Nature Trail, Riparian Buffers, wildflower meadows, and many beautiful gardens along the Conestoga River. It is a national historic district and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Poole Forge was part of the iron industry in Lancaster and nearby counties. James Old, a Welshman and iron master, purchased the property in 1775. He established and operated a forge here for twenty years. The pig iron was obtained from nearby furnaces such as Hopewell, Joanna, Elizabeth, and Cornwall. Poole Forge refined the iron, then sold it to blacksmiths, or sent it to markets in Philadelphia, where it was used to make armaments for the Revolutionary War. In 1795, he sold the forge to his son, Davis Old, and over the next half century, it continued operation through many changes of hands. In 1852, iron production was ended. The covered bridge dates to 1859.
First up are views of the covered bridge:
There are multiple fine Federal style buildings at this site.
Valley Forge is one of my most photographed areas. I just can’t help myself. The first location is Lord Stirling’s Quarters. I have long wanted to photograph these buildings but have not been able until recently. Unfortunately, like most park locations, these buildings are not open to the public and not in good repair. Valley Forge is sadly underfunded, like most of our national park system.
The next area is known as the Artillery Park. I bird and photograph around here a lot.
Finally, this foot bridge is near the top of Mount Joy
