James Cleveland Memorial

Some places I want to visit are not as easily accessible as others when it comes to finding Pennsylvania's vast historical sites. One such places is the James Cleveland Memorial. Most people has never heard of it and the few who have are probably avid hikers in central PA.

There are two ways to reach the trail head to the James Cleveland Trail. The first and most popular way is off of PA 144 between Pleasant Gap and Centre Hall by following Greens Valley Road. The second and older way is off of PA 192 along what is now private property. The trail was made by local boy scout groups and maintained by them. The part of the trail that goes towards Rt 192 from the summit is older and not routinely traveled.

On a cool May afternoon, a friend of mine and I decided to go for a hike and visit the memorial and took the lesser used route from PA 192. There is a small pull off where the trail head is marked. No posted signs or anything was to be seen so we obeyed the “no motor vehicle” sign and left the car and started our hike.

The first part was back an old farm lane. After a few hundred yards we came to a crossing over a small stream. Not until our way back did we realize that is where the trail ended/started. We continued up the lane until we came to the mountain and started our hike up the steep climb up Mt. Nittany. My GPS eventually took us to the right direction and we met the well blue blazed trail. The trek up the mountain was strenuous and we were glad to have a cool day to hike.

Towards the summit the trail became more rocky and we came to a small boulder field were people had stacked some rocks to form small towers. The vista from this point was pretty impressive. James was an early air mail pilot and on May 24^th1934, he wreck into the side of Mt. Nittany. There was a small fire pit and logs around to sit. Unfortunately our climb was cut short by the sudden fall of hail. We continued our climb a few hundred feet and came across the James Cleveland Memorial obelisk and rock tower with plan wreckage. The memorial is in a small pine grove and very peaceful.

We proceeded to hike back down the mountain trying not to fall forward. The trail is only 2 miles one way and I would like to visit the other side of the mountain sometime.

Minersville Coke Ovens

In the southern part of Huntington county between the small towns of Coalmont and Dudley, there is a set of coke ovens and remnants of a mining operation. Minersville was founded in 1875 and quickly burnt out like so many others of it's era. Only part of this historic area is accessible via State Game Lands, the other part is noticeably posted as private land.

We parked our car and set out to explore the area. The Michell and Beehive ovens were easily seen even with mother nature reclaiming them. Some of the ovens were fallen in, but most were still in decent shape. At one time over 150 ovens were in operation. Upon closer observation we found a few foundations to buildings. From the road we could see the remains of a tipple and concrete structures; however, the land they are on is posted.

Heading east from Coalmont along Route 913 about one mile the road leading to the State Game Lands and Minersville is not marked and is simply a right turn onto a dirt road that leads to a bridge over Shoup Run. Please be mindful of the private property.