Purchases of our 2025 PA Calendar and PA Amusement Parks Book

2025 PA Calendar & PA Amusement Parks Book Purchase Options

1.29.2023

Mt. Vernon Furnace: Restored Early 19th Century Iron Furnace in Fayette County

Mt. Vernon Furnace, also known as Jacob's Creek Furnace and Alliance Iron Works, is located in Bullskin Township, Fayette County, near Mt. Pleasant. It is a pretty neat spot that is appreciated and boosted through care by the local community. It is a pretty early furnace, dating back to 1795, rebuilt in 1801, and it went out of use all the way back in 1825. Nowadays the spot is a great place to reflect upon industrial history and to have a picnic lunch at.
It ended its life after it was converted to a Blast Furnace. The Bullskin Township Historical Society has aggressively restored this furnace and restored elements that would have been present during operation, including a casting shed, and a water wheel for cooling. 
Picnic shelter area


The work they have done to restore this and make it a nice gathering spot is fantastic. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the Mt Pleasant/Laurel Highlands areas. 

1.22.2023

Cowan's Gap State Park Revisited: Fulton County

Cowan's Gap State Park is a lovely place to unwind and relax. They have lovely CCC era historic cabins, a really nice campground and facilities, a nice little lake for boating, fishing, and swimming, and beautiful trails and scenery. The hiking is excellent, ranging from an easy trail that goes around the entire lake, to vigorous, in climbing up and across mountains. The Standing Stone Trail and the Tuscarora long distance trails pass through the state park as well. 

Like many of the great state parks across the state, the infrastructure for this was built up by the CCC in the Great Depression era, putting young men to work and creating recreational relaxation places that have been enjoyed for the better part of a century. 



This state park is a gem and absolutely lovely. On our last article, we wrote about a visit we made to the state park. The photos from this article are from a stay we had. The ranger programs at this state park are awesome as well. This visit was a few weeks before Thanksgiving and the rangers had a program where they made an entire delicious Thanksgiving meal over the campfire. 







Some nearby awesome places to check out include Carrick Furnace, Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, Big Mountain Overlook, and lots of natural beauty surround this awesome state park. We definitely recommend spending some time here and taking in nature. 

1.08.2023

Lehman/Port Royal Covered Bridge in Juniata County

Lehman's Port Royal Covered Bridge is a pleasant span in Juniata County. It is 107 feet long and utilizes a double Burr Arch bridge method of construction. We visited when there was a light rain, which is such a pleasant thing to do with that kind of weather, being able to listen to the pitter patter of the rain drops on the roof of a covered bridge. It is 107 feet long and it was completely rebuilt, albeit with a steel stringer structure and the wood portions built on top of it, using original timber, after the devastation inflicted upon most of the state during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The bridge crossing originally dates back to 1888.





If you are in the area, we definitely recommend checking out this cool bridge. 

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