The village of Piney, Pennsylvania

[ysengrin]

You're looking generally east, across the Clarion River, at the site of the old wharf at the village of Piney, Pennsylvania. From 185 to 135 years ago, that bank was the site of a little river port. Iron ingots from the Beaver and Madison furnaces were shipped south to Pittsburgh on flat boats built here, with 75 to 100 tons of metal on each boat. Later, fire clay was shipped as well. Going south from the wharf stood boat scaffolds, a saw mill, general store, blacksmith's shop, a hotel and several homes. Hahn's Ferry (now the site of a highway bridge across the Clarion) was at the southern end, where Piney Creek entered the Clarion.

None of this remains now, though a careful eye can still trace the remains of the old dam across Piney Creek that directed water to the sawmill's spillway. The coming of the railroad to Sligo in 1873 shut down the river trade, and the village of Piney slowly slipped away as acid runoff from the mines increased.

The forest you see dates from well after this period.

Location of the old Piney wharf (approx): 41°10'13.79"N, 79°28'17.02"W

Comments

[xoagray.livejournal.com]

it would be really neat to go over there and have at that area with a metal detector to see what kind of stuff might be just under the ground.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Likely not much, anymore - the main site is under one end of a highway bridge and new interchange, small as it is, and the wharf area looks to have been flooded out and filled in several times. I'm tempted to track down the recorded plans for the bridge to see if they noted anything still being there at the time.

The village that sprang up around the Madison furnace, on the other hand, is in an area that's pretty much undeveloped today. A quick glance around didn't turn up any foundations or other signs, but it was getting dark and I just made a cursory look.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

I'll take that back - I'd forgotten that the endwalls of the old bridge across Piney Creek are still there, made from dressed stone. The new bridge is thirty feet or so farther south, and lines up with the bridge across the Clarion. The old bridge crossed into more the center of Piney.

You can pick out bits on Google Earth at those coordinates, and compare to this 1877 map.

[xoagray.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I'm willing to bet there are still things there that aren't so easily found worth the naked eye as well too though. Anywhere people lived there are always traces, little things left behind that tell of the lives spent there.
I kind of look at sites like this the way I look at fossil digs. Might just find fragments of things, but they're still interesting. I'll check out that bridge on maps. :)

[sabotlours.livejournal.com]

I love the history of the East. Places that were thriving settlements just slowly withered away. When I was in college I was fascinated by lead mines in NW Illinois. Almost nothing is left of them because they were active in the 1840's and 50's. I found it odd that the lead industry collapsed right before the start of the Civil War.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed that this whole area I'm living in was both deforested and heavily surface mined back then - to the extent that the Clarion River was considered the most polluted stream in PA and was almost lifeless - and it's pretty much recovered now after some massive cleanup efforts and time. You wouldn't guess what it was like by looking around now.

I also like looking at how settlements change across the years; there were "ghost" towns back around where I grew up in Texas, too.

[wildfox34.livejournal.com]

It's some nice areas for nature hiking as well! I'm usually out in PA once a year doing some hiking and such. :)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to hiking around Cook State Forest and Allegheny National Forest when I have time - since they're both a stone's throw away!