Pennsylvania Lumber Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pennsylvania Lumber Museum |
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Visitor center
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 Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
Location in Pennsylvania
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| Location | Ulysses Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Nearest city | Galeton, Pennsylvania |
| Governing body | Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum is located near Galeton, in Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA. It helps us learn about the history and tools of the lumber industry. This industry was very important for Pennsylvania's economy. It also caused a lot of changes to the environment.
The museum offers tours of its outdoor areas. They also have fun workshops and classes where you can learn new things. Sometimes, they even host exciting lumberjack competitions!
Pennsylvania's Forest History
Before William Penn and his Quaker colonists arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682, the state was mostly covered in forests. Experts believe about 90% of Pennsylvania was woodlands. This was over 20 million acres (80,000 km²) of trees.
These forests had many types of trees. There were white pine, Eastern hemlock, and various hardwoods. Today, almost all of these huge, old forests are gone.
The first trees harvested were near early settlements. These were places like Philadelphia and Bucks Counties. Settlers used the wood to build homes, barns, and ships. They also cleared land for farming.
The need for lumber slowly grew. By the time of the American Revolution, the lumber industry reached the mountains. Very tall and straight white pine and hemlock trees were cut. They were tied together and floated down rivers. These rivers included the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. The logs went to Baltimore and Philadelphia. There, they became masts for many kinds of sailing ships.
Some early settlers saw business chances in the forests. They opened sawmills powered by water. These mills were along creeks like the Loyalsock and Lycoming. Soon, lumber became one of Pennsylvania's top industries.
Trees from Pennsylvania were used for many things. They provided fuel to heat homes. They gave tannin for the many tanneries across the state. Wood was used for furniture and barrel making. Large areas of trees were cut by colliers. They made charcoal to fire iron furnaces like Cornwall. Rifle stocks and shingles were made. Also, many household items were crafted from wood. The first Conestoga wagons were built using the plentiful lumber from Pennsylvania's hills and valleys.
The Rise of Lumbering
The Pennsylvania lumber industry grew huge in the mid-1800s. Experienced lumbermen from New England came to Williamsport in 1846. They built the Susquehanna Boom. A "boom" is a line of connected floating logs. It stretches across a river to catch other floating logs.
The Susquehanna Boom worked for over 50 years. From 1861 to 1891, it processed over 5.5 billion board feet (13 million m³) of lumber. This made Williamsport, Pennsylvania a very rich city. It had more millionaires per person than any other city back then.
The arrival of the steam train changed lumbering again. By this time, most white pine forests were gone. Lumbermen now wanted the huge stands of hemlock. Railroad companies built tracks into mountain areas. These places were too hard to reach before.
Railroads could move more trees much faster. This sped up the loss of old-growth forests. Also, sparks from steam engines often started huge forest fires. These fires destroyed young trees that were growing. This marked the beginning of the end for Pennsylvania's lumber industry. But not before many lumber "boom towns" appeared across the mountains.
The Beaver Mill Lumber Company in Centre County became one of Pennsylvania's largest lumber operations. Beaver Mills and Antes were two lumber boom towns. They greatly changed the Black Moshannon Area in Centre County. Mill ponds were built to serve these towns, replacing beaver ponds.
Both communities had a large general store, blacksmith shops, and a livery. They also had taverns, schools, and even a ten-pin bowling alley. One school building is still standing today. This area helped provide timber for mining, construction, and railroads across the nation.
The Decline of Lumbering
This busy lumber era did not last. By the 1920s, most of the trees were gone. Once the trees disappeared, people soon left too. They moved to places like West Virginia and the Great Lake States.
The lumbermen left behind a bare landscape. It was damaged by erosion and wildfires. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought thousands of acres of this deforested land. The state began a huge project to reforest the land. They had help from the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The old forests of hemlock and white pine are now gone. In their place, a thriving second growth forest of hardwoods has grown.
