The (Not so) Rural Pennsylvanian

  • It’s a Breeze

    Get ready – the upcoming posts contains a lot of covered bridges. We will also continue the two-per-week schedule of new posts.

    I used the extended July Fourth holiday to take another trip to the Laurel Highlands. The trip started with an exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Breezewood to see some covered bridges. The first stop of the trip was Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge located in Bedford County. It crosses Brush Creek and is a 91-foot-long (28 m), Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1889. It is one of 15 historic covered bridges in Bedford County. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    There is also a very nice old mill building at this site.

    Nearby is Feltons Mill Covered Bridge, which is another wooden covered bridge located in Bedford County. It is a 105-foot-long (32 m), Burr Truss bridge with a medium pitched gable roof, constructed in 1892. It also crosses Brush Creek. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    I was not able to get a good photo of this bridge, as the entrance appears to be on private property. The access road had a rope across it and appears to terminate a short distance from the main road. The bridge might be viewable from the nearby main road bridge when the trees are not leafed out, However, this random haybale was sitting nearby, and you know I can’t resist a good haybale.

    My drive around the Breezewood area also produced some other interesting sights, such as this interesting looking Church, with a very minimalist style.

    More haybales of course.
    This old silo looked like a castle tower, if you squint.

  • Sheards Mill and Its Bridge

    Another covered bridge in a scenic area, the Sheard’s Mill Covered Bridge is located in East Rockhill Township and Haycock Township, Bucks County next to the Levi Sheard Mill. The bridge was built in 1873, and is 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) and 130-foot-long (40 m), making it one of Bucks County’s longest bridges. The bridge crosses the Tohickon Creek on Covered Bridge Road. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1980.

    I don’t see a Burr Arch truss. It looks like another Lattice Truss, like South Perkasie.

    The bridge is near the Levi Sheard Mill. It is also known as Sheard’s Mill and the John S. Clymer Mill, and is an historic, American grist mill that is located in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2006. The first section of this historic structure was built circa 1825, with three additions built into the early twentieth century. The mill was purchased by Levi Sheard in 1844. In 1916, ownership was transferred to brothers Rubin and John Clymer. The mill continued to operate until the 1970s.

  • Gunkle Spring Mill (with a little color)

    Gunkle Spring Mill is a historic American gristmill complex constructed in 1793. It is located in East Whiteland Township, Chester County and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The mill was built in 1793 by Michael and Chatharina Gunkle. It is a 2 1⁄2-story, banked stone structure with a gable roof. Also located on the property are a 2 1⁄2-story, stuccoed stone miller’s house, a one-story stone spring house, a one-story stone smokehouse, and a one-story stone carriage house.

    Gunkle was a German immigrant from Philadelphia who purchased 974 acres (394 ha) in 1792 in East Whiteland, where he constructed and operated the gristmill, along with a saw mill and a fulling mill. By 1872 the mill processed 1,800 short tons (1,600 t) of flour, feed, corn, and oats yearly. At the peak of its productivity, the mill ran 18 hours a day. The mill remained in continuous operation into the 1940s.

  • An Old Mill in Black and White

    The Mill at Anselma in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania has been a National Historic Landmark since 2005, and an operational Mill before the United States of America began. It is an independent, non-profit historic site today. Nestled along the Pickering Creek, the Mill site preserves over 250 years of Chester County’s industrial history. The Mill retains its original Colonial-Era power train, as well as multiple layers of industrial equipment ranging from the late 1700s to the mid 1900s. The 22 acre property and surviving historical buildings demonstrate a heritage engineered to last. It is open to the public and hosts educational and entertaining events. It is free to walk around the grounds.

    I photographed the mill in black and white using an old Canon A2E on Kentmere 400 film. I developed these myself. I am chuffed that they are usable (not that terrible).

  • An Extra Charming Park

    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.

  • State Parks in Autumn

    This post is a beginning of a series on some central Pennsylvania state parks that I visited in October. The first up is Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, Perry County, PA. The visitor to Little Buffalo can partake of campgrounds, a swimming pool, a lake, hunting, fishing, picnicking and hiking. The park is 923 acres and was opened in 1972. It also features some historical sites which we’ll take a look at below.

    Little Buffalo State Park is named for Little Buffalo Creek which runs through the park. The creek and the nearby Buffalo Ridge are named for the bison that are believed to have once roamed the ridge and valley region of Pennsylvania. Humans have lived in what is now Pennsylvania since at least 10,000 BC. The first settlers were Paleo-Indian nomadic hunters known from their stone tools. The hunter-gatherers of the Archaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts. The Woodland period marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages and horticulture, between 1000 BC and 1500 AD. Archeological evidence found in the state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles, burial mounds, pipes, bows and arrow, and ornaments. Perry County was part of the Albany Purchase of 1754 when the colonists purchased a large tract of land from the Iroquois League of Six Nations.

    The lake reflecting the fall colors.
    A quiet moment under a blaze of orange.
    Canoe season is almost over.

    European settlers arrived in the area in force after the Revolutionary War. John Koch, one of the first to farm the area in the 1790s, opened the Blue Ball Tavern in 1811. The tavern offered food, drink, and a sleeping loft. The Blue Ball Tavern served as a rest stop for messengers who travelled between Carlisle and Sunbury during the War of 1812. It is rumored that the tavern was where the plans for the creation of Perry County were made in 1821. The tavern was closed in 1841. A farmhouse was built in 1865 on the foundation of the tavern. Some recycled boards and hardware from the tavern were used in the construction of the farmhouse which currently houses the Blue Ball Tavern Museum and a library that are operated by the Perry County Historical Society.

    The Blue Ball Tavern Museum.

    William Shoaff bought 63 acres of land in the area and a gristmill from the Juniata Iron Works in 1849 after it had been shut down. The local farmers brought their crops to Shoaff’s Mill until the 1940s. The mill has since been restored and is back in operation. Visitors to the park can observe the milling of cornmeal, cracked corn and the grinding of apples for apple cider.

    The mill. Sadly, the wheel was not running when I visited.

    For me, not surprisingly, a covered bridge was one of the highlights. This is Clay’s Covered Bridge. It is a short walk from a parking area on your way to the mill.

  • Mascot Roller Mills and Around

    Mascot Roller Mills in eastern Lancaster County is well worth a stop if you are in the area.  The site of the well preserved water-powered grain mill welcomes visitors. More information can be found at resslermill.com.  The William J. Morton Bird Sanctuary is adjacent to mill.

    Mascot Roller Mills – the original mill on this site dated from the 1730s.

     

    The Ressler family home adjacent to the mill.

     

    The Summer Kitchen next to the Ressler home.

     

    The Groff Store-House across the street from the Mill. Once a local gathering place and store, it now serves as the offices and meeting place for the Ressler Mill Foundation.

    Elsewhere in Lancaster County, fall colors are on display …

     

    The horses were enjoying the sunny day.

     

    An Amish farm.

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