The Schuylkill and Susquehanna railway corridor formed the basis of one of America’s first rails-to-trails, and exists today as a nearly 20-mile path across isolated woodlands. The history of this valley, which lies adjacent to the Appalachian Trail, is a microcosm for much of the coal country of central Pennsylvania.
In the 1740’s, Moravian Christian missionaries trying to convert local Amrican Indians called this area “St. Anthony’s Wilderness.” The OG St Anthony lived in a desert climate, but was famed for handling temptation in isolated lands. Eventually coal and lumber industries attracted enough corporate interest to build a railroad – in 1854 it was named the Dauphin & Susquehanna Railroad, getting renamed the Schuylkill & Susquehanna by 1859. The coal from this part of the valley turned out to be poorer quality than coal to the north, however — it was a mixture of hard coal (anthracite) and soft coal (bituminous) — making the railroad not as useful.
In 1939, after a bridge along the railway burned down, the rail owners decided to cut their losses and abandoned the line. In 1945, 44,000 acres became part of the Pennsylvania State Game lands, where the old rail path forms a 19.7 mile trail today, going from Dauphin County eastward to Lebanon County.
Source(s): @traillink.com/trail/stony-valley-railroad-grade/ @stonyvalley.com/history.html.
