Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Buck Hill Falls is a special private community located in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It's a place where people can relax and enjoy nature.
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A Quiet Start: The Quaker Retreat
This community began in 1901. A group of Quakers from Philadelphia, including Charles F. Jenkins, wanted a peaceful place to retreat. They created Buck Hill Falls as a quiet getaway. Charles F. Jenkins was the leader of the Buck Hill Falls Company for many years, until he passed away in 1951.
The Grand Inn at Buck Hill Falls
The Inn at Buck Hill Falls started as a small wooden building. It grew into a large stone building in 1926. This Inn was very popular for many decades. It had over 400 guest rooms and lots of fun things to do. There was an indoor swimming pool with a roof that could open! Guests enjoyed delicious food in a fancy dining room, sometimes with live music. A huge covered porch offered amazing views of the Pocono Mountains. People loved to relax there with afternoon tea.
However, the Inn closed in 1990. One big reason was that flying became cheaper. People could fly to faraway places for vacations instead of driving to the Poconos. Also, the Inn faced some money problems and fires.
Important Meetings and Ideas
In 1935, an important meeting happened at Buck Hill Falls. Rexford Tugwell, who was in charge of a government program called the New Deal's Resettlement Administration, held a conference there. They talked about the future of housing and how to help people find homes. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, also attended. She said, "You cannot just build houses and tell people to go and live in them. They must be taught how to live." This meant that helping people with housing also meant helping them learn how to build good communities.
Life in the Community Today
Today, many people still live at Buck Hill Falls, some all year round and others just for the summer. Many families have been coming here for generations.
The community still has many of the great features it had in the past. There's a 27-hole golf course, 10 tennis courts, and two lawn bowling greens. There's also a big swimming pool. If residents need to shop, they can visit the nearby villages of Mountainhome and Canadensis.
Nature and Fun Activities
Buck Hill Falls is famous for its beautiful natural surroundings, especially its waterfall. The community also hosts an annual Art Show by the Buck Hill Art Association. The Foxhowe Association organizes interesting talks and Quaker worship services in the summer. The Buck Hill Lawn Bowling Association has even hosted national competitions.
The Buck Hill Conservation Foundation works hard to protect the environment. They buy land and keep up many trails in the 4,600 acres of forest around the community.
Recently, Buck Hill Falls teamed up with a nearby community, Skytop, to create the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival. This festival is a top spot in the Poconos for classical music, including opera, chamber music, and jazz.
The Inn's Final Years
In 2000, the old Buck Hill Inn was used as a filming location for an MTV show called Fear. The show made up scary stories about the Inn, like claiming there were many murders there. These stories were not true.
Sadly, in 2003, the Buck Hill Inn caught fire. The fire caused a lot of damage to the historic building. After much discussion, the Inn was finally taken down in 2016.
