Join us for an extraordinary adventure on the Happy Valley PA GeoTour! Prepare to explore breathtaking vistas, stunning local and state parks, and captivating historical sites as we guide you through an unforgettable geocaching experience. Our dedicated team of volunteers has carefully curated cache types to keep the tour both interesting and challenging, ensuring an exciting journey for all participants. Prepare to embark on a quest that will challenge your skills, ignite your curiosity, and leave you with a profound appreciation for the wonders of Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. Immerse yourself in the natural beauty of Happy Valley, uncover hidden treasures, and delve into the region's fascinating history. So grab your geocaching gear, lace up your hiking boots, and get ready to create memories that will last a lifetime. Happy caching!
Download your “Happy Valley PA GeoTour” passport and/or your Jr. Geocaching Passport.
The “Happy Valley PA GeoTour is brought to you by Centre Region Parks and Recreation, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, and Groundspeak, Inc. We are pleased that you’ll be joining us in Happy Valley soon! Bring on the Adventures!
History
Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village formed the hub of a 900-acre iron plantation employing as many as 200 full- and part-time workers annually throughout much of its 112 years of operation. Founded in 1810 when Irish immigrant Roland Curtin, Sr. and Cumberland County native Moses Boggs established Eagle Forge along Bald Eagle Creek downstream from Milesburg, the charcoal-fueled and water-powered Iron Works was expanded through the addition of Eagle Furnace in 1818 (a mile southwest of Eagle Forge), a rolling mill near Eagle Furnace in 1830, and Pleasant Furnace beside Eagle Forge in 1848.
Following his purchase of a gristmill tract beside Eagle Forge in 1825, Roland Curtin (by then the Works’ sole proprietor) began laying out a workers’ village on the European model, with single-family cabins arranged around an oblong village green. Just east of this “Curtin Village,” Roland erected an elegant ironmaster’s mansion for himself and his large family in 1830-31. Upon his retirement in 1848 and return to Bellefonte (where he died in 1850), several of his sons took over the business, which they and their descendants managed with uneven success until fire destroyed the Pleasant Furnace complex in 1921, leading to the closure of Eagle Forge the following year. In its final days, Eagle Iron Works featured the last operating cold-blast charcoal furnace in Pennsylvania.
Eagle Iron Works processed iron ore mined from open pits within a few miles’ radius of the Iron Works. Most of the pig iron produced at Pleasant Furnace was carted to neighboring Eagle Forge for conversion into wrought iron. Some of the wrought iron was then formed into sheets, bars, and wire at the nearby Eagle Rolling Mill. Prior to 1847, iron products were transported to Eastern markets either by wagons or by arks floated down the Bald Eagle Creek to the Susquehanna River at Lock Haven. Beginning in 1847 products could be shipped by canal boat over the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Canal, extended westward from Lock Haven to Curtin Village in that year. The canal system was completed to Bellefonte the following year (1848), and Pleasant Furnace was erected beside Lock No. 11 of the new canal bisecting Eagle Iron Works. The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was opened through Curtin Village in 1864, supplanting the canal as the principal mode of transporting raw and finished iron materials in and out of Eagle Iron Works.
Pleasant Furnace was meticulously reconstructed in the 1970s as a detailed replica of the original furnace. Visitors can tour the furnace, blast house, casting house, charging house, and tuyère shed, in addition to the Curtin Mansion and several residential buildings in Curtin Village. In the charging house is a fascinating display of 19th century farm machinery and old tools, as well as a restored carriage that once belonged to Roland Curtin’s son, Andrew Gregg Curtin, Pennsylvania’s first Republican Governor. Governor Curtin served two terms (1861-1867) in that office, spanning the Civil War. A close friend of President Abraham Lincoln, Curtin was a principal force behind the establishment of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, at whose dedication ceremony Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. After serving as Governor, Andrew Curtin was appointed Minister to Russia by President Ulysses S. Grant. He later served as a Democratic Congressman from 1881-1887 in the U.S. House of Representatives. When he was not housed elsewhere due to official duties, Governor Curtin maintained his residence in Bellefonte, in the building now occupied by the Bellefonte Elks Club.
This historical site is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and managed by the Roland Curtin Foundation. The cache has been placed with permission of the Roland Curtin Foundation. More information is available at http://curtinvillage.com/ Before or after you complete the cache, consider taking a Guided Tour so that you can explore the inside of the house and all outbuildings!
For the 1st and 2nd cachers to find this cache, you'll find a GeoCoin or a Travel Bug to keep for yourself or to launch for its own adventure!
Follow the Stages to find the cache!
First Stage: N 40 58.367 / W077 44.370
Upon arrival at the coordinates, grab a Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure at the welcome sign. There will be information on it that will help you solve for the final. Be sure to check out the Curtin Mansion, built in 1830-1831.
To get to Stage 2, solve for A and B: N 40 58.A27 W 077 44.4B4:
A - 2nd # in rooms minus 1st number.
B - # of floors + 2
The aqua duct has been removed but the information can be found in the pamphlet. Or you can plug this into the equation, (C=7). Check out the ingenuity of getting water from one location to another. This device channeled water in a gravity chute, fed by Nittany Creek, to the water wheel in the blast house. It was designed to transport material using flowing water. The current version is a reproduction.
To get to stage 3, solve for C: N 40 58.446, W 077 44.4C6
C – Third # in year that reproduction was assembled.
Outside of this facility lies some iron ore that has been smelted into a liquid/molten state and then cooled. Can you fathom the weight of this one piece of iron?
To get to the next stage, solve for D and E: N 40 58.D80, W 077 44.5E3
D – 1st # of the slab's weight
E – 3rd # of the slab's weight
You’re now in the Workers’ Village. You'll cross Nittany Creek on your way to one of the cabins. Begin to imagine more cabins here. This cabin was built between 1825-1840 for Eagle Forge workers. The information can also be found in the self-guided tour pamphlet or use the numbers furnished below.
To find the final, solve for F and G: N 40 58.4F4, W 077 44.49G.
F – How many additional cabins were in this area that are no longer visible? Use first number.(F=1)
G – The last digit of the first year of restoration by Penn State students. (G=7)