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.

The Arrow on Tussey Mountain

     There is a huge concrete arrow onto of Tussey Mountain east of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. The arrow was brought up in converstation many years ago with some friends, and this past spring I decided to go on a hike and look for it. From what i could recall, the arrow was about a half mile along a blazed trail bordering state game land. Once I arrived to the top of Tussey Mountain on Mountain Road, I pulled off and began my walk north along the ridge-line. The Hike was very rocky and leaves covered gaps between the rocks. I continued to follow the ridge on state game lands following the white blazes about 1/3 of a mile from the pull off spot. Eventually I stumbled into a clearing with a huge concrete arrow pointing east-ward. The arrow look to have been made in 3 sections and span about 20 yards. I was dumbfounded on how anyone could have built and pored this arrow without any access from the main road. I took a few pictures than made my way back to car.

     Once home, I investigated further into what this arrow was doing on top of a fairly remote mountain top. With a few hours of searching, I came across information that sounded just like what I found onto of Tussey Mountain. Before GPS and modern navigation methods, huge markers were placed on the ground for the Transcontinental Air Mail service. These markers provided a route for planes to follow during the day and even at night. During the night many markers had control sheds and towers with lights to help guide the planes. In 1920, the first United States coast-to-coast Air route was developed and by 1929 beacons and markers spotted the ground about every 10 miles. Only a few beacon houses and towers still exist. Many were dismantled during war times for their steel and when they became obsolete to modern navigation. More of the concrete arrows still survive but are slowly being taken over by mother nature.

     The arrow on Tussey Mountain was once part of Los Angeles to New York Airway on the Ebensburg to Philadelphia branch. To reach the arrow, Take Mountain Road east from Williamsburg, PA. From the opposite side, take Route 26 aka Raystown Road South of Huntingdon and just north of Marklesburg to reach Mountain Road.