Bilger's rocks
Encyclopedia
Bilger's Rocks is a site in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
, near the town of Grampian
in Bloom Township
. The surrounding area is intricately laced with hills, mountains, and river valleys that generally follow the Appalachian mountain range in a northwest to southeast direction. The area is located along the Allegheny
section of the mountains, approximately 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of the highest point on Interstate 80
east of the Mississippi River
.
, dominantly sandstone
of Pennsylvanian
age. These rocks were once covered by softer rocks (i.e. limestone
& shale
) that have been eroded away. In the vicinity of Bilger's Rocks the remaining sandstone bed measures over 50 feet (15.2 m) thick and is broken up over hundreds of yards. The Homewood sandstone has an age range of approximately 316-320 million years old, predating the breakup of the ancient "supercontinent" known as Pangaea
. The mountains and prominent cliffs along the Susquehanna River
, from below Lumber City
to below Curwensville
, as well as up Anderson Creek
and Hughey Run are part of the same massive mountain ranges that were formed when two separate continents collided during Pangea's formation. Below Bells Landing, outcrops of the Homewood strata can be seen throughout the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The West Branch was known to Native American
s as Otsinachsin, "The Place By The Rocks."
The most striking feature about Bilger's Rocks are the various openings, crawlspaces, passageways, and arches found throughout the outcrop. These minute fissures and larger gaps are primarily caused by jointing within the rocks. Joints are caused by tectonic, or mountain-building forces that move and stress rocks, causing them to fracture. The resulting cracks provide an inlet for water, which slowly dissolves the rocks and allows space for ice crystals to freeze and thaw during the seasonal cycles, further pushing the rocks apart. Eventually, plants and trees also grow up through crevasses in the rocks and can exert considerable pressure as they grow, forcing even larger gaps to form. Gravity and erosion
work together to slowly level the landscape by breaking the rock into ever smaller pieces and transporting it away. The steady continental movement combined with relentless erosion and weathering over hundreds of millions of years has left the continually evolving "Rock City" that we can observe today.
was originally a Native American settlement called Chinklacamoose (alternately spelled Chincleclamoose, or using the Native pronunciation "Chincleclamousche") , surrounded by mountains, including those which are now called Grampian Hills
, but still accessible via the Susquehanna's West Branch, Upper Anderson Creek, Clearfield Creek
, and Bilger's Run. The area is located close to the Mason-Dixon line
and was known to have many natural resources that provided Native Americans and the others that came later with a myriad of goods to hunt, produce, and trade. The surrounding watershed north of the Mason-Dixon line flows steadily downhill to its ultimate destination: the Chesapeake Bay
.
Chinklacamoose was a popular trading post on the ancient trail that roughly follows what is now the Old Erie Pike and US Route 322, from Philipsburg
and the East Coast, through Curwensville, and on to Punxsutawney
and Luthersburg. The eastern trails converged with the southern trails out of Maryland
and headed northwest ultimately to New York
, Lake Erie
, and Canada
, and south-west to the convergence of the Ohio
, Monongahela
, and Allegheny Rivers where Fort Duquesne
was eventually erected on the site of the future city of Pittsburgh.
Eventually, the native population was pushed further west and the treaties signed at Fort Stanwix
in 1784 and Fort McIntosh
in 1785 expanded the land rush. Five families from Maryland and Chester
and Delaware
counties arrived each holding title to 1000 acres (4 km²) for which they had paid a land speculator $5 an acre. It was not uncommon for future land speculators to divide the tracts into smaller parcels for sale with very easy payments of only five or ten dollars down, contributing to the growing numbers of settlers.
The area encompassing Bilger's Rocks that eventually was to become Bloom Township was petitioned to the U.S. Quarter Sessions Court in August 1857 by residents of surrounding Pike
, Penn
, Brady
, and Union Townships
. A vote was taken in November of that year that unanimously agreed to create the new township
, and was named and enacted in January 1860. The whole of this land was originally incorporated as Pike township in 1813, and prior to that was part of the original Chinklacamoose territory. Due to the relative remoteness of the hilly, mountainous area and the dense forest that surrounded it, over 20 years passed from the township's original incorporation
to the settler's habitation of what was then a desolate, uninviting area. The recorded population according to the census
of 1910 was 451.
A testament to the difficulty navigating and traversing the territory is documented from the march of French troops through the area during the [French and Indian War of 1754-1763]. A regiment that was passing through was unable to ford the West Branch with their cannons and were forced to scuttle them in the river.
." In western Pennsylvania, routes began at the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and travelled through Bedford
, where the route split into various subroutes around Altoona
, Johnstown
, and Philipsburg that ultimately converged again in and around Clearfield and Grampian Hills. From there, the route redirected in a north-west direction, following the valleys and mountain passes that protected a well-worn Native American trail that leads to New York, Lake Erie, and on to Canada.
A large proportion of the local population at the time consisted of Pennsylvania Quakers. The religious group had abolished slavery
within the Society of Friends in 1776 and were petitioning the state and federal governments to do the same. The Gradual Abolition Act was passed by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1780 and the state became a known destination by slaves throughout the country looking for safe harbor. The Quaker settlers that lived in the area did what they could to assist escaped slaves travelling through on their way towards the racial tolerance of Canada. The natural topography and terrain of the Allegheny Mountains
provided excellent cover and access to the zigzagging, sometimes backtracking, and myriad alternative routes that were needed to ensure the secrecy of the "Railroad."
Some African-Americans themselves lived freely among the Quakers and also acted as "stationmasters" and "conductors" including Issac Cochran and George Hartshorn. They helped shelter and guide runaways through Grampian Hills and Clearfield and on to Brookfield, Shippenville
, and Franklin in their journey north.
"The Susquehanna Greenway is a place and a journey that connects people and
communities to the Susquehanna River and to its enduring story. The Greenway
unveils the spirit of the River- renewing awareness of its distinctive scenery,
its natural and cultural heritage. It is a destination shaped by diverse
people and the pursuit of their dreams.
The Susquehanna Greenway balances the needs of generations today and tomorrow;
conserves the environment for all living things; and creates healthy and
successful communities, wide-ranging recreation, and economic prosperity. The
Greenway celebrates the Susquehanna River as a place of timeless value, shared
memories and experiences- a place to use and enjoy, and to treasure always."
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Clearfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 81,642.Clearfield County was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Huntingdon and Lycoming Counties but was administered as part of Centre County until 1812...
, near the town of Grampian
Grampian, Pennsylvania
Grampian is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 441 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:Grampian is located at ....
in Bloom Township
Bloom Township, Pennsylvania
Bloom Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 412 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
. The surrounding area is intricately laced with hills, mountains, and river valleys that generally follow the Appalachian mountain range in a northwest to southeast direction. The area is located along the Allegheny
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Allegheny City was a Pennsylvania municipality located on the north side of the junction of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, across from downtown Pittsburgh. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907...
section of the mountains, approximately 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of the highest point on Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
Formation
The creation of the sandstone seen exposed at Bilger's Rocks was during the Carboniferous Period that lasted from 354 to 290 million years ago. The rocks exposed at Bilger's Rocks are the Homewood Formation of the Pottsville GroupPottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio. The formation is also recognized in Alabama. It is a major ridge-former In the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States...
, dominantly sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
of Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain...
age. These rocks were once covered by softer rocks (i.e. limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
& shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
) that have been eroded away. In the vicinity of Bilger's Rocks the remaining sandstone bed measures over 50 feet (15.2 m) thick and is broken up over hundreds of yards. The Homewood sandstone has an age range of approximately 316-320 million years old, predating the breakup of the ancient "supercontinent" known as Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
. The mountains and prominent cliffs along the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
, from below Lumber City
Lumber City, Pennsylvania
Lumber City is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 86 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lumber City is located at ....
to below Curwensville
Curwensville, Pennsylvania
Curwensville is a borough located in Clearfield County, Pennsylvaniain the United States of America, northwest of Altoona on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Coal mining, tanning, and the manufacture of fire bricks were the industries at the turn of the 20th century. In 1900, 1,937 people lived...
, as well as up Anderson Creek
Anderson Creek
Anderson Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania in the United States.-References:*Gertler, Edward. Keystone Canoeing, Seneca Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9749692-0-6...
and Hughey Run are part of the same massive mountain ranges that were formed when two separate continents collided during Pangea's formation. Below Bells Landing, outcrops of the Homewood strata can be seen throughout the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The West Branch was known to Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s as Otsinachsin, "The Place By The Rocks."
The most striking feature about Bilger's Rocks are the various openings, crawlspaces, passageways, and arches found throughout the outcrop. These minute fissures and larger gaps are primarily caused by jointing within the rocks. Joints are caused by tectonic, or mountain-building forces that move and stress rocks, causing them to fracture. The resulting cracks provide an inlet for water, which slowly dissolves the rocks and allows space for ice crystals to freeze and thaw during the seasonal cycles, further pushing the rocks apart. Eventually, plants and trees also grow up through crevasses in the rocks and can exert considerable pressure as they grow, forcing even larger gaps to form. Gravity and erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
work together to slowly level the landscape by breaking the rock into ever smaller pieces and transporting it away. The steady continental movement combined with relentless erosion and weathering over hundreds of millions of years has left the continually evolving "Rock City" that we can observe today.
Usage by Native Americans, Explorers, and Foreign Invaders
Near Bilger's Rocks on the site of what is presently the town of ClearfieldClearfield, Pennsylvania
Clearfield is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clearfield County.-Geography:Clearfield is located at ....
was originally a Native American settlement called Chinklacamoose (alternately spelled Chincleclamoose, or using the Native pronunciation "Chincleclamousche") , surrounded by mountains, including those which are now called Grampian Hills
Grampian Hills
The Grampian Hills are a mountain range in Klamath County, Oregon....
, but still accessible via the Susquehanna's West Branch, Upper Anderson Creek, Clearfield Creek
Clearfield Creek
Clearfield Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cambria and Clearfield counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Clearfield Creek joins the West Branch Susquehanna River near the community of Clearfield.-References:...
, and Bilger's Run. The area is located close to the Mason-Dixon line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
and was known to have many natural resources that provided Native Americans and the others that came later with a myriad of goods to hunt, produce, and trade. The surrounding watershed north of the Mason-Dixon line flows steadily downhill to its ultimate destination: the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
.
Chinklacamoose was a popular trading post on the ancient trail that roughly follows what is now the Old Erie Pike and US Route 322, from Philipsburg
Philipsburg, Pennsylvania
There are three places named Philipsburg in the state of Pennsylvania:*Philipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania*Philipsburg, Fayette County, Pennsylvania*Philipsburg, Washington County, PennsylvaniaAlso, Phillipsburg in the state of Pennsylvania:...
and the East Coast, through Curwensville, and on to Punxsutawney
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Punxsutawney is a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh. In 1907, Punxsutawney and Claysville boroughs were consolidated and incorporated as Greater Punxsutawney. A high-grade soft coal was mined in the surrounding region...
and Luthersburg. The eastern trails converged with the southern trails out of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and headed northwest ultimately to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and south-west to the convergence of the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, Monongahela
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
, and Allegheny Rivers where Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
was eventually erected on the site of the future city of Pittsburgh.
Eventually, the native population was pushed further west and the treaties signed at Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...
in 1784 and Fort McIntosh
Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania)
Fort McIntosh was an early American log frontier fort situated near the confluence of the Ohio River and the Beaver River in what is now Beaver, Pennsylvania....
in 1785 expanded the land rush. Five families from Maryland and Chester
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
and Delaware
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
counties arrived each holding title to 1000 acres (4 km²) for which they had paid a land speculator $5 an acre. It was not uncommon for future land speculators to divide the tracts into smaller parcels for sale with very easy payments of only five or ten dollars down, contributing to the growing numbers of settlers.
The area encompassing Bilger's Rocks that eventually was to become Bloom Township was petitioned to the U.S. Quarter Sessions Court in August 1857 by residents of surrounding Pike
Pike Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Pike Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 42.1 square miles , of which, 40.7 square miles of it is land and...
, Penn
Penn Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Penn Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,326 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 25.3 square miles , of which, 25.3 square miles of it is land and...
, Brady
Brady Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Brady Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,010 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...
, and Union Townships
Union Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Union Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 918 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 31.5 square miles , of which, 31.1 square miles of it is land and...
. A vote was taken in November of that year that unanimously agreed to create the new township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
, and was named and enacted in January 1860. The whole of this land was originally incorporated as Pike township in 1813, and prior to that was part of the original Chinklacamoose territory. Due to the relative remoteness of the hilly, mountainous area and the dense forest that surrounded it, over 20 years passed from the township's original incorporation
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
to the settler's habitation of what was then a desolate, uninviting area. The recorded population according to the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 1910 was 451.
A testament to the difficulty navigating and traversing the territory is documented from the march of French troops through the area during the [French and Indian War of 1754-1763]. A regiment that was passing through was unable to ford the West Branch with their cannons and were forced to scuttle them in the river.
Underground Railroad
The various paths, river routes, and safe waypoints that escaped slaves and their guides used in their journey northwards towards freedom are collectively known as the "Underground RailroadUnderground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
." In western Pennsylvania, routes began at the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and travelled through Bedford
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Bedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...
, where the route split into various subroutes around Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
, Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, and Philipsburg that ultimately converged again in and around Clearfield and Grampian Hills. From there, the route redirected in a north-west direction, following the valleys and mountain passes that protected a well-worn Native American trail that leads to New York, Lake Erie, and on to Canada.
A large proportion of the local population at the time consisted of Pennsylvania Quakers. The religious group had abolished slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
within the Society of Friends in 1776 and were petitioning the state and federal governments to do the same. The Gradual Abolition Act was passed by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1780 and the state became a known destination by slaves throughout the country looking for safe harbor. The Quaker settlers that lived in the area did what they could to assist escaped slaves travelling through on their way towards the racial tolerance of Canada. The natural topography and terrain of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
provided excellent cover and access to the zigzagging, sometimes backtracking, and myriad alternative routes that were needed to ensure the secrecy of the "Railroad."
Some African-Americans themselves lived freely among the Quakers and also acted as "stationmasters" and "conductors" including Issac Cochran and George Hartshorn. They helped shelter and guide runaways through Grampian Hills and Clearfield and on to Brookfield, Shippenville
Shippenville, Pennsylvania
Shippenville is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 505 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Shippenville is located at ....
, and Franklin in their journey north.
Preservation Efforts
In the effort to preserve the Bilger's Rocks and the surrounding landscape from increasing developmental pressures and energy exploration, a unified Greenway Design Concept and initiative has been pursued. The "Greenway Systems Components" draft proposal of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership reads in part:"The Susquehanna Greenway is a place and a journey that connects people and
communities to the Susquehanna River and to its enduring story. The Greenway
unveils the spirit of the River- renewing awareness of its distinctive scenery,
its natural and cultural heritage. It is a destination shaped by diverse
people and the pursuit of their dreams.
The Susquehanna Greenway balances the needs of generations today and tomorrow;
conserves the environment for all living things; and creates healthy and
successful communities, wide-ranging recreation, and economic prosperity. The
Greenway celebrates the Susquehanna River as a place of timeless value, shared
memories and experiences- a place to use and enjoy, and to treasure always."