Buchanan's Birthplace State Park

Buchanan's Birthplace State Park
Pennsylvania State Park
Protected Landscape/Seascape (IUCN V)
The stone pyramid marking the site of President Buchanan's birth in the park
Named for: Birthplace of James Buchanan
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Franklin
Township	Peters
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	39°52′15″N 77°57′14″W / 39.87083°N 77.95389°W / 39.87083; -77.95389Coordinates: 39°52′15″N 77°57′14″W / 39.87083°N 77.95389°W / 39.87083; -77.95389
- elevation	912 ft (278 m) ^[1]
Area	18.5 acres (7.5 ha) ^[1]
Founded	1911
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location of Buchanan's Birthplace State Park in Pennsylvania
Website : Buchanan's Birthplace State Park

Buchanan's Birthplace State Park is a 18.5-acre (7.5 ha) Pennsylvania state park near Cove Gap, in Peters Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 16 along Tuscarora Mountain. Buchanan's Birthplace State Park was created from land donated to the state by Harriet Lane in honor of her uncle, the 15th President of the United States, James Buchanan.

Recreation

Recreation facilities are limited. There are two pavilions and a number of picnic tables. Drinking water and two restrooms are located near the picnic area. A pyramid built with native stone stands at the site of the cabin where President Buchanan was born. Buck Run runs through the park and has a population of native trout for fishing. Tuscarora Trail, a bypass trail for the Appalachian Trail, passes just to the west of the park.^[2]

Buchanan's Birthplace

President James Buchanan was born into an Ulster Scots family on April 23, 1791, near the village of Cove Gap. He was born in a log cabin on property owned by his father. The complex was known as Stony Batter, named for the family home near Ramelton in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. At the time of Buchanan's birth, the Cove Gap area was on the edge of the American frontier. Today it is a quite isolated area, but when President Buchanan was born it was a center of frontier commerce. Stony Batter was a complex of cabins, barns, stables, storehouses, a general store, and an orchard. Pioneers travelling from the East Coast through Cove Gap stopped at Stony Batter to rest and restore their supplies. Buchanan lived at Stony Batter until he was six years old, when his father moved his business to Mercersburg.^[2]

Monument

A fawn at the park

Harriet Lane Johnston was President Buchanan's niece and since he never married she served as his First Lady. She led the effort to create a memorial to her uncle. She made several efforts to purchase his birthplace, Stony Batter, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Upon her death, in 1895, the responsibility for building the monument was transferred to a lawyer from Baltimore, Lawrason Riggs and a banker from Washington, D.C., E. Francis Riggs. After years of trying to purchase Stony Batter, the Riggs' were finally successful in 1907. The monument in the shape of a pyramid was built of native stone. Wyatt and Nolting, an architectural firm from Baltimore, designed the memorial. The pyramid is 38 feet (12 m) square and 31 feet (9.4 m) high. It is made of 50 short tons (45 t) of American Gray Granite and 250 tons of mortar and native stones. Construction of the pyramid began in October 1907 with a work force of 20 men. They built a small railroad to haul the heavy materials from the mountainside to the construction site. The work force grew to 35 men and the monument was completed by late winter with a surrounding iron railing. The Pennsylvania General Assembly of 1911 accepted the monument from the trust of Harriet Lane Johnston and Buchanan's Birthplace State Park was formally established.^[2]

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Buchanan's Birthplace State Park:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Berkeley Springs State Park (West Virginia)
Cacapon State Park (West Virginia)
Cowans Gap State Park (Fulton County)
Caledonia State Park (Adams and Franklin Counties)
Fort Frederick State Park (Maryland)
Greenbrier State Park (Maryland)
Mont Alto State Park (Franklin County)
South Mountain State Park (Maryland)
Trough Creek State Park (Huntingdon County)
Warriors Path State Park (Bedford County)

References

1 2 3 "Buchanan's Birthplace State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
1 2 3 "Buchanan's Birthplace State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
↑ "Find a Park by Region (interactive map)". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
↑ 2007 General Highway Map Franklin County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65,000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division. Retrieved 2007-07-27. Note: shows Buchanan's Birthplace State Park
↑ Michels, Chris (1997). "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2008-04-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buchanan's Birthplace State Park.

Buchanan's Birthpalce State Park official map PDF (58 KB)

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Lackawanna Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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