Here's two more links on the Dents Run Treasure. Both tell the story of the lost shipment up to the mid 20th century.
Check out this prior post for more links, including the homepage of the treasure hunters who made the find.
This is part II of the Progress' article on the Dents Run Treasure. Original author is Josh Woods, and original run date was Monday, February 4 2008. This is part two of two: part one can be read here. The Progress hosts this article at:
http://www.theprogressnews.com/default.asp?read=11049
Dennis Parada of Clearfield anticipated fame and fortune after believing he, his son and some colleagues had discovered buried treasure, the lost gold of Dents Run, valued in the millions of dollars, in the Elk State Forest area. However, issues with contradictory reports, state law and lots of confusion has left Mr. Parada with a daunting problem: knowing the possible location of the largest treasure find in Pennsylvania's history and not being able to do anything about it.
In the last issue of The Progress, it was explained that Mr. Parada had unearthed several small objects which he turned over to the state Department of Conservation of Natural Resources after he was told to cease all digging at the supposed treasure site. DCNR's Minerals Section then tested those items to determine their authenticity. This is part two of the story.
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A letter dated June 8, 2005, from Chief of the Minerals Section Ted Borawski to Mrs. Jeanne Wambaugh, district forester, was received by DCNR's District No. 13 office in Emporium and contained disappointing news: The artifacts found by Mr. Parada were "junk."
A copy of the letter was provided to Mr. Parada and obtained by The Progress. The letter states: "There exists no credible evidence, either from materials excavated from the site or from stories long-circulated in the local area or media, to support any conclusions that a lost Federal gold bullion shipment from the Civil War was ever located on state forest lands in the vicinity of Dents Run, Pa., at the location Mr. Parada insists is the resting place of the lost gold cache.
"The materials Mr. Parada excavated and were analyzed by the Pennsylvania Historical Museum staff may be returned to Mr. Parada as they have no cultural or historical significance and have been deemed ‘hunting camp debris' and therefore worthless in the estimation of the Commonwealth experts."
Disappointed by the news, Mr. Parada immediately sought a second opinion of the materials; however, he ran into a roadblock.
Upon contacting the DCNR District No. 13 office, he was told that the materials would not be returned to him, despite the Minerals Section's permission to do so outlined in the letter's excerpt above. Without the artifacts, Mr. Parada cannot send anything away for carbon dating or DNA testing that may help prove his find.
According to Mr. Parada, approximately 18 items were sent to the Minerals Section. A memorandum and analysis from Douglas C. McClearen, chief of the Division of Archaeology and Protection, to Mr. Borawski was attached to the aforementioned letter. The analysis outlines findings for 11 items, though it adds that other "loose items" were submitted, including pieces of an animal trap of an undetermined date, a few metal objects that are not dateable and a corroded nail, which appears to be a "cut nail." Cut nails, it says, originated in the 19th century and were still in use well into the 20th century.
"The final landmark was our main case," said Mr. Parada. "They didn't talk about the final landmark in the report, they didn't do a carbon date on the stones that we found and they didn't say anything about the man-made structures that we found.
"There is a lot of important information that was given about what we found at the final landmark location, but they only talked (in the letter) about what we found nearby. We called the state five months before we found artifacts nearby. I thought we had enough evidence with what we found at the final landmark site to file a claim without the artifacts."
Mr. Parada was further frustrated by the analysis of the bullet found at the site and because "neither the Minerals Section or Museum Commission sent anyone to investigate the site."
In the analysis, Item No. 8, labeled "tin cans and bullet," reads, "the bullet is a brass shell casing which is far later than the Civil War. It is probably World War I Era or more recent."
George Gill, a former employee of Hubler's Gun Room and Grice Gun Shop, Clearfield, trekked to the DCNR office on Jan. 14 in hopes of adding credence to Mr. Parada's finds by analyzing the bullet.
In a letter from Mr. Gill, a gunsmith with more than 40 years of experience, received by The Progress, he states that he believes that there is credible evidence that the bullet shell is from the Civil War Era. Mr. Gill based his opinion on the book "Cartridges of the World," authored by Frank C. Barnes and published by Follett Publishing Co.
In the letter, Mr. Gill includes drawings and measurements of the bullet shell, noting the following dimensions: rim diameter, varying from .496 to .519; cartridge base diameter, .470; rim thickness varying from .064 to .070 and primer pocket, approximately .180.
"The earliest cartridges that are reasonably close to the dimensions are the 38/40 and 44/40 Winchester, introduced in 1873 and 1874," Mr. Gill wrote, adding that, after taking into consideration the manufacturing tolerances of the time and the condition of the cartridge he examined, the original manufactured cartridge dimensions of rim diameter .525, cartridge base diameter .471, rim thickness .065 and primer pocket .175 "are a pretty good match." He also noted that "these were very popular cartridges in their era."
Because of this and other unspecified beliefs, Mr. Parada says he is certain he has found the location of the gold. Now his challenge has become coming up with enough money to obtain a digging permit and lobbying local legislators for their support. Mr. Parada is also exploring his legal options.
Mr. Parada has sought to obtain a permit to dig up the gold, which he originally thought would cost $15,000. That figure, he said, was based on a survey bond estimate from Ron Mardaga of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Baltimore, Md. However, by the time Mr. Parada submitted an inquiry about obtaining a digging permit, the cost was much higher because, since Mr. Parada was searching other alleged buried treasure sites, the state labeled him a "professional" treasure hunter. As such, Mr. Parada said, representatives of the Museum Commission indicated that he might have to pay $500,000 to obtain the permit.
"Unless someone will back us up that the gold is there, they won't issue us a digging permit," he said.
To date, Mr. Parada has contacted several local and state government officials, but to no avail.
"We have been in contact with Dan Surra, John Peterson, Rick Santorum and Bob Casey," said Mr. Parada. "What we've found is when we talk to them the first time, they are willing to help us. But, as soon as they talk to the state's museum commission, they don't want anything to do with us. A few places we've contacted won't even return our phone calls."
State Rep. Dan A. Surra, D-75 of Kersey, responded to an e-mail inquiry sent to him at dsurra@pahouse.net by The Progress in regards to his correspondence with Mr. Parada, in which he said that he had met with Mr. Parada, but was unable to help him because "it is DCNR's call, not mine." Mr. Surra furthered the statement by writing "State lawmakers do not run DCNR, DOT (the state Department of Transportation), DEP (the state Department of Environmental Protection), etc. We often try to intercede for people when they run into issues with these agencies, but in the end, it is their call."
Mr. Surra suggested that what Mr. Parada needs to do is whatever DCNR asks of him, and noted that Mr. Parada does not live in his district.
E-mail inquiries placed by The Progress to U.S. Rep. John E. Peterson, R-5 of Pleasantville, and U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., D-PA, were unanswered as of press time.
"We just want to get this resolved," said Mr. Parada. "We've been waiting a long time for something to happen with this, and we would be satisfied with just knowing what it is we may have found."
This is part one of the Progress' article on the Dents Run treasure. I have copied it here verbatim because I do not believe that the Progress archives their material for very long on their site (http://www.theprogressnews.com). The author of this piece is Josh Woods, and the article was originally published February 2, 2008.
This article is part one of two. Part two can be read here. This article's original home on the web is at:
http://www.theprogressnews.com/default.asp?read=11036
Dennis Parada of Clearfield, his son Kem and close friends Scott Farrell and Mike Malley anticipated fame and fortune after believing they had discovered buried treasure in northern Pennsylvania that may have an estimated worth of millions.
The year of the alleged discovery was 2004, and three years later, the quartet is no more rich nor famous than it was prior to its findings. Contradictory reports, state law and lots of confusion has left Mr. Parada in a unique quandary - knowing the possible location of the largest treasure find in Pennsylvania and having no immediate means of doing anything about it.
Mr. Parada's journey to find the treasure, the lost gold of Dents Run, began in 1975 when he and a few of his co-workers had gained interest in amateur metal detecting.
While working at an area furniture store, a gentleman gave Mr. Parada a map he alleged would lead to the gold. The map lined up with other maps Mr. Parada already had in his possession and contained several landmarks, including a fire pit that would mark the location of the gold. The map, coupled with local legend, piqued Mr. Parada's interest.
A search of the map area by Mr. Parada turned up several landmarks; though, ultimately, the claim was left unfounded at that time. It was not until Mr. Parada, who had been telling the story of his search for years, was given the encouragement of friends and relatives that he made a successful return trip to the site.
According to a story written by Michael Paul Henson that appeared on page 24 of a 1983 issue of Lost Treasure magazine, a shipment of 26 partially refined gold bars lost by a Union Army patrol in 1863 was believed to be located in the vicinity of Hicks Run and Dents Run in Elk and Cameron counties.
The story reports that during the Civil War, a Union lieutenant, known as Lt. Castleton, read orders at Wheeling, W.Va., to proceed north with two wagons equipped with false bottoms and partially loaded with gold.
His orders, the story states, were to proceed northeast to avoid the possibility of running into Confederate patrols - Gen. Robert E. Lee's Gray Army had advanced northward and would eventually commence in the battle of Gettysburg.
When the lieutenant reached a point where he believed it was safe, he was to turn southeast and deliver the gold, which was brought from the West, to Union headquarters in Harrisburg, where it would then be moved to the mint in Philadelphia.
Lt. Castleton was eventually struck by fever and he and his men became lost in the wilderness while searching for the Sinnemahoning River. They had planned to build a raft and float to the Susquehanna and onward to Harrisburg.
Due to Lt. Castleton's condition, the group decided to separate. A man identified as Connors and two other men were to proceed on foot to Sinnemahoning and get help. Lt. Castleton and the rest of the men were to transfer the gold to pack saddles and go southward as fast as his condition would permit.
Castleton's party was never seen again. Connors arrived 10 days later with a rescue party from an Army post in Lock Haven and found only abandoned wagons. After several days of searching the rescue was called off.
Pinkerton Detectives, the main source of Army intelligence at that time, were then given the task of locating the gold, posing as prospectors and lumbermen as they canvassed the area.
Pinkerton's search also came up empty.
In November of 2004, with this story fresh on his mind, Mr. Parada returned to the Dents Run location he had searched years ago.
This time it was at the urging of Mr. Farrell, who thought Mr. Parada should continue his search for the final resting place of the gold.
Armed with only his recollection of the site and a metal detector, he and Mr. Farrell made a startling discovery: his map's final landmark. The two quickly became intrigued, because the site was located at the foot of the mountain where, according to Mr. Henson's story, surveyors of county lines found human skeletons in 1876.
Unfortunately the duo faced a big problem: the final landmark was located on state property.
"We first found the site in early November during bear season, on a Friday, and we called DCNR (the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) on Monday to report that we thought we had the location of the lost gold," said Mr. Parada. "I was told to call back on Wednesday, because Monday was the start of deer season and Mrs. (Jeanne) Wambaugh (the district forester) would be back then.
"On the third day of deer season, I called back and talked to her and she said to stop digging until she could talk to someone in Harrisburg. DCNR didn't think we had enough information to prove my find, so we waited until spring to do surface digging to look for artifacts."
Surface digging, digging that occurs no farther than two inches below the ground's surface, is allowed by law. The challenge here was that Mr. Parada was not allowed by law to do any "deep" digging.
Under Pennsylvania's consolidated statutes, Title 37, Historical and Museums, a person who conducts a field investigation on any land or submerged land owned or controlled by the Commonwealth, without first obtaining a permit from the state's museum commission, commits a third-degree misdemeanor. If convicted, one could pay a fine of not more than $2,500, face imprisonment or both.
Because of this, the gold, if it is in fact located where Mr. Parada's detectors have monitored it, had to remain underground.
Mr. Parada said that in the spring of 2005, he found several objects and unearthed them via surface digging - rock samples, a whiskey bottle, knives, animal traps, tin cans, a zinc mason jar lid and a bullet shell.
Fragile bones that appeared to be dragged away from the site by animals were also found.
According to Mrs. Wambaugh, DCNR had been seeking to contact the individual digging at the property at that time.
"We made contact and met up together," said Mrs. Wambaugh in a November telephone interview. "Once contact was made we notified Dennis (Mr. Parada) that digging on state property was illegal.
"He was very truthful and honest with us and told us that he was the person digging and did not realize that he was not allowed to do it. At that time, he ceased digging and gave us the items that he had found. We still have them here."
Mrs. Wambaugh followed up on the finds by placing a phone call to DCNR's Minerals Section in Harrisburg, which instructed her to inform Mr. Parada to cease digging and that they would test his finds for authenticity at his request.
"We thought we would be heroes," said Mr. Parada. "Instead, we ended up feeling like we were criminals."
Part 2 of Mr. Parada's story will continue in Monday's edition of The Progress.
The Progress has picked up on Finders Keepers USA's claim to have located 1300 pounds of gold lost by the US Army during June 1863 in the Sinnemahoning Valley. You can read their story here. For more information from FKUSA, check out their Dents Run site. For the background on the story, you can look at Pete Bennett's site. Part two of the Progress article is due Monday.
Here's an interesting article on the Beech Creek Railroad in Clearfield County, specifically near Gorton, Grassflat and the ghost town of Peale in Cooper Township. The Beech Creek Railroad came up the Allegeny Front from Jersey Shore along Beech Creek, then across the mountain top from Clarence to the Moshannon Creek near Snow Shoe. The little towns through the area sprang up around mine shafts that provided the rail traffic. Most of these towns are gone now, and the railroad in the area is now a walking and four-wheeler trail.
To see some pictures from the trail, you can look at:
http://www.stoplandfill.com/gallery.htm
More info on Peale can be found at:
The Clearfield County Senior Environment Corp. was commissioned around time of the bicentennial to publish a booklet of stories regarding the watersheds of the county. Here is the fruit of their labors.
From the Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County by Roland Swoope:
Presbyterian - In the first history of Clearfield county, published in 1878, we find the following lines:
"The first meeting house in Clearfield county was built in the year 1809 and was located at the site of McClure's cemetery. It was of the Presbyterian
faith."
To the members of this denomination, then, must be conceded the honor of
having erected the first house of worship in our county.
A church building was erected in Clearfield several years later, and one in Curwensville in 1826. These charges were admitted to the Huntingdon Presbytery,
which at that time had a total number of 558 communicants.
There is now a church membership of 3,111 in this county, and nineteen church buildings.
These statistics prove in a most convincing manner the marvelous growth of this denomination, and the powerful and thriving condition of the Presbyterian
church in Clearfield county at the present time.
Seeing Pennsylvania by John Thomson Faris (1919) describes various scenic journeys around Pennsylvania. There is an excellent chapter on Central PA, starting in Altoona and moving north. Look for the chapter called Through the Heart of the Black Forest starting on page 315 (not 135 as the table of contents states).
Here's an excerpt, about a place mentioned here before:
A point of special interest along Sinnemahoning is Round Island, several miles east of the west border of Clinton County. Here is Altar Rock. This oddity, seventy feet high, is described as a spiral of rocks, standing on the north bank of the stream in full view of the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, and thus within view of the highway also.
Western Pennsylvania Coalfields contains photos and info on the various coalfields that make up Western PA. Unfortunately, there's only a brief mention of any of the fields in Clearfield County. There are a few photos from the Bennetts Branch Field, including Tyler in Clearfield County and Byrnedale in Elk County.
Rosemary Nicosia sent this article in after reading my Fields Run Travelogue post from last year. Allen Gaines, pictured on the right at the mouth of Fields Run, was an outdoorsman who lived with his family in the house I called the Fields Run Camp. This article is originally from Come Walk With Me, Volume IV., by Wayne Biddle Harpster.
Allen James Gaines was born at Moore’s Run, Centre County, Pennsylvania, on January 29, 1873. Moore’s Run empties into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, three miles above Field’s Run. When Allen was eighteen months of age, his family moved down river to Field’s Run where Allen spent most of his long life. The Gaines home was located in the northern part of Centre County. The River was the boundary between Centre and Clinton Counties so when the Gaines family crossed the West Branch of the Susquehanna, they were in Clinton County. Today one finds no families living in that isolated area, although there are several hunting camps. The old Gaines home is used now as a camp. To reach these camps, hunters must drive the old Gaines Trail, using four-wheel drive vehicles. Years ago the Gaines had several neighbors within a few miles as several stone foundations are still to be found today.
Allen Gaines had two brothers and a sister Blanche. Brother Warren passed away when young. Brother John Albert Gaines married Rachel Gaines and they raised a family of sixteen children. John was a tall man, standing six feet six inches. He was a foreman on the New Central Railroad and later watched the railroad tunnel at Karthaus.
John had built a house on the small Gaines tract, on the opposite side of Field’s Run from Allen’s small house. One cold winter night, John’s house caught on fire and burned to the ground. Of their meager household furniture, only a rocking chair was saved from the fire. It was placed on the snow in the front yard. There was a slick crust on the snow and there was a grade from the house to the river. In the excitement, no one noticed the rocking chair beginning to slide, and it was near the river when first seen. The family watched helplessly as the chair fell into the water and the river carried it away. John died December 22, 1953.
Allen’s wife’s name was Wickle. Although the couple were childless, they had taken a girl to raise. Betty always referred to them as her parents. Mrs. Gaines was a capable and industrious woman. She was a fine cook, good housekeeper and she plated [sic] rugs and made quilts. She could pole or row a boat very well and was an excellent trout fisher. A scrub board was used for washing, and Allen’s heavy clothes, as well as the clothes of the hunters who lived with the Gaines during deer season, were always clean.
To support Mrs. Gaines and himself during their earlier years, Allen was a logger and worked in the woods. He was one of five men who made up a logging crew. The crew of men to which he belonged was comprised of tall rugged men with perhaps Allen, at six feet two inches in height, the shortest of the lot. The tools used by such a logging crew back in the early nineteen hundreds, comprised of a seven foot, two man crosscut saw, double bited [sic] axe, a spud and a measuring pole. During the early logging of the virgin forests, an ax was used to notch the trunk to determine the direction of the tree’s fall and also used to trim limbs from the tree. Today chain saws are used for notching, trimming out, and cutting down the tree.
In the early days of logging, teams of horses were used for skidding logs. On steep hillsides, logs were rolled into slides that would carry them sliding down grade to the bottom. Later tractors with crawler treads were used for skidding logs and today, four-wheel drive tree harvesters are mostly used.
On the West Branch of the Susquehanna, during the early logging days, the trees were felled and sawed into log lengths. This was known as bucking. There were slides on the river hills and horses were used to skid the logs to the slide. The logs were rolled onto the slide and they would go speeding down the hill to the river. The slide would be used during the winter when the ground was frozen. Logs slide much easier on frozen ground. Certain slides were used so much that even the frozen ground was worn away in places, leaving the slide a yard or more in depth. Log slides were also built and they worked out very well, especially on rocky hill. When the logs got to the river, they were made into rafts, each containing about 7,000 cubic feet and each spring during high water, as many as seventy-five rafts would be floated down the river to Lock Haven or Williamsport to be sawed into boards.
Allen Gaines was a skilled woodsman at felling trees, skidding logs, building rafts and piloting them down the West Branch to the mills down river. When up in years, he was a guest on “The Last Raft” but had gotten off before the raft struck the bridge pier down river. What had been planned as a “commemorating rafting” ended in tragedy with loss of life.
At times Allen Gaines labored as a member of a track crew for the New York Central Railroad, it was not his favorite occupation. Later in life he patrolled the Spruce Run Hunting Club’s lands to help keep trespassers and violators from going onto that private property. When patrolling, Allen wore a large badge that was a bright metal star. The large tract on Spruce Run was owned by the Steven Girard Estate of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The large mansion and care taker’s house on the estate, were enclosed with a fence for privacy. For many years, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Meeker lived in the caretaker’s house within the fenced complex and looked after the mansion and the activities that took place there.
The Gaines family lived mostly off the land. Allen planted a large garden each spring, doing all the work by hand. He grew beans, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beets, carrots, rhubarb, artichokes and horseradish. There were apple trees and in the fall, cider was boiled down and apple butter was made. In February, Allen would tap sugar maple trees and collect the sap. The sap was then boiled down into maple syrup. Wild berries such as strawberries, huckleberries, black and red raspberries, blackberries, dewberries and cranberries were canned and often without sugar. Bill Hall told me of a time, when as boys, he and two friends had walked from the Fields Ridge Road, down the Gaines Trail to the Allen Gaines place. No one was living there at the time. The boys looked about, and being hungry, they entered the cave, and each took a quart jar of canned blackberries which they ate as they climbed the trail back to their car parked on the Ridge road. The berries had been canned without sugar and proved to be quite sour. The boys had been so hungry, they enjoyed the berries nevertheless.
Some garden vegetables were canned for winter use, while other vegetables such as beans and corn were dried. Peaches and apples were also dried. Teas were gathered and dried for winter use. They included peppermint, pennyroyal, catnip and sassafras. Allen had planted black walnut trees about his house years before, so he was able to gather walnuts and wild hickory nuts for winter use. He dug ginseng in late summer after their berries were mature and red. The berries were planted in hope that the ginseng patch would be enlarged, for the roots were dried and sold as a source of income.
Wild game was the meat for the family throughout the year. It usually didn’t matter whether the hunting season was open or closed. The following story was also narrated to me by Bill Hall of Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania. On July 5, 1924, he and his father with others, were fishing Field’s run for native brook trout. Before noon the bait ran out, so Mr. Hall (Beany) took Bill and they walked down to the Gaines Place to dig more worms. The day was warm and the kitchen door stood open without a screen door. Mr. Hall knew Mr. and Mrs. Gaines well, and he just walked into the kitchen followed by Bill and surprised Mrs. Gaines as she fried a pan of venison for dinner, using a large, long handled, thin steel skillet. Mrs. Gaines didn’t recognize Beany at once, so she took hold of the skillet’s handle and threw it under the stove with the venison. She then recognized Mr. Hall and cried out, “Beany, you s----“ in a most unladylike fashion. Her fright was soon past and Bill and Beany were invited to stay to have dinner with them. The Halls helped eat the venison and were also served ice cream. It seemed that a party planned for the previous day, had failed to materialize and that ice cream had been held over.
Allen Gaines had been an admirer of both Lincoln and Washington, and he enjoyed dwelling on their merits. Bill considered him very knowledgeable on both great men. Bill told me Allen was much better informed than was Mr. Hall.
Field’s Run was an excellent creek to fish for native brook trout, and both Mr. and Mrs. Gaines enjoyed the sport. The stream ran through their property so they found it most convenient to spend a few hours fishing there in the evenings. Both were very successful in fishing. Allen handmade the rods used by the family. The wood used was principally aspen although their two most valued rods were made, one of mountain laurel, and the other of white oak.
The woods used were split into near the desired diameters and then clamped down to dry, to keep each section straight. When dry, a draw knife was used to cut the sections down to near size, and then with glass, the sections were scraped round, and smoothed to fit the brass ferrules used on jointed rods. Jointed rods were usually made with three sections plus the handle with the reel mount. Each section was tapered and when put together, the rod became balanced and responsive to the fisherman’s demands. Allen used his wife’s wire hairpins to make the rod guides and he used red and green silk thread for the wrapping of them. The finished rods were beautiful to see and to use. Allen purchased the ferrules from some supply house that handled such items.
Allen Gaines passed away on May 14, 1955, sixteen years before I became interested in learning something about him and his family. The first person I interviewed concerning Allen Gaines, his family and their way of life, was Mr. John Heichel who lived alone in a house trailer. At my knock on his door, he invited me in and I introduced myself. I, then, told him of my interest in learning of Allen Gaines and some of the happenings that took place in his life. I asked if he would be willing to talk with me. When he answered in the affirmative, I asked him, “What kind of a man was Allen Gaines?” Mr. Heichel was leaning over his kitchen sink as I asked that question. He stood in that position, looking down into the sink for some time as if he hadn’t heard my question, and then, still bent over, he turned his face toward me and a smile broke out as he answered, “He was a rugged outdoorsman.” I learned this was the general opinion of most folks I interviewed.
Living back in the isolated “River Country” required rugged and creative people. They had to do without certain things that town folks considered absolutely necessary. The little Gaines house did not have indoor plumbing. Water was carried from the spring located between the house and the river. Each family member learned to make fire with flint and steel as matches were not always available. It was inconvenient to get to a doctor or dentist as all towns were great distances away, and walking was their means of getting about. To aid the few distant neighbors with their problems, Allen made a pair of forceps for pulling teeth, but a sedative was not available. He learned to set broken bones and to apply splints. He was very wise in the use of medicinal plants also and prescribed remedies for a number of ailments.
The Gaines family had two accesses to the outside world and both required walking. The one was to walk to route 144, a distance of six miles and then many more miles to Pine Glen, or to cross the river by boat, and walk the New York Central Railroad track to New Garden, a distance of ten miles. The school Betty attended was in New Garden. During the school terms, either Mr. or Mrs. Gaines rowed or poled the boat across the river on Sunday afternoon, then she would walk to New Garden and attend school during the week, staying overnights with friends, and Saturdays she would walk the ten miles of track to be picked up and taken across the river by boat to the home. The next day, the boat ride and the ten mile walk would be repeated as she would prepare for another week of school.
The railroad proved to be a great convenience to the Gaines family over the years. A small motorized car, similar to a Volkswagen (called the “Hoodlebug”), operated a scheduled run on the New York Central tracks. The railroad ran on the opposite side of the river from the Gaines home. As we mentioned previously, the family lived mostly off the land, but certain supplies had to be purchased, such as bacon by the side, flour and sugar in one hundred pound lots, kerosene, salt and pepper. At such times a shopping list was made out and either Allen or Mrs. Gaines would take the list across the river by boat at about the time the Hoodlebug was scheduled to go by. When the one who operated the little car would see either standing by the track, he would stop, take the shopping list and purchase the listed items at either Keating or Clearfield, depending on the direction the little car was traveling at the time. On the car’s return trip, it would stop opposite the Gaines home as one of the family would have again rowed or poled one of their boats across the river and be waiting to pick up and pay for the items purchased for them. The trip would again be made back across the river with the heavy load and then carried to the house, a distance of perhaps ninety yards. A large enough supply of each item was purchased at one time that shopping needed to be done only every two months.
Chickens supplied eggs and meat for the table, so a flock of these birds was kept by the Gaines family. Each spring a number of broody hens was set on a clutch of eggs and after the eggs hatched, a number of hens with their peeps, could be seen scratching about as they sought food for the chicks.
One year Allen bought a cow from a party quite some distance away. Being the only bovine in that isolated area, she apparently became lonesome, for the [sic] left the Gaines place and returned to her former home. Allen walked the great distance back to get the cow and again led her to the Gaines place. Twice more she returned to her former home, only to have Allen walk the long distance and bring her back. The fourth time the cow left the river country to return to her old home, Allen decided he would be better off without such a beast. Never again did he consider acquiring a milk cow.
When Allen Gaines was eighteen years old in 1891, he killed his first deer, a nice ten point buck. He had the head mounted and in 1971, I was shown the mounted head as it hung in the Bill Hahn home, and Bill permitted me to photograph it. In 1891 deer were extremely scarce in Pennsylvania. In 1895, [deer were extremely scarce in Pennsylvania, and in 1895] the Pennsylvania Game Commission was established. Prior to that date there was no protection of any kind for wildlife. I well remember the scarcity of deer during the early nineteen hundreds.
Years ago shooting matches were very popular in the country, and so it was in the Pottersdale area. Mr. Dan Heichel, the father of John Heichel, held shooting matches regularly. A log building stood on the grounds of the shooting range and there was a wood stove to warm the building so the shooters were able to get warm between matches. Chickens, ducks and turkeys were furnished for the prizes to the shooter whose shot was closest to the + on the target. Each shot cost twenty-five or fifty cents, depending on the number of shooters entered in that particular round.
Some men walked great distances, carrying their rifles, to be contestants in these matches. Allen Gaines took part in these shoots regularly, and Job McGonigle told me Allen took home his share of the winning. Allen shot a Model 92 Winchester rifle in 30-06 caliber.
Back years ago when shooting matches were so popular, Job McGonigle decided to purchase an expensive rifle and become one of the better shooters of the Pottersdale area. He bought a fine Winchester rifle with set triggers in 38 caliber. He and a friend took the rifle and sighted it in. They were both pleased with the accuracy of the new rifle and believed the other shooters, with their older inaccurate rifles, would have little opportunity to do any winning. Not long after Mr. McGonigle had his new rifle sighted in and his hopes had climbed to full assurance, a man who lived in the Pottersdale area found himself in need of some funds, so he advertised a shooting match with fifteen turkeys as prizes. A number of shooters turned out to take part in the match, but no man bore the thrill and the expectancy as did Job McGonigle. When the shooting match was over, so was Job’s thrill and expectancy. Although some of the winning shots had been as far as four inches from the target’s +, Mr. McGonigle failed to win one turkey. An old 38-55 caliber Winchester had won most of the turkeys. Job learned a lesson that day. It takes a good rifle to win turkeys at shooting matches and good man back of the rifle is necessary also.
In the middle 1920’s, the deer herd began to increase in the river country and hunters would travel long distances as they sought to kill a trophy buck. Allen Gaines saw the financial opportunity one might have by keeping and guiding hunters during the two weeks of Antlered Deer Season. He decided to enlarge his house by adding a large addition to the southwest end. The new part measured 13 feet by 18 feet on the outside and it had a room on the second floor with very low head room under the eaves. The room above had but one single sash window in the gable end. The room below had an outside door and two single sash windows, one on either side of the door. These two windows and the door faced the river. The log addition was chinked and whitewashed. The little old house was covered with tar paper.
The deer hunters that stayed with the Gaines had some successful seasons hunting that area. After a few years some of the hunters became very careless and did some illegal killing that Allen didn’t approve of being done. Prior to the opening of the following year’s deer season, Allen got in touch with Tom Moser of Bellefonte, the game warden of Centre County, who agreed to send two deputies to Allen’s home the Sunday evening before deer season opened. The deputies were to pose as hunters, staying with Allen and were to watch what took place as the men hunted.
One of the deputies sent to the Gaines’ home was David Dahlgren, Centre County Fish Warden at the time. The two deputies parked their car at the side of the Fields Ridge Road and walked the Gaines Trail, carrying their suitcases and rifles. They got to the Gaines home just at supper time and the women were beginning to place the food on the table. Some of the hunters began to eat immediately. Allen then stood up and said, “Men we say grace before we eat here, and while I’m at it, I will tell you some other things we don’t do here. We don’t swear, we don’t play cards, we don’t gamble, and I don’t want to catch one of you men in the kitchen with the women.” Allen Gaines was large enough and rugged enough to enforce those don’ts if necessary.
Allen apparently had many chickens killed and dressed as he had prepared for the hunters to be with him that season. For supper the Sunday evening, the women served a meal of roast chicken and all the trimmings and David reported it was an excellent meal. For breakfast the next morning, the women served a fried chicken meal. When the hunters opened their noon lunches in the deer woods that day, they discovered cold fried chicken. After the days hunt, the men sat down to a meal of chicken and waffles. The men came to the breakfast table the next morning, fearing that chicken might be served for the fifth consecutive meal. I’m glad to report buckwheat cakes and sausage were a most welcome change of diet for all the hunters as well as deputies.
The Gaines family heated and cooked with wood. When wood was needed, Allen acquired a permit from the State’s District Forester that specified a certain number of cords of dead wood to be cut from the State Forest located just behind the Gaines plot. The permit issued to Allen Gaines on December 18, 1933, gave the following information.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania No. 1461
Department of Forests and Waters
Keating Division
Sproul #10 Forest
Timber Permit
Dec. 18, 1933 permission granted to Allen Gaines
To obtain 4 cords dead wood at or near Fields
Run, on or before Jan. 10, 1934
Subject to rules on back hereof
25 cents each cord
Chas. Hozelad
Between 7 A.M. and 6 P.M.
To get the firewood to the house from the State Forest, Allen believed he needed a truck. The problem was how to get such a vehicle into that isolated area. On the Centre County side of the river, there was a woods road that led to the Gaines’ Trail. It was five miles long and had not been made for automobile travel. The Gaines Trail led from the woods road, to the Gaines home, down the steep river hill. The Trail was a rough, rocky mile in length and unfit for truck travel.
The new York Central Railroad tracks followed the river closely on the Clinton County side. There was a narrow dirt road along the railroad tracks that was used by the New York Central in keeping the tracks in repair. To use this road would still require the railroad tracks to be crossed and the truck to be taken down a very steep grade to the river. Allen waited for a long dry period when the water in the river would be very low. On July 28, 1971, I waded the West Branch of the Susquehanna during a dry season and learned it required 283 steps to cross, so the river is quite wide at the Gaines Place. I found the bed of the river quite stony and the deepest water was slightly above my knees. I did not venture into the deepest areas.
Allen decided the river was low enough to be forded. He purchased a 1923 Chevrolet truck and drove it up the narrow dirt road located close to the railroad tracks. When he got to the place selected to ford the river, blocking was placed on either side of the rails, so the truck could cross over the track. A stout rope was tied at the back of the truck and then snubbed to a tree on top of the steep grade down to the river. Slowly the little truck was eased down until it stood at the edge of the river. Allen started the engine and slowly and carefully forded the river, following the course he had prepared beforehand.
After using the truck for some time, he decided the truck could be maneuvered better between the trees, if the fenders were removed. This he did and for a number of years Allen trucked firewood to the house. Being unable to get his vehicle to a filling or service station, gasoline and oil had to be carried in for the truck. A hand pump was used to inflate the tires and Allen learned to do many of the repairs required for the truck.
Many years ago, Paul Harper and his son-in-law, John Fleckenstein, were hunting on a hill above the Gaines Place. They heard a motor running down in the hollow below them, and being curious about the sound in such isolated country, walked down to investigate. They found Allen hauling out his winters wood. He was delighted to see Paul as Allen was out of pipe tobacco and Paul, being a smoker, could help him out.
The barn on the Gaines plot was made of logs. The logs were round and quite large. The notching had been done expertly but there was no chinking between the logs. Two forked poles had been cut, one oak and the other dogwood. They had been spiked, each to the logs in the barn ends and they extended vertically above the barn’s square. These supported the ridge pole that had been cut on each end to fit the forks perfectly. Round poles made up the rafters, and boards were nailed across the poles to support the forty-two inch long, white pine shakes that roofed the building. The shakes had been smoothed with a draw knife but were not tapered. There were no doors or windows installed in the barns openings. A stairway climbed to the hay mow, and in 1971, rotting hay covered the mows floor. Railroad spikes had been driven into a few logs on the inside of the barn, and from one of the spikes, hung two old style, worn-out truck tires. The barn faced the river. The front half of the roof was completely gone, shakes and rafters.
The Saint Patrick’s Day flood of March 17, 1936, saw the river at flood stage. Allen Gaines had watched the river rise and was concerned for the safety of his two boats. He dragged each boat up to the front porch and tied them fast to the porch posts. The swirling flood waters did not quite reach them. Where the flood waters peaked, there Allen set a native stone marker upon which he cut the date, March 17, 1936, with a hammer and chisel. On May 24, 1971, the river was running full and on that day, the stone marker stood fifty-three yards from the water’s edge.
Two of Allen Gaines’ favorite books were the “Bible” and “The Pilot and Compass of Character Building.” Each Sunday the Gaines held services in their home and devotions were read in their home each morning. Allen kept a paper in his Bible on which he made a mark for each time he read the Bible through. The paper bore nine marks.
Allen Gaines was a staunch Republican and voted regularly, walking the long distance to the polls. At such times he stayed overnight with friends or relatives. One night he stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Martin Meeker. The next day Martin drove Allen out Route 144 and dropped him off at the nearest point to his home. Allen had a six mile walk to his home. More often Allen stayed overnight in Karthaus with the Bill Hahns. Mrs. Hahn was a niece of Allen Gaines, being a daughter of John A. Gaines.
Allen enjoyed hunting rabbits and raccoons. He kept two hounds, one for each sport. Two friends enjoyed hunting coon with Allen. They were Andy Soltis and Fred Jackson. Fred Jackson lived in Renovo and would make the long trip to the Gaines home to hunt with Allen.
Allen Gaines passed away in Driftwood on May 14, 1955 at the age of 82 years, 4 months and 14 days. He was buried in the Driftwood cemetery. I was directed to contact Nettie Teats of Driftwood, PA, who would be able to tell me the location of Allen Gaines’ grave.
In 1971 Bill Meeker logged off the small Allen Gaines plot near the river. He told me it was the finest timber he had ever cut. Bill showed me a tulip poplar he had cut down the previous day. The tree had yielded four logs up the first limb. The first log was 14 feet long, the second log was 12 feet long and the third and fourth logs were each 10 feet long. Much of the timber cut was tulip poplar. Bill showed me a red oak log from the tract that was 34” in diameter. Bill owned two large four-wheel drive trucks with which the logs were taken the five miles up Field Hollow and then to his sawmill. Bill had built two bridges across Field’s Run in the lower part of the hollow. The trucks forded the creek elsewhere. Shortly after starting the logging of the Gaines tract, Bill Meeker reported they had killed eight rattlesnakes on that logging job.
From Pete Bennett's homepage, The Secret Places of Sinnemahoning:
Another place that mystified me was “Turtle Rock”. Now you may think I have rocks somewhere up there, but there is a large rock that is located up in Grove Run that has a large turtle carved upon it. Now you’ll forget the rocks you think I have, when I tell you that the international sign for buried treasure is a turtle carved on a rock. Every treasure hunter such as myself knows that! It is said that the head of the turtle was supposed to point to the treasure. Well, I’ll tell you one thing right now, it’s not pointing at the gold bars buried in Hicks Run! Darn thing faces the wrong way! Looks to me like it might be pointing at Kentucky. Fort Knox, KY maybe!
Sticking with the rocks, there is a place up in Ellicotts Run that’s known as “Visal’s Cave”. Ever heard of it? Well, this one takes a lot of imagination too. It’s said that back in the olden days there was a hermit, named Visal who, had a long beard and lived in the cave which was located between two large rocks up there. He only was seen occasionally, out gathering food and water. Now! Try your imagination out again and imagine why old Visal wasn’t seen too often was because he slept a lot. I’m telling you, I’ve seen this cave! I’ve been there. It seemed we all started seeing him after we read that book, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Now that I’ve said that your not going to believe there’s really a place called Visal’s Cave. Right? All I can say is to ask anyone who’s lived or lives there. Go ahead, ask me!
In the spring of 1825, a man by the name of J.T. Groves was visiting the cabin of Thomas Burns when a party of four Indians stopped to trade their canoes for food, picks and shovels.
As the Indians proceeded on foot up stream, Burns watched and grinned. He knew that he had gotten the better of the deal.
Several days later, the four Indians returned to Burns' cabin to buy back their canoes. He and Groves were even more surprised with this trade than the first. The Indians had offered a small bag of silver ore for their canoes and food and lodging for the night.
The Indians had several more heavily laden sacks in their possession. While the Indians were asleep, Groves checked their sacks and found them filled with silver ore of a very high quality.
In the morning, the Indians were long-gone before Burns and Groves awoke, but Groves was one of the best trackers in the county. He took their tracks up the Susquehanna River as far as Birch Island Run. It was there that he lost the trail, when the tracks led into the river.
He searched the riverbanks on both sides without success. He searched the river for miles. He even went up Birch Island Run until it was too dark to see.
There were no tracks leading out of the river, and at that time of year, the Susquehanna was too low and difficult to pole a canoe upstream. The Indians did a good job hiding their trail from the tracker.
A few years later, Groves returned to the same area with his son and searched from Birch Island to Spruce Run. They even went up Moores Run, Bougher Run and the Little Bougher Run, but they were unsuccessful at discovering any trace of the Indian Silver Mine.
From Legends of Clearfield County by Melvin G. Lingle, published by the author, 2004.
