Prologue: Last week the Girl Scouts of America received a record donation of $84.5 million from Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Among other uses, the grant is meant to “create more equitable membership opportunities in communities that have been under-engaged” and “foster meaningful program innovation informed by the current interests and needs of girls to prepare themContinue reading “Hillside”
Author Archives: Laura Howard
Update: Falls Run Name Correction
In April of last year, we posted about the ecologically important tributary of Elk Creek where Howard Falls is located. Falls Run originates two miles south of Howard Falls at the St Lawrence continental divide and is a rather insignificant stream for those first two miles. However, after cascading over the Falls, the Falls RunContinue reading “Update: Falls Run Name Correction”
Early Surveys of Erie County
As mentioned in our previous blog, “History of Franklin Township,” most of the land in Northwestern Pennsylvania came under the control of the newly formed United States of America with the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix. The following year, however, disputes of land claims within the colonies began, and a boundary dispute between New YorkContinue reading “Early Surveys of Erie County”
The Invisible Lines of the Early Surveys through the Wilderness
As mentioned in our previous blog post “History of Franklin Township”, the layout of Franklin township was almost predetermined by The Purchase of 1784. A huge tract of newly purchased land, originally named the County of Alleghany, was divided into two great sections by a due east-and-west line running from Mahoning Creek, near Kittanning onContinue reading “The Invisible Lines of the Early Surveys through the Wilderness”
Jake Weiggel and the Legend of the Counterfeit $20s
As we continue to tell the history of Howard Falls, there are stories outside the Howard family we feel are equally important to share – stories about families who were also stewards of the Falls Run Gorge. One such family was the Weiggels, who owned a portion of the Falls Run Gorge property to theContinue reading “Jake Weiggel and the Legend of the Counterfeit $20s”
Old-Growth Forests
Have you ever walked in an old-growth forest? Probably not, as in the Eastern United States, almost all of that majestic forest was clear-cut by 1920. However, before Europeans arrived in North America that old growth forest stretched totally unbroken, from Florida to Maine and west to the Great Plains, as the virgin forest mapContinue reading “Old-Growth Forests”
History of Franklin Township
While most history of the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania starts with settlers coming across a remote, untraveled forest, in reality, this land may have once been the ancestral home to indigenous people and the original stewards of what we now call Howard Falls. In the coming years, we hope to explore and research the indigenousContinue reading “History of Franklin Township”
Howard Falls vs Suburban Sprawl
As mentioned in a previous blog (Early Scientific Research at Howard Falls) the remoteness of Franklin Township delayed its settlement compared to other areas of Erie County. In the 1820’s the area was still very sparsely settled. There were no bridges over Elk Creek, none of the roads present today even existed, and the only roadContinue reading “Howard Falls vs Suburban Sprawl”
The West Virginia White Butterfly
One of many invasive plants in Pennsylvania, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was introduced on the east coast in the 1860s as a valuable food source and its proclaimed medicinal properties. It has since spread throughout the Northeast and Midwest. This shade-tolerant invasive plant out-competes against native vegetation. It can be especially detrimental at Howard Falls,Continue reading “The West Virginia White Butterfly”
Early Scientific Research at Howard Falls
Over the past 200 years Howard Falls and the Falls Run Gorge has attracted scientists of varied interests. Most recently the Falls Run area has been investigated extensively by the Western PA Conservancy, resulting in The Falls Run Gorge being named a Natural Heritage Area of Pennsylvania. But in the 1800’s and early 1900’s severalContinue reading “Early Scientific Research at Howard Falls”