Lehigh Township near Weatherly in Carbon County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Audubon Spoke for the Trees
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 4, 2023
1. Audubon Spoke for the Trees Marker
Naturalist and artist John James Audubon visited Rockport in 1829 and hiked the surrounding forests sketching native birds. Already, the transformation was in progress. "One full third of trees have already been culled," he wrote in his journal, "turned into boards, and floated as far as Philadelphia."
"In a century," predicted Audubon, "the noble forests around should exist no more." In the 19th century, at least in areas close to towns and mills along the Lehigh, his vision of deforestation temporarily came true.
Here, where Rockport's river wharves once stood, tons of coal poured from railroad cars and thundered down wooden chutes into canal boats waiting to float down the Lehigh Canal. Inclined planes topped with noisy steam engines, trestle bridges, a railroad tunnel, and one of only two water-powered coal breakers in the region, powered by a 25-foot overshot waterwheel, superimposed an industrial complexion over the small lumber camp that existed here in the 1820s.
Erected by Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry •
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Location. 40° 57.974′ N, 75° 45.287′ W. Marker is near Weatherly, Pennsylvania, in Carbon County. It is in Lehigh Township. Marker can be reached from Rockport Road, one mile east of South Lehigh Gorge Drive. Marker is located along the Lehigh Gorge Trail (Delaware and Lehigh Trail), in Lehigh Gorge State Park, near the Rockport trailhead and parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Weatherly PA 18255, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Lehigh Gorge State Park (here, next to this marker); From Rails to Trails (within shouting distance of this marker); Railroad Intersection (approx. 1˝ miles away); Engineering Marvel (approx. 2.6 miles away); A Revolution in Canal Technology (approx. 2.6 miles away); Disaster at Mud Run (approx. 2.6 miles away); a different marker also named A Revolution in Canal Technology (approx. 4.1 miles away); Pioneer Pipeline (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Weatherly.
2. Marker detail: Canada Warbler
While visiting the "Great Pine Swamp," Audubon painted these two small birds on rhododendron blossoms. Audubon called the bird a Canada flycatcher, but today it is known as the Canada warbler.
Also see . . .
1. Lehigh Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
In 1824, Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company executives purchased the lumber rights to that land and built four sawmills, housing for its workers and a town store on the land in order to establish a lumber harvesting operation to support the company's coal barge construction efforts. That first town was known as Lowrytown; it would later be known as Rockport.(Submitted on June 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. John James Audubon.
His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations, which depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book titled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed.(Submitted on June 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Marker detail: Painting of John James Audubon
Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
4. Marker detail: Diagram
5. Marker detail: Buck Mountain Gravity Railroad
3,465,000 tons of coal were shipped over the Buck Mountain Gravity Railroad from 1840-1862. Mules rode in cars from the mine to the incline plane at Rockport where they waited to haul the empty cars back to the mines.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 4, 2023
6. Audubon Spoke for the Trees Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 71 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on June 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
