Ironmaster's Mansion Meeting

Ironmaster's Mansion Meeting

On Thursday, May 12^th, the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association will meet at 7:00 PM in the Ironmaster's Mansion located at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.  Debra Bowman, Executive Director of the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, will be the featured speaker.  She will be speaking about the Ironmaster Mansion Restoration Project and the Conservancy's educational effort to help communities called "ReVisionPA."  She will also be giving a tour of the mansion.  The meeting is open to the public and there is no cost to attend.  The address for Pine Grove Furnace State Park is:  1212 Pine Grove Road, Gardners, PA 17324.  The park is easily reached from I-81. Visitors should take Exit 37 to PA 233 south then travel for eight miles.  To reach the park from the south, at the intersection of Route 30 and PA 233, take PA 233 north for 13 miles.  Pine Grove Furnace State Park website is: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/pinegrovefurnace/pinegrovefurnace_mini.pdf. 

The Central Pennsylvania Conservancy is restoring the Ironmaster's Mansion at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.  This building, a longstanding historical structure, is an important landmark in our local history and through volunteer efforts will remain a viable community center into the future.  For years it has served as a hostel and has been frequented by many Appalachian Trail hikers as a famed half-way resting area. 

The Ironmaster's Mansion, registered in 1977 with the National Register of Historical Places, holds stories tracing back to 1827 when the bricks to construct the building were made on site.  It is the location of not only the Pine Grove Furnace, but an Underground Railroad site, the half way point of the Appalachian Trail, and home to many famous families in Pennsylvania's history. 

ReVisionPA is an education initiative of the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy that focuses on three approaches to help citizens and leaders become more experienced and informed decision-makers — visioning services, workshops, and programs.  The concept behind ReVisionPA is that the more people experience the role natural resource assets play in their community, the more in-tune they will be with opportunities to protect and enhance them.  Conservancy experts help communities examine how different zoning, planning, and management strategies can help to maintain the balance between natural, human, and economic resource assets. 

The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association (CWOA) is an organization of private forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. For more information about the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association and the April 16^th meeting, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net).