Seek the Exceptional in Clearfield County, PA

Western Pennsylvania’s Clearfield County is as close to a recreational paradise, replete with natural wonders, numerous outdoor activities, unique tasting trails and culinary delights, as any traveler can imagine. All season recreational offerings make any time opportune for a trip to the county’s wild side. More than 100,000-acres of State Forest and Game Lands allow sport hunting and game viewing. Those who prefer water-based experiences can choose from more than 250 lakes and rivers in which to fish, swim, boat or canoe. www.visitclearfieldcounty

 

Parker Dam State Park is your entrée into outdoor adventure. From here visitor’s can hike into the 50,000-acre Quehanna Wilderness, engage in a variety of activities and explore the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the lumber heritage in the museum. The 20-acre Parker Lake and new growth forestation were products of the CCC. In 1985 a tornado left a path of destruction 69-miles long and up to a mile wide and a portion of the destroyed area has been left untouched so that visitors can compare it to new growth along the Hardwood Trail.

 

Nearby Elk Country Visitor Center is designed to recreate the ambiance of a rustic retreat. Through text, dioramas and displays visitors are introduced to the elk’s habitat and habits. Pennsylvania’s elk population was wiped out by the 1850s. They were reintroduced in 1913. Currently PA has the largest herd in the northeast, numbering over 1,400. Elk viewing is one of the counties more unique activities. Viewing wagon tours can be taken from the visitor center.

 

The Iroquois Confederacy inhabited the region prior to the entry of the first European in 1785. The first settlers tended to be veterans of the Revolutionary War and the number of African Americans was negligible. One documented freed slave, Elijah Only, married one of the only other blacks in the region, served in the Civil War and died there in 1912. In 1804 Clearfield County was created from portions of existing counties and people migrated there to work in the timber industry.

 

Bilger’s Rocks are situated on 262-acres of land. They were formed of sandstone more than 300-million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. Passages weave through the landmark with walls as high as 25-feet. Native Americans sheltered among these rocks and called it Otsinachsin, “The Place By the Rocks”. There are ten special viewpoints, three marked and four unmarked trails. One of these, the Roland Welker Trail, was built to replicate his experience and the shelter he utilized during his winning 7^th Season on ALONE on the History Channel. The one-mile loop starts and finishes at the Rock House.

 

April 1861 and the onset of the Civil War altered life for the entire country and deeply divided Clearfield County in particular. It became an active center for draft dodgers, deserters, copperheads and secret societies assisting draft resisters and apprehending slaves. Lincoln ordered four drafts and in August of 1864 only one-third of Clearfield’s quota reported. A recruitment officer was killed in October, buildings were burned and the government sent troops to quell the civil unrest. 

 

On December 13, 1864 Adam’s log house was the scene of a violent confrontation known as the Bloody Knox Affair. The cabin was surrounded and the troops called for the deserters to come out. A Union soldier was killed as was the deserter Adams. Eighteen men were arrested on the spot and 150 were incarcerated later. The on-site reconstructed cabin is furnished and tours are available. 

 

Clearfield County Historical Society Museum provides an overview of the county’s history in the 1881 Victorian Kerr Mansion. The museum has 12 display rooms, coal and lumbering dioramas in the basement and the porch and carriage house. Of particular note are the Medical Room and the Mourning Room showcasing Victorian era funeral traditions.

 

Grice Clearfield Community Museum is a private collection of more than 75 antique classic cars and greater than 800 trophy game mounts. This oldest car on display is from 1910 and the collection includes everyone’s dream car. Photos are encouraged.

 

Doolittle’s Station features another outstanding private collection, largely railroad themed, that begins with an 1880 replicated B&O Rail Depot. Visitors have a menu of sites, activities and dining options including Box Car Brew, a nano-brewery with 20 rotating taps. If all this activity tires you there is a B&B on the premises.

 

The interactive self-guided dinosaur tour is a favorite. The gallery is filled with animatronic beasts that move and in some cases are available for rides and photos. Highlights of a rail car tour include a car from the circus train, a 1906 Pullman Palace Car that is said to be the best preserved in the country and Teddy Roosevelt’s 1901 presidential rail car complete with original furnishings. 

 

There are two Lumber Jack trails created to highlight singular eateries, wineries and breweries and honor the area’s first major industry. In 1805 the first logs were rafted down the Susquehanna River. Between 1840 and 1890 12-billion board feet of timber were produced. The Lumber Jack Burger Trail lists 13 locations and the Lumber Jack Tasting Trail lists 16. There are passports and prizes for each trail.

 

Denny’s Beer Barrel & Pub issues the “World’s Largest Burger Challenges” in the form of five different burger-eating dares based on consuming 15 or 20-lb burgers. Denny’s has been featured on several television programs. 

 

Wolf Run Adventures will rent you a Slingshot so you can look like an adventurer while driving the roads of Clearfield County. There are a series of four designated driving routes from which to choose that vary in length from 20 to 60-miles. Additionally there is the 72-mile West Branch Susquehanna River scenic trail, a former Native American route filled with exceptional natural beauty.

www.wolfrunadventures.com

                  

Photo: Mike Wintermantel (Bloody Knox Marker & House)

Photo: Wolf Run Adventures  (Car)

Discover Aiken, South Carolina

The city of Aiken, named after William Aiken, SC Railroad’s first president, was founded in 1835 after railroads entered the area in 1833 and the world’s longest line, 136-miles, connected the Savannah River with Charleston. In 1871 Aiken County was formed from portions of four existing counties. 

The first regional “tourists”, Hernando De Soto came in 1540 seeking gold. The next significant march through the area was that of Sherman as he crossed the state on his march to the sea. The ensuing Battle of Aiken occurred on February 11, 1865. Confederate Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s victory, a rare win against Sherman, prevented the city’s devastation.

After the Civil War Aiken garnered a reputation as health resort destination. People flocked there because of the mild climate, historic sites and accessibility.  Wealthy northerners founded a “Winter Colony”, brought their horses, built luxurious venues in which to spend their time and golfed on one of the South’s first courses. 

Aiken proved to be poor land for crops and as early as the 1830s the elite brought their horses here because it was perfect for training and breeding thoroughbreds. Today Aiken continues selling stabling and track time to trainees. The facilities are first-rate and the track is layered and quiet so the horses do not get distracted. In 1930 Aiken Steeplechase Association began hosting annual races. Twelve years later the Aiken Trials, part of Aiken's Triple Crown events began. A menu of equestrian events can be found online. 

Once a carriage house, the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, is a 2-story excursion into the world of Aiken horse racing. The story is told through a series of thematic displays replete with awards, memorabilia, videos, photographs and interpretive panels. The second level has information on the contribution of African American jockeys and trainers. A second room is devoted to children’s activities. In the Courtyard visitors can examine training equipment and owner’s silks of 40 champion racehorses.

The best orientation to the city is the Aiken County Historical Museum. Until the 1950s this was a playground for the wealthy. When the Winter Colony residents left they the infrastructure intact and the 3-story museum is housed in “Banksia” one of the former mansions. It exhibits items from the history of Aiken County. A museum highlight is pottery by David Drake, an enslaved ceramicist, who often adorned his pottery with poetry. The 3.5-acre museum campus houses two larger artifacts, an 1808 log cabin and 1890s schoolhouse.

Aiken’s Visitors Center and Train Museum showcases railroad history through use of nine town dioramas, model trains, photographs, artifacts and displays. The Visitor Center is located here and maps and brochures are available.

In 1950 the “cold war” took over Aiken in the form of the Savannah River Site designed to make nuclear materials. In 1946 the Atomic Energy Commission was established. In 1949 the USSR tested their first atomic bomb and then moved hydrogen, 1000 times more powerful, bombs. America felt the bomb was an immediate threat and in 1950 chose Dupont as a contractor. They examined 114 US sites for the potential “atomic town”. It had to be near water, out of Russian range, near a larger town, and have certain soil and weather conditions. A site near Aiken was selected November 28, 1950. One week later the people living there were told to move and compensated for their land and homes. 

Construction took place from 1950-55 and once completed the research facility functioned until 1989. The museum tells the story of the plant, the workers, the displaced residents and that of plutonium and its storage and disposal. 

The SC African American Heritage Commission designated Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site one of the"Top Ten Sites to Visit in South Carolina".  It was named after the red clay on which it sat. The 1859 mansion was slave built for James Henry Hammond senator, governor, cotton planter and staunch defender of slavery. He owned four plantations, 14,000-acres, and approximately 300 slaves with from 20 to 50 working at Redcliffe.

Tours of the 2-story Greek revival mansion are offered and more than 4,000 artifacts are displayed. The 369-acre estate has an 1861 magnolia tree alley and outbuildings that may be visited. Two 1857 extant slave quarters provide a snapshot of the life of the enslaved. There were originally four double-pen cabins.

The self-guided Historic Aiken Tour consists of 94 sites of architectural or historic importance. Each site is marked with a Historic Aiken marker. Sites date from the 1800s. One of the sites is the stunning “Queen of Aiken”, the Willcox Hotel. Originally three structures, the buildings were joined to become the lobby of the hotel. The white pillared Colonial Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The rooms are sumptuous and feature deluxe amenities, service and cuisine. Notable guests have included Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor and Elizabeth Arden. A stay here is a traveler’s delight. 

Hitchcock Woods is the largest privately owned urban forest in the US. The 2,100-acres are under the management of the Hitchcock Woods Foundation. The points of interest include the 1929 brick Memorial Gate and Sand River that weaves through the center of the woods. Legend has it that an Indian chief was told in a vision to take his ill daughter to be healed to the Sand River. Her cure contributed to the reputation of the area as being a place of healing.   

There is something new to discover in Aiken around every corner and down every street. Become an Aiken adventurer. www.visitaikensc.com

 

 

 

 

 

Bliss on the Bay, Galveston, TX

 Galveston, Texas is a 46-mile long, 3-mile wide barrier island in the enviable position of being a destination that offers equal measures of outdoor activities, exceptional architecture, unique dining, entertainment and accommodation options and a nationally significant history. The city boasts 32 miles of gulf beaches and a 17-foot high seawall, 10.3 miles long, the longest continuous sidewalk in the country. 

Situated on the main trans-Gulf migration route the island is one of the country’s premier birding destinations.  At East End. Lagoon Nature Preserve birders can see birds in the wetlands and tidal pools from their vehicles. 

Juan de Grijalva first sighted Galveston in 1519 but it was Cabeza de Vaca’s whose party arrived on western Galveston Island, inhabited by the Karankawa, and named it “Malhado” or “Isle of Misfortune” in the 1520s.  De Vaca’s journal is one of the earliest accounts of European contact in Texas. 

In the 1780s Spanish navigator, José de Evia, surveyed the Gulf Coast and named the bay Galvezton for Bernardo de Gálvez the Spanish Viceroy. Americans arrived in 1815 when Henry Perry landed 3 ships, commissioned to disrupt Spanish trade. By 1808 the Atlantic slave trade had been abolished in the US but the trade thrived around the Texas Gulf. The notorious pirate Jean Lafitte entered the trade in the region in 1817 with his base, Campeche, in Galveston. 

There is evidence that Lafitte’s men kidnapped a Karankawa female and this act led to a raid on his compound. The natives were defeated by use of superior weapons. The bulk of Lafitte’s business was in African slavery. He sold to middlemen, most notably Jim Bowie, who purchased them by weight. Lafitte would also claim he “found” them, turn them over to customs and repurchase them at US government sales. This made it legal to sell them in the US. It is estimated he sold approximately 2000 slaves.

The remains of Lafitte’s home, the Maison Rouge or Red House, can still be seen. A captured ship yielded the red paint used on the façade and it is documented to have had 12 gables, 10-ft. arches, a cannon in the cupola and a substantial exterior staircase, the only remaining portion of the house. After firing on an American ship Lafitte was given 60 days to vacate. He left on March 3, 1821 after burning everything to the ground. The remains of the staircase are on Harborside.

The Maison Rouge is one of the most haunted island locations. People claim to have seen lights, apparitions and have heard sounds. The property’s most ghoulish spirits are said to be a pack of 12 black hellhounds supplied by a voodoo priestess. They were trained to hunt and capture men.

The 1911 Hotel Galvez is believed the most haunted site. It has a number of ghosts and has been featured on television. The 9,328-ft.  hotel has 226 rooms and was constructed in a combination Mission and Spanish Revival styles. Once known as the “Vegas of the South,” the hotel played host to presidents and celebrities as well as spirits.

Sister Katherine, a resident spirit, drowned in 1900. She served in an orphanage and when a storm came she and the other Sisters of Charity tied the children to their bodies in hopes of saving them. The nuns and more than 80 children died bound together. It is theorized that she may be buried on the grounds of the hotel.

In 1900 the Great Storm, this was prior to naming storms, was the deadliest natural disaster in our history. The storm killed between 9-12,000 people. The large death toll and diminished population led the people to inter people where they fell, making the island a large burial ground. Many of structures are built on gravesites. Ghost tours are numerous and thematic. 

Downtown Galveston encompasses the longest row of historic buildings and one of the largest concentrations of Victorian architecture in America. The Moody and Bishop’s Mansion, both Texas Historic Landmarks, are open for tours and are outstanding architectural examples. The Bishop’s Palace has been listed as one of the most significant buildings in the US. 

The Texas Heroes Monument is located near Bishop’s Palace. It was gifted by Henry Rosenberg to commemorate those who participated in the 1836 Texas Revolution. Bronze figures adorn the 72-feet tall monument.

Moody Gardens opened in 1986 with the goal of combining education with enduring lessons on conservation and wildlife. There are three pyramids, the Aquarium, the Rainforest and Discovery, showcasing marine animals, plants, animals, reptiles and science exhibits. The complex also includes a water park, zipline, a 3D theater, golf course, paddlewheel boat and hotel. It is one of the premier destinations in the country.

Bay Tours are offered at Pier 22 along with The Texas Seaport Museum and 1877 Tall Ship Elissa. The 2-story museum relates Texas’ maritime history through photographs and documents. More than 133,000 immigrants entered the country through the Port of Galveston and much of their information is computerized and available in the museum. The port was also one of 48 entry ports for the transatlantic slave trade.

In June 19, 1865 Maj. Gen. Granger issued General Order No. 3 calling for “absolute equality” for the enslaved. This act is commemorated and has been celebrated as Juneteenth from that time. The word is not the deed and troops were sent, 75% were black, to assist in enforcing the order for the 250,000 enslaved in the state. A history trail traces their path in Galveston. The showpiece of the trail is the 5,000-sq, ft. “Absolute Equality” mural. The mural depicts a series of scenes of historical significance.

Galveston is a great destination. Find your bliss on the bay.

www.visitgalveston.com