Near Seven Springs in Somerset County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Big Trees meet Narrow Gauge

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel

1. Big Trees meet Narrow Gauge Marker

Inscription. The vast virgin forests of Laurel Hill stood condemned with the advent of specialized logging railroads and geared locomotives. Shay, Heisler, and Climax engines, often called stem-winders, maneuvered along previously inaccessible shallow creeks and up and down steep valleys. The engines were powerful but slow and unusually stable on winding narrow gauge rail lines. Despite traversing irregular temporary track, they dutifully hauled the region's harvested trees to local sawmills.

An Appetite for Trees
America's early industries devoured timber in colossal quantities Coal mines, railroads tanneries, and even urban centers like Pittsburgh all clamored for more wood. In just a few decades the forests here had been completely expended, manipulated by local sawmills, and passed along to nourish a growing nation

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas • Railroads & Streetcars.

Location. 40° 0.594′ N, 79° 13.462′ W. Marker is near Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, in

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Somerset County. It can be reached from Laurel Hill Park Road 0.4 miles west of Trent Road. Located at the Laurel Hill State Park office. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Somerset PA 15501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Camp Life (here, next to this marker); Living Legacy (here, next to this marker); Logging Camps and Lumber Mills (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Living Legacy (here, next to this marker); Roosevelt's Tree Army (here, next to this marker); Laurel Hill State Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Hard Work - Pride - Spirit - Education - Recreation - Sports - Comradery - Heritage

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel

2. Big Trees meet Narrow Gauge Marker

Marker is at the Left.

(approx. 1.6 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Seven Springs.

Also see . . . Laurel Hill State Park. (Submitted on November 2, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 2, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 2, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.