Eldred Township Historic Trail
Renee & I were trying to come up with an idea for a nice "gift" that we could share with folks who come to visit the 1855 One Room School.
We decided to create a "passport" a kind of invitation for folks to visit, explore and learn about Eldred Township.
When you unfold the Passport you will find the map that you see below. If you begin at St. Matthew's Church and follow the route in numerical order you will get to visit almost two dozen of our town's most notable sites.
Of course we would love for you to visit the school and get your free copy, but you can use this until you have the time to stop by.
St. Matthews Church
Our tour begins at the foot of Church Road
at the church. At this location, is also an
historic graveyard. Many of the founding fathers of Kunkletown
rest in peace here.
By 1770, worship services were being conducted in Kunkletown, in barns and private homes. In 1779, a log cabin church building was built. In 1846 a stone building was built to replace the log cabin. And in 1900, the current church structure was erected. In 2015, a new addition containing an elevator, handicapped bathrooms, new offices and classrooms were added.
General Store
Many residents recall when this now empty building was operated by the Schoenberger Family.
Business was conducted in German.
The store was a true "general" store in that you could purchase clothing, shoes, equipment, home products and food
Later, the store, known as Smiley's (for the proprietor) sold only food & drink. It was especially well known for meats. When Smiley retired the General Store was known as Amy's - but it had a short run & closed.
Adjacent and to the south was the John Harter Store.
American Hotel
On this location was a blacksmith shop operated by George Greenzweig. Edwin & Eugene Greenzweig also worked at the blacksmith shop.
Around 1903, the Kunkletown Hotel operated by Reuben Frable & his family was here. Then it was the Greenzweig Hotel and then the American Hotel & Bar. The hotel closed and the Jupiter Restaurant operated for a few years, serving Polish food.
In 2014 the Kunkletown Pub at Buckwha Inne was opened by Gretchen Gannon Pettit, former town supervisor. This current building dates back to 1838.
Old Post Office
This building was erected in 1864. At one point, the postmaster was named James Pearsol. He & his family lived in the building on the site.
In 1900 he started the West End Telephone Company in the Post Office building. His son, Wesley Herbert was born in the room above the Post Office and he later became the Postmaster and operated the General Store and the telephone company whose switchboard was located in the Post Office building.
He renamed the phone company the Blue Ridge Telephone Company and by 1911 they had 60 subscribers. In May 1956 the company was sold to the Palmerton Phone Company.
In 1994, the Post Office moved to its present day modern building and the zip code expanded all the way beyond Eldred to the area of Jonas.
Historic Stone Arch Bridge
(pictured below)
When first built, this bridge was the only way to get across the Buckwha Creek. The next bridge to the East was about six and a half miles away and the covered bridge in Little Gap almost four and a half miles away.
Today it is a pedestrian bridge replaced with a modern bridge in 1976 (about 200 yards west)
The Old Hawk Grist Mill
Sadly this historic building no longer stands, it was demolished with the hope of creating a Town Center on the site.
To the west is the very popular Rachel's General Store, especially well-known for its hoagies and in the summer soft ice cream.
This area of town was called Center Square when the town first formed.
A stone's throw to the north-east is the Volunteer Fire Company buildings. The company was formed in 1952 and in the first year attained 400 members.
Below is a mill stone from the grist mill. It is on display a bit further west by the town's Municipal Building.
Buckwha Creek
The Buckwha Creek is 12.6 miles long and originates
in a swamp near Saylorsburg
on the north side of Chestnut Ridge.
It runs from the east to the west.
It cuts through Chestnut Ridge at Little Gap and joins the
Aquashicola and continues to
join the Lehigh River,
about five miles from where it starts,
it is dammed to form Princess Lake, about a mile east of Kunkletown.
The Buckwha is fed from smaller creeks & runs flowing down from the north, such as Borger Creek,
Chapple Creek & Princess Run.
Meniolagomeka Monument
Here on this spot is where the Meniolagomeka Native Americans of the Delaware Nation once lived. They were visited by a small group of Moravian missionaries in 1752. The missionaries remained living among them for three years.
This monument, of New Hampshire granite, was placed here, on the farm of Benjamin Schmidt, on October 22nd, 1901, by a group of about 60 friends and members of the Moravian Historical Society, including 7 trombonists who traveled over hills and streams at great effort for this ceremony. They were joined by about 200 folks from the area.
The well-meaning dedication expressed sadness for how the government brutalized the Native population. The first speaker said, he "wished that the State and Nation would have followed (the Moravian) behavior" to, "deal with the Indian problem...(by making) converts from among the savages peaceable." The speech mentioned the "dusky wives" of the brawny braves that lived in superstition and sin. They spoke of the hunting of deer, panther and bear and the spearing of trout.
The second speaker, Reverend Haehnle, said the untimely end of their missions "...was due to the fault neither of the Bretheren, nor of their converts, but to the rapacity and wickendess of the white people. It is not pleasant to record the fact, but it is true, that nearly all of our missions, to the Indians were closed not by the savagery of the aborigines, but by the madness and the badness of the whites."
Obviously, you see no Native American village here today - they were removed from this land long before this monument was dedicated.
Aquashicola Creek
Aquashicola Creek (pronounced Ahkwa-SHIK-ola) is 20.8 miles long. The name is from the Native American Lenapes, meaning "where we fish with the bushnet."
The creek rises from a swamp in Saylorsburg, and flowing from the east to the west, between Chestnut Ridge and Blue Mountain, it meets the Buckwha Creek, and flows into the 109 mile long Lehigh River at Palmerton.
The Lehigh River flows into the Delaware River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. In Colonial days, the Delaware was called the "South River" and the North River
was name of today's Hudson River.
State Game Lands
(pictures above)
We are very fortunate that the State of Pennsylvania and various land conservation groups have worked har
to preserve large tracts of forested land along our southern border (Blue Mountain of the Appalacchian range).
Appalachian Trail
(pictures below)
The Appalachian Trail runs 2,200 miles from the State of Georgia to the State of Maine. Portions of it are used by 2,000,000 hikers a year. The trail was completed in 1937 passing through 14 states - including Pennsylvania which has about 230 miles of the trail.
It takes about 165 days to hike the entire trail and you will wear out at least 4 pairs of boots.
Our section is said to be the roughest and some folks call it "Bootsylvania" - where boots go to die.
Our elevation ranges from 320 feet above sea level to 2,080. Here we are about 1,542 feet above sea level.
The Chestnut Ridge Rail Trail
This recreational, hiking rail trail is a reminder
that there once was a railroad serving the Town.
In 1898, a group of millionaires including J.P. Morgan got the bright idea to develop the Chestnut Ridge.
They formed Chestnut Ridge Development Corporation, and their plans included constructing a brick factory and a hotel here. They planned a simple railroad to go from Kunkletown to Palmerton (where a main railroad junction existed). The railroad would be used for the transporting bricks & hotel guests.
The Chestnut Ridge Railroad (11 miles long - 30 minute ride) was built within two years, and the New York and Philadelphia Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Company opened in 1900. The millionaires built a 35-room lodge with what was described at "luxury appointments", overlooking the brick factory.
The above photo may help to "illustrate" he history of the Chestnut Ridge Railroad. The vantage point is where you began this journey - St. Matthew's Church. You are looking south from the church. The two smoke stacks that you see in the distance are across from the Buckwha Creek and a little to the left (east) of the Stone Arch Bridge.
To the right - the large building is the hotel. It had a wonderful landscaped area in front - all of this is now gone. In frront of the smoke stacks you can see the excavation area and to the right (west) is the railroad depot building. All of these are now gone. Here is a continuation of the story I began above.
Sadly, in only two or three years, the brick company failed, and the railroad was sold. The brick company was replaced by the Chestnut Ridge White Brick Company, and this company also went bankrupt within a few years. The railroad was bought in 1907 by The New Jersey Zinc Company. By 1929, the brick company was permanently closed.
Kunkletown residents used the railroad to commute to jobs at the zinc company. In 1935 all passenger service ceased. In the 1940's the two tall chimneys were taken down.
The railroad was now used for the bulk shipment of products to and from Kunkletown. But all service ended in the 1961.
The site of the old Chestnut Ridge Lodge now is a bare spot in the woods showing its foundation.
The railroad went permanently out of business in the 1960s. Most of the tracks have been torn up but a 35' wide path remains as a "right of way" for a recreational rail trail.
The brick factory was to the east and up the hill was the Kunkletown Lodge - 35-rooms, 3-story brick building. The grounds had gardens and a tennis court and a white brick fountain.
White Clay was mined in the area to the east and aside from bricks it was used to make white cement. In 1951, a sand company was formed on the site of the old clay plant - they mined sand of different sizes for a variety of uses and are probably still in business today.
Community Center
Thrift Shop/Food Pantry/Former School
In 1953 the last of the one-room schools were closed and a new elementary school was built for grades 1 to 8. Classes held two grades each. In 1975, the building was expanded. But in 2010 it was closed. The building was offered to Eldred Township
July 3rd, 2014 - After much discussion, investigation and thought, The Board of Supervisors voted 2 to 1 to accept the offer from PVSD to buy Eldred School for $1.00. There are some conditions attached. We want to make sure that the school is in good working order and there are not any "problems" waiting for us. A generous anonymous resident has offered to donate $10,000 toward the project.
It now houses a Community Center, a Thrift Shop and a food pantry (started November 2015) for the needy. Many groups use the building, including a group of amateur musicians that jam once a week and a sewing circle.
A highlight of the year is the annual Art Show.
Town Hall
Eldred Township's municipal building was built in 1994. Eldred became an independent town in 1851 (carved out of Ross Township). It was named after Nathaniel B. Eldred who was a Monroe County judge. The names Kunkletown and Eldred seemed to have co-existed and were used interchangeably until a modern day reorganization of the U.S. Postal Service.
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There is some confusion about the name of Kunkletown, as applied to our community (Eldred) and it has to do with the Post Office. Kunkletown, despite the "town" in its name was actually a village. It was the largest village in the town known as Eldred. Eldred/Kunkletown had too few inhabitants living between the Appalachian Trail and Molasses Valley Road to have its own zip code. So the Postal Service moved the Kunkletown northern "border" deep into Polk Township to the area of Jonas and labeled it zip code 18058 - Kunkletown.
Today, the legal entity or government is the Town of Eldred - and most of us once again use Eldred & Kunkletown interchangeably but knowing our boundary is at Molasses Valley Road.
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Veterans Memorial
This memorial is in honor of Eldred residents who served in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and World War I.
In addition, it names 33 veterans of the Korean War, 100 veterans of World War II and 60 veterans of the Vietnam War era.
An additional plaque honors additional veterans. Each year on Memorial Day and on Veteran's Day a moving ceremony is held on this site.
Chestnut Ridge Railway Caboose
The Correll School
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The 1855 Frantz One-Room Schoolhouse
The Fields - Horror Movie
Filming wrapped up in October 2009, premiered in 2011 starring Tara Reid & Cloris Leachman.
The Gower School
Mock Park - The Grove
Borger-Yost Stone House
Mock Park
This page is still under construction.
Would you like to help? Look at one photo/subject and research it and provide more historic info to add to this webpage.
Each contributor will be thanked and cited for their work.
Additional photos or suggestions of additional sites would be appreciated.
Each of the above descriptions need to be re-written - this will follow soon.
I will also add mileage markers from one site to the next and addresses when available
to make locating easier.