Untold Stories of PA Parks and Forests
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has helped advance an important community effort, the “Untold Stories of Pennsylvania’s State Parks & Forests,” to discover, interpret and share the untold and/or lesser-known stories of underrepresented and marginalized peoples associated with lands currently operating as state parks and forests in Western Pennsylvania.
In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and other partners, the project provides cultural and historical research and the historical context for two significant landscapes in Western Pennsylvania. Among other benefits and key findings, information and research will help inform future interpretive education, enhance community relations, and advise historic and prehistoric land acknowledgment.
Laurel Hill Settlement
The Laurel Hill Settlement, located in Laurel Ridge State Park in Cambria County overlooking the western end of Johnstown Pennsylvania, has been known by several names, including “Brown Farm” and “The Mountain.” From at least the 1820s, and possibly as early as the turn of the 19th century, the settlement was home to an integrated community of Black, White and Indigenous people. Eight generations of families called this location home until the property was claimed by the state in 1967. Today, the settlement’s cemetery is the most visible relic, but a closer look reveals roads, foundations, groves of trees and other evidence of 15 decades of life. The Laurel Hill Settlement has a lot to tell us about how this unique community adapted to life on the Pennsylvania frontier, in Appalachia, and in America during a period of significant economic and social change. An interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania led the research for this focal area.
We recognize and thank the members of the Harshberger, Smith, Brown, Dorman, Fairfax, Hawes, Wallace, and other families who called Laurel Hill home. They were defenders of the landscape and keepers of the family histories, without whom the stories and spaces of this settlement would not have a clearer context. This project also draws on the efforts and knowledge of many, including Elaine Adams, Lisa Cacicia, Barbara Zaborowski and Tom Lorditch who have researched, shared stories and cared for the Laurel Hill Settlement for decades.
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Laurel Hill Overview
Learn more about this location in Cambria County and the stories of the families who lived there, through a historical and landscape context.
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Historical Background
Read more about the history of the Indigenous populations of this region, and how colonization and the end of slavery influenced the people and livelihoods.
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Landscape Use and Permanence
From blacksmiths to farmers, the residents of Laurel Hill left physical evidence of how they shaped the landscape. Learn more about their stories.
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Women of the Brown Farm
Read more and see photos of some of the women of the Laurel Hill Settlement, who were an essential part of the homestead and necessary for its survival.
Slippery Rock Watershed
In Butler County Pennsylvania, there is prominent evidence of how Indigenous people lived on and used forest resources. This research on the indigenous use of forest resources was focused in the Slippery Rock Creek Watershed, in association with Moraine and McConnells Mill State Parks and the Jennings Environmental Center. One primary goal was to illustrate how traditional practices, like making maple syrup, are not a relic of a past way of life; the harvesting of sugar maple sap is a tradition still in practice across the northeastern United States.
An interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from Slippery Rock University led the research for this focal area, including representatives from the Anthropology, History, GIS, and Parks and Conservation Departments. Additionally, the research team described migratory pathways, stone tool manufacture, and the use of hearths and shelters. We recognize and thank the significant consultation provided by the Seneca Nation of Indians based in Salamanca, NY. The Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center also provided input and was represented on the project's steering committee.
Introduction & Interpretations
Learn the names and importance of the Indigenous peoples that used forests, rivers and streams within the Slippery Rock Watershed, including the Beaver and Ohio rivers and Wolf Creek, for thousands of years.
Archaeology
Working from a non-indigenous framework, researchers share how the resource-rich forest floodplain and upland and other areas were used by our region’s Indigenous peoples.
Interconnectedness & Epistemologies
While more research is needed, there is evidence of past human activity of collecting and processing resources from the watershed’s forests, which is consistent with the present-day archeological findings and sugaring knowledge.
Spotlight on Sugar Mapling
Making syrup from maple trees has been part of Indigenous life in Western Pennsylvania’s forests for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Learn more about this complex process.
Resources
Meet the Project Team
The research and work for the “Untold Stories of Pennsylvania’s State Parks & Forests,” was made possible thanks to the time and dedication of many people from a variety of partner organizations. The highly skilled project team consisted of representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Heinz History Center, Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Historical research and cultural documentation were offered by contracted consultants from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Slippery Rock University.
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Professors and students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania were consulted to conduct cultural and historical research for future interpretive context of the Laurel Hill Settlement.
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Professors and students from Slippery Rock University were consulted to conduct cultural and historical research on the Slippery Rock Watershed.
Funders
Grant funding for this project is made possible thanks to the generosity of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation and Partnership Program and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.
More Information and Related Context
- Recent news article: (May 18, 2023, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Anthropologist: Research on Johnstown site helps ‘tell this important story’ of local Black settlement
- Recent news article: (Feb 11, 2023, The Tribune-Democrat) Black History Month, ‘Bring this site to life’: DCNR, IUP partners aim to preserve, uncover stories from early Black settlement near Johnstown
- More stories and information: The Pennsylvania Conservation Heritage Project aims to build awareness of our commonwealth’s rich conservation heritage, to educate the next generation about the opportunities to make a difference, and to help citizens find inspiration in the accomplishments of past conservation leaders. Learn more.
How you can get involved
Are you familiar with the Laurel Hill Settlement or the Slippery Creek Watershed? Do you have stories to share about these locations? Do you have photos or a family heirloom or keepsake from these locations? Do you have Native American ancestors with connections to Butler County? If so, we would appreciate learning more and hearing your story.
CONTACT US
Please reach out to us if you want to learn more or have questions, or if you want to share your story. Please contact Jeffrey Bergman, senior director of community forestry & TreeVitalize Pittsburgh at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy at 412-586-2396 or jbergman@paconserve.org.