1.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
2.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
National Park Service
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It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
5.
East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company
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The railroad has not operated public excursions since December 2011 and has operated no excursions since October 2013. The intention is to reopen the railroad after a sale to a new nonprofit owner. The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company was chartered in 1856, service began from Mount Union, Pennsylvania to Orbisonia, Pennsylvania in August,1873, and to Robertsdale in November,1874. The line later was extended to Woodvale and Alvan, with short branches. At its height, it had over 60 miles of track, the primary purpose of the railroad was to haul semi-bituminous coal from the mines on the east side of the remote Broad Top Mountain plateau to the Pennsylvania Railroad in Mount Union. The railroad also carried substantial amounts of rock, lumber and passengers with some agricultural goods, concrete, road tar. As the iron industry in the region faded in the early 1900s, the EBT was generally profitable from the 1880s through the 1940s and was able to modernize its infrastructure far more than other narrow gauge railroads. The railroads roundhouse, one of the oldest railroad roundhouses in the US still in operation, was built in 1882, in the 1950s, coal demand plummeted as homes and industries switched to cheap oil and gas. The last nail in the coffin came when the silica brick plants in Mount Union converted to oil and gas and not enough coal could be sold to support the mines and the railroad. The railroad closed as a coal hauler April 14,1956, nick Kovalchick, president of Kovalchick Salvage, elected not to scrap the railroad right away, instead letting it sit in place. In 1960, the boroughs of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace—the latter being the operating hub for the railroad—celebrated their Bicentennial. Doing them one better, he rehabilitated four miles of track, the new attraction was so successful that the ride, extended to five miles, opened as a regular tourist operation in 1961. The railroad operated tourist trains every summer through 2011, after operations were suspended. The EBT was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, the railroad was added in 1996 to the National Trust for Historic Preservations list of Americas Most Endangered Places. The majority of the railroad is owned by Kovalchick Salvage and was for years overseen by Nicks son, Joe. The EBTPA made a number of improvements on site as well as adding numerous special events and in 2011 extended the season, maintenance standards and customer service were enhanced. The original three-year lease expired in April 2012 and the owners, when running, the line operates as a heritage railway, with trains pulled by 3 ft narrow gauge 2-8-2 steam locomotives. Vintage diesels operate as backup power, until 2010 excursions ran June through October, weekends only
6.
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
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Huntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Juniata River, approximately 32 miles east of Altoona and 98 miles west of Harrisburg and it is the largest population center near Raystown Lake, a winding,28 miles long flood-control reservoir managed by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Historically, the region surrounding Huntingdon was dotted with iron furnaces and forges, consuming limestone, iron ore, dairy farms dominate the local agriculture. The town is a stop for the Amtrak passenger service which connects Harrisburg with Pittsburgh. In adjoining Smithfield Township are the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. State Game Lands 322 extends north from Huntingdon Borough in the direction of Petersburg, public parks are the George N. Weaver Memorial Park at the end of 16th Street, Portstown Park along the Juniata River, and Blair Field bordering Standing Stone Creek. Historic Blair Park, directly across the stream, is owned and managed by a nonprofit group, it contains a gazebo. A vintage chapel within the park is used by the congregation of Epiphany of Our Lord Orthodox Church, in 2009, Huntingdon was named by Budget Travel magazines readers as the 5th Coolest Small Town in the United States. Results were announced on The Early Show on April 15,2009 by Budget Travels editor in chief Nina Willdorf, in 2015, Huntingdon was chosen by Niche. com as the 7th Best City to Retire in Pennsylvania. Huntingdon is the nearest town to the Allegrippis Trail system, currently ranked #15 on the list of The BEST Mountain Bike Trails in the World. In 1768, Rev. Dr. William Smith began selling lots on the Standing Stone Tract along the Juniata, the tracts two prior owners had not attempted to lay out a town, so Dr. Smith is considered the founder. Huntingdon sits at the site of fields that had been cultivated at a date now unknown. It may be significant that natural formations, which stand erect, are on a nearby ridge. A story surfaced during the early 19th century that Smith had renamed Standing Stone Settlement to honor an Englishwoman, Selina, smiths descendants vehemently denied the story, and there exists no evidence to support it, despite a wide circulation in published sources. In 1796, the village was incorporated as a borough. In the 19th century, J. C, Blair, a native of Shade Gap and a stationer and businessman, popularized the writing tablet and began marketing it nationwide. His factory in downtown Huntingdon was later relocated to nearby Alexandria, the vicinity has been the subject of repeated flooding, in 1889, in 1936, and again in 1972. More recently in 2004, Hurricane Ivan resulted in major flooding close to Huntingdon, the Huntingdon Borough Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986
7.
National Historic Landmark
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A National Historic Landmark is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 85,000 places listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Places, a National Historic Landmark District may include contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed, prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of the United States Congress. The first National Historic Site designation was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17,1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the data gathered under this legislation. Because listings often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9,1960,92 properties were announced as designated NHLs by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, more than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States, there are NHLs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Three states account for nearly 25 percent of the nations NHLs, three cities within these states all separately have more NHLs than 40 of the 50 states. In fact, New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, there are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia. Some NHLs are in U. S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states. There are 15 in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U. S. commonwealths and territories,5 in U. S. -associated states such as Micronesia, over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. About half of the National Historic Landmarks are privately owned, the National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks. A friends group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect, if not already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation. About three percent of Register listings are NHLs, american Water Landmark List of U. S
8.
Pennsylvania Route 26
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Pennsylvania Route 26 is a 126-mile highway in the south-central area of Pennsylvania. Its northern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 150 northwest of Howard, Pennsylvania, two major destinations along this route are Raystown Lake near Huntingdon and the Pennsylvania State University at State College. In State College, Pennsylvania, the divides into two one-way streets, going northbound on Beaver Avenue and going southbound on College Avenue. The Centre Area Transportation Authority uses these two routes for their Campus Loop and the Town Loop. As of November 24,2008, a 3.6 miles portion of PA26 is concurrent with the northernmost stretch of Interstate 99 north of State College, Pennsylvania between Pleasant Gap and Interstate 80. The route also passes by two state penitentiaries, the State Correctional Institution - Rockview in Pleasant Gap and State Correctional Institution - Huntingdon, PA26 begins at the Maryland state line in Fulton County. In Maryland it continues as N. Orleans Road, in Union Township, PA26 begins as Clear Ridge Road and makes a 90 degree angle turn to the west while intersecting the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 484. PA26 enters Bedford County as Clear Ridge Road heading towards the west, then PA26 shifts towards the north. In Mann Township, PA26 makes two turns, first towards the west and second towards the north. PA26 also passes through Buchanan State Forest with many turns in the forest, in Monroe Township, PA26 begins to parallel Tussey Mountain. North of the forest, PA26 has multiple S-curves, in West Providence Township, PA26 passes under Interstate 70 and Interstate 76. North of I-70/I-76, PA26 shifts to the west and then makes a 90 degree angle turn to the north to become State Street, PA26 enters the borough of Everett as Hopewell Street. Then, PA26 makes a turn to the west when it begins a concurrency with U. S. Route 30 Business. Then, PA26 makes another turn to the north to leave the US30 concurrency to become Spring Street. At the Everett boundary, PA26 passes under U. S. Route 30 without access, north of US30, PA26 is called Raystown Road. In Hopewell Township, PA26 shifts towards the east while intersecting the terminus of Pennsylvania Route 36. Then PA26 shifts towards the southeast and then the northeast, north of Hopewell, PA26 begins to parallel the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River while intersects the northern terminus of Pennsylvania Route 915. Then, PA26 shifts towards the north and parallels the Raystown Branch Juniata River, in Liberty Township, PA26 intersects the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 913
9.
Greenwood Furnace State Park
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Greenwood Furnace State Park is a 423-acre Pennsylvania state park in Jackson Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is near the iron making center of Greenwood Furnace. The park includes the ghost town of Greenwood that grew up around the ironworks, old roads, Greenwood Furnace State Park is adjacent to Rothrock State Forest and on the western edge of an area of Central Pennsylvania known as the Seven Mountains. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 305,20 miles south of State College, within the park is Greenwood Lake, a 6-acre lake that is stocked with trout and which allows ice fishing during the winter. The dam that forms the lake is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Greenwood Furnace State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and its Bureau of Parks as one of 25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks. The northern Huntingdon County area was inhabited by the Ona Jutta Hage or Juniata tribe. Their name meant The People of the Standing Stone, an obelisk that once stood in their village near present-day Huntingdon, the Juniata had moved away by the time that Pennsylvania was colonized by William Penn. Penn bought the land from the Iroquois and the Tuscarora and Shawnee that had resettled throughout central Pennsylvania were soon forced to move on once again, many different groups of European settlers migrated to the area by the late 18th century. They were mostly farmers of Scots-Irish descent with large numbers of Amish and Mennonite Germans who had fled persecution in Germany, Austria. Later settlers built a tavern and a sawmill in the present location of Greenwood Furnace State Park, Greenwood Furnace State Park is named for the iron furnace that was once the center of industry in northern Huntingdon County. Greenwood Furnace was open for operation on June 5,1834, the parent company, Norris, Rawle and Co. selected the site because of the ease in access to the needed natural resources, iron ore, limestone, trees for charcoal and a steady water supply. Greenwood Furnace was able to produce up to five tons of pig iron ingots per day at the height of its production, soon a small village sprang up around Greenwood Furnace to support the needs of the workers and the furnace. The village included 20 houses, a store, company offices, stables. A deposit of high quality iron ore was discovered in the leading to further growth in the Greenwood Furnace area. A gristmill was constructed in 1842, Greenwood Lake was built at this time to create a water supply to power the mill. Greenwood Lake is currently used as a lake by visitors to Greenwood Furnace State Park. Ownership of Greenwood Furnace Iron Works was transferred to John A. Wright in 1847, Wright was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Railroad in nearby Altoona. The ironworks at Greenwood and nearby Freedom Iron Works were supervised in part by Andrew Carnegie, under the leadership of Wright and Carnegie Greenwood and Freedom became vitally important centers of iron production for the booming railroad industry
