Lehigh Path, Drums, Luzerne County

My sister Lisa went hiking a couple of weeks ago, and while husband Kevin and I were collecting markers in Lebanon County on our way to have lunch with our fellow Sherlockians, she was up in Luzerne County sending me pictures of the Lehigh Path.

The marker stands on Honey Hole Road in Nescopeck
State Park. Image courtesy of Lisa Croizier.

As I mentioned in my post about Lehigh County, it's not terribly clear how we got the word 'Lehigh,' other than a gradual permutation of the Lenni Lenape word for the river which forks off of the Delaware. As for the path which goes by the same name, it would be similarly difficult, if not downright impossible, to figure out when it first came into use. The Native Americans were the first Pennsylvanians, and they were using these trails long before any explorers from Europe found their way here.

The path began in present-day Easton, and followed the river to Bethlehem before turning northwest through the mountains of Carbon and Luzerne Counties. It was the connecting thread between various Native settlements in the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds.

Beginning in the 16th century, the Moravian missionaries also made use of the path, as did trappers, traders, and other European settlers. The earliest written accounts date to 1758, and remark on how difficult it was for the new arrivals to navigate its mountainous and rugged terrain. In 1760, the Moravian missionary Christian Frederick Post wrote that climbing up Broad Mountain, which he called "the great Mountain," caused his limbs to shake, and coming down had the same experience.

The Lehigh Path later played a role in the Yankee-Pennamite Wars when, in 1770, the Pennamites used to to spring an attack on Fort Durkee. Later still, in 1780, it was heavily involved in the Sugarloaf Massacre, a surprise ambush during the American Revolution.

The Lenni Lenape and Susquehannock Natives more or less ceased to use the path after 1800, probably because it was being so heavily used by the settlers. Today, the path is effectively wiped from the map, with much of the land it once covered having been developed. But a large swath of it (and the marker talking about it) is now occupied by Nescopeck State Park, one of Pennsylvania's youngest state parks.

Image courtesy of Lisa Croizier.

Standing between Mount Yeager and Nescopeck Mountain, the park encompasses roughly 3,550 acres teeming with natural beauty. Its attractions include the scenic Lake Frances, the abundant fishing in the babbling Nescopeck Creek, and hiking trails of varying difficulty. It's also home to a number of kame moraines, which are deposits of sand and stone left by the last Ice Age. 

Additionally, the land is a treasure trove of rare plants, some of which are endangered, so the park trails very deliberately do not lead visitors to where those can be found. These include hairy honeysuckle, wild lupine, climbing fern, and the threatened variable sedge, which grows in Nescopeck State Park in the largest known colony in the world. Ornithology enthusiasts are drawn to the park because of its bird population, being home to uncommon species like indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, and Canada warbler. Other wildlife spotted within the park include deer, bear, porcupine, the endangered hognose snake, and marbled salamander.

As for the Lehigh Path, which once ran through the land now home to the park, remnants of its importance can still be found within Nescopeck State Park; historians have unearthed pieces of pottery, arrowheads, and other artifacts. The history of the well-traveled route endures, even if the path itself doesn't.

Lake Frances in Nescopeck Park. Image courtesy of Lisa Croizier.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Unidentified writer. "Pa. to Unveil Historical Marker on Lehigh Path." The Times Leader, August 2, 2001.

Unidentified writer. "Lehigh Path Plaque Marks Route to Past." The Times Leader, August 12, 2001.

Kraft, Randy. "Slowly evolving Nescopeck State Park is a Hidden Treasure." The Morning Call, July 7, 2002.

Wallace, Paul A. W. Indian Paths of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1965.

Nescopeck State Park at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Lehigh Path at the Historical Marker Database

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.