| Pine Grove Furnace State Park | |||||||
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 Interactive map of Pine Grove Furnace State Park | |||||||
| Location | Mountain Creek valley South Mountain,Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States | ||||||
| Coordinates | 40°01′59″N77°18′17″W / 40.03295°N 77.30467°W /40.03295; -77.30467[1] | ||||||
| Area | 696 acres (282 ha)[1] | ||||||
| Elevation | 1,631 feet (497 m) | ||||||
| Established | 1913[2] | ||||||
| Administered by | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources | ||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||
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Pine Grove Furnace State Park is aprotected Pennsylvania area that includesLaurel andFuller Lakes inCooke Township ofCumberland County. The Park accommodates variousoutdoor recreation activities, protects the remains of thePine Grove Iron Works (1764), and was the site of Laurel Forge (1830),Pine Grove Park (1880s), and a brick plant (1892). The Park is 8 miles (13 km) from exit 37 ofInterstate 81 onPennsylvania Route 233.
Pine Grove Furnace State Park is home to theAppalachian Trail Museum. It was chosen by thePennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and itsBureau of State Parks as one of "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".[3]
The state park'shistoric place on the national register is thePine Grove Iron Works of about 176 acres (0.71 km2) with structures associated with the 1764Pine Grove Furnace, which ended production in 1895.[4] The 1870South Mountain RR and the subsequent 1891Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad provided the railway lines to the industrial areas of the state park.
Laurel Forge manufactured wrought iron from Pine Grove Furnacepig iron and was built by Peter Ege in 1830. The Laurel Forge Pond (now Laurel Lake) was created by a dam below theSage Run confluence atMountain Creek to provide waterwheel power via the forge'swater race. By 1873 the forge area included a boarding house, coal house, several dwellings, 2 railroad spurs, and a train depot; and in 1884 "Laurel Station" was added as a stop for excursions of theGettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad. Laurel Dam was breached by flooding in 1889[5] and 1919 (downwash from both breached theMount Holly Springs dam downstream),[6] and the lake is 25 acres (0.10 km2) of the state park.
TheFuller Brick and Slate Company's operations that began in 1892 were developed by J. W. Ivery at the "Pine Grove works"[8] using clay exposed in the region's quarries. Slate was quarried 3 mi (4.8 km) southwest of the works, thesoapstone was "hauled by wagon from the quarry a quarter of a mile from the works, and the clay[was] brought by rail fromLaurel Station, three miles away" (the Pine Grove kiln held 12,000 bricks).[9][8] The soapstone was used for washing the clay (Ivery patent in 1901)[10] and the clay was formed, dried, andkilned south of the iron works at the brick plant in front of cemetery hill[11] untilc. 1913.[12]
ThePine Grove Division of the state's South Mountain Forest began with theSouth Mountain Mining & Iron Company's sale of 6,993 acres (28.30 km2) acres to thePennsylvania Bureau of Forestry in 1912.[13] On September 12, 1913, three additional tracts totaling 9,873 acres (39.95 km2) were sold in the areas of land surrounding Pine Grove and Laurel Forge—including 1,817 acres (7.35 km2) inAdams County.[13] By 1921,[14] "Pine Grove" was one of Pennsylvania's 7 "forest parks",[15] within which the smaller Pine Grove Furnace State Park was established by 1931[16] under the 1929Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks[16] (the remaining state forest was named theMichaux State Forest.)[when?]
Many of the facilities at the park were built during theGreat Depression by theCivilian Conservation Corps. The young men of the CCC Camp S-51-PA constructed roads throughout the state forests, constructed bridges on the state roads, planted trees for reforestation, and cleaned streams.[17] The 1912 Reading railroad tracks have been removed, and from mid-September 2006 through July 2007, Laurel Lake and its dam were reconditioned.[18] Park lifeguards were eliminated for the 2008 season[19] but were restored to Fuller Lake in 2009[20] after a July 2008 Fuller Lake drowning, the 1st at a state park beach since 1999.[21]
| Intersection | Coordinates[23] |
|---|---|
| W park border (pt onPA 233) | 40°01′52″N77°18′43″W / 40.0312°N 77.3119°W /40.0312; -77.3119 (Appalachian Trail)[24] |
 & former "Laurel Road"[25] | 40°01′55″N77°18′36″W / 40.0319°N 77.3101°W /40.0319; -77.3101 (Appalachian Trail) |
| T339 & Biker/Hiker Trail | 40°01′53″N77°18′19″W / 40.0314°N 77.3053°W /40.0314; -77.3053 (Appalachian Trail) |
| Mountain Cr bridge @ Fuller Lake | 40°01′51″N77°17′52″W / 40.0308°N 77.2978°W /40.0308; -77.2978 (Appalachian Trail)[26] |
| E park border (Old RR Bed Rd) | 40°01′54″N77°17′25″W / 40.0317°N 77.2903°W /40.0317; -77.2903 (Appalachian Trail) |
Fuller Lake is 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) in the area and is filled, abandonedquarry of the Pine Grove Iron Works. Boating is not permitted.Laurel Lake is a 25 acres (10 ha) body of water that was created to supplywater power for Laurel Forge. Boaters are limited to using electric-powered and non-powered watercraft, gas-powered boats are not permitted. All electric-powered boats must have valid registration from any state, unpowered boats must have a launch permit from PA DCNR or PA Fish and Boat Commission.
In-season archery hunting is permitted in most of the state park, while small areas for seasonal firearms hunting are on the west and south[22] (groundhog hunting is prohibited). The beaches and swimming at Fuller and Laurel Lakes are openMemorial Day weekend throughLabor Day weekend.
A formergrist mill is now used as theAppalachian Trail Museum and a formerinn is now the park office.
There are manypicnic tables throughout the Park and twopavilions are available for rent.[1]
The Park has 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of theAppalachian Trail over theCumberland County Biker/Hiker Trail (rail trail) and, on the west, along 0.4 miles (0.64 km) of roadways.[22] Themarker for the Appalachian Trail midpoint is east of the state park (40°1.827′N77°17.225′W / 40.030450°N 77.287083°W /40.030450; -77.287083),[27] andthru-hikers completing the store's half-gallonice cream challenge receive a commemorative wooden spoon.[28] The trails are open tocross-country skiing and some trails and roads are open tosnowmobiling during the winter months.[29]
Charcoal Hearth Campground along Bendersville Rd is 0.25 miles (0.40 km) south of the park's store and has 71 sites fortravel trailers and tenting, and across the road is a wooded "organized group tenting" area around an open playing field (a YMCA camp is nearLaurel Lake).[22] The Paymasters Cabin has central heating and is available for rent. The Ironmaster's Mansion is a youth hostel commonly used by Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.[1]
The park's portions of theMountain Creek valley[30]: 14 and the neighboring mountain slopes (Piney Mountain,Pole Steeple, &South Mountain) are part of theAppalachian-Blue Ridge forests ecoregion and are predominately wooded. In addition to the typical mammals, birds, insects, and otherfauna of the northeastern US ecoregion, the park's Laurel Lake attracts migratory waterfowl of theAtlantic Flyway (butterflies reach their peak in the summer months.) The lakes havepickerel,trout andperch; whileMountain Creek hasbrook,brown andrainbow trout.[1]
December 3, 1783, Jacob Simon conveyed Pine Grove Furnace and land, together with another tract of 100 acres, to Michael Ege Sr., Thomas and Joseph Thornburg, sons of Eobert Thorn- burg — Michael Ege one-half and the Thornburg brothers one- fourth each. … they re- sumed business, extended the railroad from a junction at Hunters Eun to Gettysburg, laid out a very beautiful excursion park near the furnace in a grove of magnificent trees, which for many years was well patronized.
At Henry Clay Station, on the Hunter's Run & Slate Belt Railway, … The slate is brought to the works by railway from the slate quarry, about 3 miles southwest of the works; the soapstone is hauled by wagon from the quarry, a quarter of a mile from the works, and the clay is brought by rail from Laurel Station, 3 miles away. …about 3 miles below Laurel … At Crane's Siding, on the same railway, one mile above Hunter's Run Station, is a clay refining plant which has been in operation three years … The clay is obtained at the long-since abandoned Crane iron ore mine … obtained its clay from Upper Mill Station, on the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railway
With the final purchase of the lands in Cumberland county at Pine Grove Furnace from the South Mountain Mining & Iron Company, which was consummated by deed bearing date the 12th day of September, 1913
At full capacity, an average furnace used 800 bushels of charcoal every 24 hours … 240 or more acres of woodlandper year.
| External images | |
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 1872 "Pine Grove" map w/ "South Mountain RR" | |
| 1872 Laurel Forge map with "South Mountain Creek" |
