Lloyd, I'd guess part of the problem is that you picked the worst possible time to travel back east. Nothing looks great a day after a winter storm and blizzard. I'm sure the unexpected change in travel plans didn't help either.

Development has always been something hunters dislike. But it has happened everywhere some humans saw an opportunity. About 20 years ago, I was hunting near Tionesta, Pa., not far from your hometown. I met an elderly guy sitting on a log in the woods, overlooking a creek bottom on the Taylor Reserve. He was at least 80 years old, and as we spoke, he pointed to the hillside across the creek, and told me he was born over there. Now, the only sign of human activity was old overgrown logging roads, some long abandoned oil well casings, and the remains of an old pump house with part of a large hit-and-miss engine. So of course, I asked him about being born there.

He told me there was a small village there that was all gone soon after the Great Depression hit. He said there were several houses, a general store, a violin maker's shop, a sawmill, and a coal dump station. There was also a narrow gauge railroad line that served the area, and hauled oil, coal, and timber. That explained how they probably got that large hit-and-miss engine and cast iron flywheel so far back in the woods. I told him I never noticed any sign of that, except for the rusted oil wells and pump house. So he went into detail about where remnants of old stone foundations and signs of the rail line might still be found. I paid close attention on later hunts, and found some. All that remained of the rail line was some regular depressions in the ground where the railroad ties had been before rotting away. I was amazed at how quickly the earth had swallowed up almost all signs that this had been a place where people lived and worked.

And I'm sure you've heard of places near there like Pithole City and Petroleum Centre in Cornplanter Township. Both are Ghost Towns where virtually nothing remains. Petroleum Centre had several thousand people in the 1860's until the oil wells stopped producing, but all that is left are stone steps from a bank building. In the 1860's Pithole City was an Oil Boom-town that quickly grew from a small farm in the wilderness to a town of nearly 20,000 people. Old photographs show it was an environmental disaster where almost every tree for miles around was cut down to build derricks, pump houses, oil storage tanks, barrels, hotels, buildings, saloons, theaters, churches, and brothels. Oil spills, leaks, and fires scarred the land. Dirt roads became a sea of mud, crude oil, sewage, and waste. It was said that toxic muck covered the horses that pulled the Teamster's wagons, and caused them to lose all of their hair. Yet when you walk and hunt that area today, there is barely a sign that it ever existed, and it seems like a pristine woodland with crystal clear streams. If you can snag a copy of this book on Pithole City by William Darrah, you'll find it fascinating:

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania in Tioga and Lycoming counties looks like a geological feature that was created over a million or more years. But in reality, it was a relatively shallow valley in a conifer forest that was very quickly carved out by massive erosion soon after the virgin timber was clear cut. In fact, Pennsylvania was predominately conifer forest until early settlers repeatedly logged it, and it turned to mostly deciduous hardwood forest. That was a huge change that helped habitat for game and hunting. It also opened the door for agriculture.

You saw the pictures I posted here a couple years ago of some of remains of early stone iron making furnaces that were built in Pennsylvania during the 1800's. Every time I hunt near some of these ruins, I'm blown away with the fact that these now heavily wooded areas were once heavily logged and mined to get the charcoal, iron ore, and limestone that fed the furnaces for years. Most ran until almost all trees were cut down for miles around, and it became uneconomical to transport wood to produce charcoal. I'd guess that didn't help hunting in those days. But without iron and steel-making, there would be no firearms to hunt with either. Nor the means and materials to build a nation.

If you think about it, even Stan's farm, and all the farm lands we love to hunt because of the allure of agriculture to wild game, also represents development. Before Stan's ancestors worked to clear the land and build a farm, there was probably native woods and swamps, and possibly remains of Civil War battles. For many of us, some of the best hunting opportunities we have are on or near farms. And without that human encroachment, poverty and starvation in the world would be much worse.

Change happens to the places we hunt. Some is bad, some good, and all is temporary. The change in our country that really bothers me is the recent cultural change that seems like it may do far more damage than any urban development or environmental disaster. I'm talking about a weird and mentally ill world where depraved people try to indoctrinate our children, and convince us that perversions are normal or that men can become women... and expect us to accept it without question. I hope humanity can recover from that.