Scotia, Pennsylvania
Scotia, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
 The Ruins of Scotia, Pennsylvania | |
  Scotia Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania  Scotia Scotia (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 40°47′59.22″N 77°56′46.01″W / 40.7997833°N 77.9461139°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Centre |
| Township | Patton |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code | 814 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1204595[1] |
Scotia is a ghost town located in Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Although the community was called Scotia, the name of the local post office was Benore.[2] (Ben is Gaelic for "mountain [of]" but further etymology of the name is unknown.)[citation needed]
History
Andrew Carnegie leased five hundred acres from Moses Thompson in the iron ore rich pine barrens in the Nittany Valley. The area had been surface-mined since the early nineteenth century for local furnaces. Carnegie sought to finance a mining operation for his modern furnaces in Pittsburgh.[3]
He convinced the Pennsylvania Railroad to extend the line that traveled from Tyrone to Fairbrook to terminate in the barrens.[3][4]
In 1880 Carnegie bought multiple land tracts and financed company housing, a store, a church, an office building, stables, and an ore washer.[3]
Scotia's population peaked at about 400 people, growing to include a civic center with a small library, a baseball team, and a band called the Forest Cornet Band.[5]
In 1899 Carnegie sold the iron works at Scotia to the Bellefonte Furnace Company. The mines would close in 1911. The Scotia Barrens was the site of a lumber operation connected to a sawmill in Waddle until about 1915.[3] These operations along with fires have destroyed all the original forests.[6] The Federal government spent $500,000 to reopen the mines in the wake of World War II, but the ore was considered poor quality and the mines were again shut down and abandoned.[3]
Scotia Barrens
The Scotia Barrens have a micro climate known as a frost pocket. Air from the ridge tops rushes down and gets trapped in the low lying area, making the Scotia Barrens usually colder than the surrounding areas.[5]
Ecology
The Barrens are biologically diverse and are home to endangered plant and wildlife. The Scotia Barrens are one of the largest pitch pine/scrub oak barrens left in Pennsylvania, and the habitat of a high diversity and number of birds, including over thirty-three species of warblers, and the northern saw-whet owl.[7]
Parks and Recreation
The Barrens lie on the 6,200 acres of State Game Lands #176. The Game Lands include paths for hiking and biking, as well as a shooting range.[8]
The ruins of the ore washing site are covered in graffiti and serve as an attraction for hikers.[3]
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Scotia, Pennsylvania
- ^ Simpson, Paul D. "The Bellefonte Central Railroad" (PDF). Railway & Locomotive Historical Society: 16.
- ^ a b c d e f Hazelton, Bob (July 5, 2024). "Scotia". centrehistory.org.
- ^ Simpson, Paul D. "The Bellefonte Central Railroad" (PDF). Railway & Locomotive Historical Society: 16.
- ^ a b Hughes, Mark (2010). "A Geologic Wonder: Scotia Barrens". pabook.libraries.psu.edu. Pennsylvania Center for the Book.
- ^ Clark, Jr, William S. "Effect of Low Temperatures on the Vegetation of the Barrens in Central Pennsylvania" (PDF). Ecological Society of America: 3.
- ^ "CENTRE COUNTY NATURAL HERITAGE INVENTORY" (PDF). www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us. December 31, 2002.
- ^ Cramer, Ben (September 30, 2024). "Scotia Barrens". centrehistory.org.
