Greenwood Township near Millerstown in Perry County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Millerstown Recreation
Perry County Bicentennial
| | 1820 - 2020 | |
From its beginning, Millerstown residents have enjoyed leisure activities with a community focus, including sports, music, theater, and outdoor recreation. Hunting and fishing provided family food as well as many tall tales. The Juniata River drew swimmers, divers, boaters and skaters.
In 1923, the Glen Adams Park at the west end of town featured a large slide into the river, swimming areas, park swings, pavilions, eating stands, and picnic grounds. The abandoned canal bed between the town and the river, lined with graceful willow trees and known as "The Willows" became a popular picnic spot. Annual fireman's carnivals with amusement park type rides and games brought locals together.
As early as 1881, Millerstown had a community band. During the 1920s and 1930s, showman C.O. Spangler and family toured Pennsylvania towns offering a Medicine Show complete the miracle elixirs. In the 1930s, minstrel shows, then socially acceptable, provided entertainment and the Greenwood Players offered theater. Upon his retirement from Greenwood School District in 1977, Barner Swartz, music teacher and band director, formed the Greenwood
this page online
By the 1920s, youth could participate in Boy Scouts and Girl Scout troops and 4-H clubs. Team sports drew both youth and adults, and Greenwood High School teams enjoyed both regionally and statewide.
In 1956, ground was broken for the first swimming pool in Perry County, just outside the Borough. In 2019, it is owned by the Millerstown Recreation Committee. In 2001, resident Valera C. Long left a generous gift to our community organizations, all earmarked for the development and maintenance of a park in Millerstown. Working together, these organizations created a beautiful 40-acre facility along the Juniata River providing children's playgrounds, walking, biking and environmental trails, playing fields for youth sports, picnic pavilions, an amphitheater, and areas for community events.
In 2019, the Community Park offers the only public land accessible to the Juniata River in all of Perry County.
Erected 2020 by Borough of Millerstown; Historical Society of Perry County.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music •
Location. 40° 32.486′ N, 77° 8.963′ W. Marker is near Millerstown, Pennsylvania, in Perry County. It is in Greenwood Township. It is on West Juniata Parkway (County Road 1015) north of U.S. 22/322, on the right when traveling south. The marker stands on the grounds of Millerstown Community Park, just south of the Millerstown Community Pool. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 W Juniata Pkwy, Millerstown PA 17062, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania, in the Susquehanna Valley, and in Greater Harrisburg. 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 walking distance of this marker: Millerstown Dairies (within shouting distance of this marker); The Canal that Went Over a Mountain (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Railroad Across the River (about 700 feet away); World War I Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Welcome to Millerstown (approx. 0.2 miles away); Millerstown Transportation (approx. 0.3 miles away); Millerstown - The Canal Era (approx. 0.3 miles away); World War Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Millerstown.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 25, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 300 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 25, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
