Black Moshannon State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Rush Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It surrounds Black Moshannon Lake, formed by a dam on Black Moshannon Creek, which has given its name to the lake and park. The park is just west of the Allegheny Front, east of Philipsburg on Pennsylvania Route 504, and is largely surrounded by Moshannon State Forest. A bog in the park provides a habitat for diverse wildlife not common in other areas of the state, such as carnivorous plants, orchids, and species normally found farther north. As home to the "largest reconstituted bog in Pennsylvania", it was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for its "25 Must-see Pennsylvania State Parks" list.
Humans have long used the Black Moshannon area for recreational, industrial, and subsistence purposes. The Seneca tribe used it as hunting and fishing grounds. European settlers cleared some land for farming, then clear-cut the vast stands of old-growth white pine and eastern hemlock. Black Moshannon State Park rose from the ashes of a depleted forest which had been largely destroyed by wildfire in the years following the lumber era. The forests were rehabilitated by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Many of the buildings built by the Civilian Conservation Corps stand in the park today and are protected on the list of National Register of Historic Places in three historic districts.
Black Moshannon State Park is open year-round for recreation and has an extensive network of trails which allow hiking, biking, and viewing the bog habitat at the Black Moshannon State Natural Area. The park is in a Pennsylvania Important Bird Area, where bird watchers have recorded 175 species. It is also home to many rare and unusual plants and animals due to its location atop the Allegheny Plateau; the lake is at an elevation of about . Much of the park is open for hunting and the lake and creek are open for fishing, boating, and swimming. In winter it is a popular destination for cross-country skiing, and was home to a small downhill skiing area from 1965 to 1982. Picnics and camping are also popular, and the "Friends of Black Moshannon State Park" group promotes the park and all the recreational activities associated with it.
History Native Americans
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. Note: For a general overview of Native American History in the West Branch Susquehanna watershed, see Note: ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR typos. The hunter-gatherers of the Archaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artefacts. 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.
Black Moshannon Creek is in the West Branch Susquehanna River drainage basin, whose earliest recorded Native American inhabitants were the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannocks. They were a matriarchial society that lived in large long houses in stockaded villages. Decimated by disease brought by European settlers and warfare with the Five Nations of the Iroquois, by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated into other tribes.
After this, the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley were under the nominal control of the Iroquois. The Iroquois lived in long houses, primarily in what is now New York, and had a strong confederacy which gave them power beyond their numbers. To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois encouraged displaced tribes from the east to settle in the West Branch watershed, including the Lenape (or Delaware).
The Seneca, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, became inhabitants in the area of Black Moshannon Lake, which was a series of beaver ponds at the time. They and other tribes, including the Lenape, hunted, fished, and traded in the region. The Great Shamokin Path, the major native east–west path connecting the Susquehanna and Allegheny River basins, crossed Black Moshannon Creek at a ford a few miles downstream from the park; however, no trails of the indigenous peoples are recorded as having passed through the park itself. The park's Indian Trail for hiking and cross-country skiing recalls such native paths as it runs through an open forest of oak and pine trees, with occasional clearings and a grove of hawthorns.
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) led to the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin. On November 5, 1768, the British acquired the "New Purchase" from the Iroquois in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, including what is now Black Moshannon State Park. After the American Revolutionary War, Native Americans almost entirely left Pennsylvania.
While there are no known archeological sites within Black Moshannon State Park, the name Moshannon is derived from a Lenape (Delaware) term for Moshannon and Black Moshannon Creeks: Mos'hanna'unk, which means "elk river place". Note: this website quotes and cites Donnehoo's book . The name "Black Moshannon" refers to the dark color of the water, a result of plant tannins from the local vegetation and bog.
Lumber era
Prior to the arrival of William Penn and his Quaker colonists in 1682, an estimated 90percent of what is now Pennsylvania was covered with old-growth forest: over of white pine, eastern hemlock, and a mix of hardwoods. The forests near the three original counties, Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester, were the first to be harvested, as the early settlers used the readily available timber to build homes, barns, and ships, and cleared the land for agriculture. The demand for lumber slowly increased and by the time of the American Revolution the lumber industry had reached the interior and mountainous regions of Pennsylvania.
Lumber became one of the leading industries in Pennsylvania. Trees were used for fuel, tannin for the many tanneries that were spread throughout the state, and wood for construction, furniture, and barrel making. Large areas of forest were harvested by colliers to fire iron furnaces. Rifle stocks and shingles were made from Pennsylvania timber, as were a wide variety of household utensils, and the first Conestoga wagons. The Philadelphia–Erie Pike (present day Pennsylvania Route 504) opened the Black Moshannon area to settlers by 1821. The first settlers opened the Antes Tavern along the Pike, trapped fur-bearing animals, and cleared land for farming.
By the mid-19th century, the demand for lumber reached the area, where eastern white pine and eastern hemlock covered the surrounding mountainsides. Lumbermen harvested the trees and sent the logs down Black Moshannon and Moshannon Creeks to the West Branch Susquehanna River, then to the Susquehanna Boom and sawmills at Williamsport. Note: For a general overview of lumber history in the West Branch Susquehanna watershed, see (ISBN refers to Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR typos) Lumber was also transported by sled and wagon over the ridges and through the valleys to Philipsburg, Julian, and Unionville. Note: See U for "Underwood Mills/Beaver Mills/Star Mill" entry
The Beaver Mill Lumber Company became one of the largest single lumber operations in all of Pennsylvania, and four lumber boomtowns, Beaver Mills, Star Mill, Underwood Mills, and Antes, altered the landscape in the Black Moshannon area. A dam was built at the site of an old beaver dam, and the mill ponds for the lumber mills flooded the old beaver ponds. The communities featured general stores, blacksmith shops, liveries, taverns, schools, and even a ten-pin bowling alley. The area helped to meet the nation's need for timber in mining operations, construction, and railroads.
A number of trails in the park today recall this time. The Hay Road Trail was used by farmers who collected hay at the wetlands, and connects the cabin area with the lake. The Seneca Trail for cross-country skiing and hiking passes through a second growth forest of oak and cherry trees that shade the stumps of the old growth pines harvested during the lumber era. The Shingle Mill Trail is a path that begins at the main parking area near the dam on Black Moshannon Lake and follows the banks of Black Moshannon Creek to the Allegheny Front Trail and back. The remains of Star Mill, a sawmill built in 1879 that operated until the end of the lumber era, are on the Star Mill Trail. This loop trail for hiking and cross-country skiing is nearly flat, with a view of Black Moshannon Lake.
This boom era was not to last; before long the lumber was gone, leaving a barren landscape devastated by erosion and wildfires. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought thousands of acres of deforested and burned land, then began the project of reforestation. By the 1930s, the land that became Black Moshannon State Park was already a place for picnics and camping, on the aptly named "Tent Hill", and people swam and fished in the old mill pond. The Tent Hill Trail still runs from the campsites to the Black Moshannon Lake beach.
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program for young men from unemployed families, established in 1933. As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, it was designed to combat unemployment during the Great Depression. The CCC operated in every U.S. state. The original facilities at Black Moshannon State Park were constructed by the CCC from 1933 to 1937, one of many projects it undertook throughout central Pennsylvania.
Beaver Meadow CCC Camp S-71 was built in May 1933 near the abandoned village of Beaver Mills, and was one of the first to expand recreational facilities in Pennsylvania. More than 200 young men moved in and began the work of conserving soil, water, and timber in the area. They cut roads through the growing forest to aid in fighting the wildfires that sprang up, and planted many acres of red pines as part of the reforestation effort.
Most of the CCC-built park facilities are still in use today, including log cabins, picnic pavilions, a food concession stand, and miles of trails. Early on, the CCC constructed a dam at Black Moshannon Lake, on the site of the former mill pond dam. CCC Camp S-71 closed in January 1937 and Black Moshannon State Park officially opened that same year.
Historic districts
In 1987, three separate historic districts incorporating the existing CCC structures in Black Moshannon State Park were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structures in all three districts were built between 1933 and 1937 and are designated as part of either the Beach and Day Use, Family Cabin, or Maintenance Historic Districts.
Eighteen structures in the Beach and Day Use Historic District are protected as contributing properties, including seven "standard" pavilions, a larger picnic shelter, and three water pump shelters. These last were built of native stone and covered with pebbles, and have since been converted to small picnic pavilions. The concession building, beach bathhouse, and museum are also protected. Four open pit latrines with wane edge siding and hipped roofs were also contributing structures to the Beach and Day Use district.