An Educational Outing

For the last few months, Ward and I have been concentrating on chores around the house and yard without many just-for-the-fun-of-it activities. So that gave me a big case of go-fever that we treated on Sunday with an outing to Pennsylvania.

I've had a slip of paper on my desk for a couple of years with the name Camp Michaux on it. No other words, but I remembered it was a suggestion of a place to explore from my sister.  Sunday was her birthday. Since she lives in Maine and I was not able to spend the day with her, I thought I would spend the day with her suggestion instead. (See if you can follow that logic.) 

We did a little research on the camp before we left and learned Camp Micheax was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early 1930s, was used as a Prisoner of War (POW) interrogation camp during WW II (mid-1940s), and was leased for a church camp from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. 

Here's a little of what we saw on our outing.

Our destination was about 1 1/2 hours away, and we took the backroads to get there. I'm glad Ward was driving because I'm not sure where we would have ended up if I had been navigating after this wire in the road detoured our route.

We found our way back to the route and drove through lots of farmland, including apple orchards, along the way.

The directions to Camp Michaux were vague, but one set of them took us to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. As we drove in, we realized that we had been here years ago, 12 to be exact, camping with Ward's Family. We toured the Appalachian Trail Museum then, which you see in the background. The trail goes through the park and is the halfway point for the hiking route that goes from Maine to Georgia.

The park caters to AT hikers with a general store and phone for them to use, among other things. It's been a while since I've seen a phone like this.

The park had one of the furnaces that it was named after. The iron industry was big in this area because of an abundance of the needed raw materials. The Pine Grove Iron Company operated here from 1794-1924. Look carefully in the opening, and you'll see Ward investigating how it's made, per usual.

The rangers in the park office were able to give us directions to Camp Michaux.

A short distance down the road, we found our destination.

This is the remains of the barn for the farm that predated the camp. The farm was started in 1787, and in 1794, the iron company bought it. The farm was used to support the workers at the ironworks. It was sold to the state in 1912.

There were no signs in the area, but we had a chart that corresponded to 27 markers like this one. The chart listed what happened in a spot during the three different uses of the camp. In the background, you can see the foundation for a building that was CCC barracks, German POW barracks, and church camp arts and crafts.

Most of the buildings were removed when the camp reverted back to being part of the state forest. Most locations showed only the foundations of what once was. This fountain was one of the few remaining intact structures. It was made from slag from the ironworks and quartz.

This was a side of a dam built by German POWs. It reads, "PW = 22.5.45" This reminder of the past was cause for much reflection on my part.

After exploring the rest of the stops, we ate a late lunch at a local diner. And then, it was back home to get ready for the week ahead. We had a good time and learned a lot. And maybe that will hold me until I go to my family reunion that is coming up in a couple of weeks. 

Until next time...