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23-610: Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is a 1,168-acre (473 ha) Pennsylvania state park near Wind Gap , in Bushkill Township , Northampton County in Pennsylvania . The Jacobsburg National Historic District is almost entirely surrounded by the park. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is just off the Belfast exit of Pennsylvania Route 33 . The main purpose of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center

46-476: A brief history of their development since the first park opened in 1893. State parks range in size from 3 acres (1.2 ha) to 21,122 acres (8,548 ha) and comprise one percent of Pennsylvania's total land area. According to Dan Cupper (1993), "Pennsylvania is the thirty-third largest state, but only Alaska and California have more park land". There are state parks in 62 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties , which nearly reaches Pennsylvania's goal of having

69-607: A heritage education program with classes in gunmaking and blacksmithing . Rendezvouses and period military encampments are included in the center's living history program. The Pennsylvania Longrifle Heritage Museum is located in the Henry Homestead. The Henry family had a long history of rifle making going back before the French and Indian War . William Henry opened his first gun factory in Lancaster in 1750. During

92-400: A mid-1840s rendezvous and military re-enactments. Blacksmith and gunsmith classes are offered and the historic buildings are open for tours. Hunting is permitted on about 937 acres (379 ha) of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. The most common game species are squirrels , pheasants , rabbits and white-tailed deer . The hunting of groundhogs is prohibited. Bushkill Creek

115-807: A second and larger factory in Boulton, Pennsylvania. The Henry family continued manufacturing rifles for three generations. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is home to the only remaining old-growth forest in the Lehigh Valley . The Henry's Woods section of the park is a largely virgin forest. Ecologists note the lack of large eastern white pines in what is otherwise a stand of old growth deciduous trees and eastern hemlock . The trees are up to 130 feet in height. Recreational opportunities include hiking on 18.5 miles (29.8 km), fishing , biking , horseback riding , cross-country skiing , hunting , and picnicking . The walking bridge adjacent to

138-475: A state park within 25 miles (40 km) of every resident in the Commonwealth. Eleven parks do not have "State Park" in their name. Three are " Conservation Areas ": Boyd Big Tree Preserve , Joseph E. Ibberson , and Varden ; four are "Environmental Education Centers": Jacobsburg , Jennings , Kings Gap (also a "Training Center") and Nolde Forest ; White Clay Creek is a "Preserve"; Norristown

161-580: Is stocked with trout by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission . The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center: List of Pennsylvania state parks As of 2024 , there are 124 state parks in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks , a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR),

184-661: Is a "Farm Park"; and Big Spring is a "State Forest Picnic Area". Seven parks are undeveloped with no facilities: Allegheny Islands , Benjamin Rush , Bucktail , Erie Bluffs , Prompton , Swatara , and Varden ; the last four of these are in the process of being developed. Five state parks are small picnic areas: Laurel Summit , Patterson , Prouty Place , Sand Bridge , and Upper Pine Bottom . Five state parks have major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams and/or lakes: Bald Eagle , Beltzville , Elk , Kettle Creek , and Sinnemahoning . Three former parks now belong, at least partly, to

207-958: Is now Cherry Springs , "Codorus Creek" is now Codorus , "Kooser Lake" is now Kooser , "Laurel Hill Summit" is now Laurel Summit , and "Promised Land Lake" is now Promised Land ). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. The following eighteen were once Pennsylvania state parks, but have been transferred to federal ( National Park Service , U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ) or state ( Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , Pennsylvania Game Commission , Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry ) agencies, or ceased to exist. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for two former Pennsylvania state parks. One former park dropped one word from its name ("Colerain Forge" became "Colerain" sometime between 1924 and 1937). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. Bushkill Creek A portion of Bushkill Creek passes through

230-598: Is the governing body for all these parks, and directly operates 116 of them. The remaining parks are operated in cooperation with other public and private organizations. The first Pennsylvania state park, at Valley Forge , opened in 1893 and was given to the National Park Service (NPS) for the United States Bicentennial in 1976. There are a total of seventeen former Pennsylvania state parks: four former parks have been transferred to

253-524: Is to provide environmental education for the citizens of Pennsylvania and specifically the students of the nearby elementary schools , high schools , colleges , and universities . Jacobsburg stays busy offering hands on opportunities to these students and their teachers with a "discovery and problem solving" approach. The Jacobsburg National Historic District is the location of the Henry Homestead. The district includes 11 contributing buildings and 34 contributing sites. Jacobsburg Historical Society provides

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276-624: The French and Indian War , he was an armorer for the Braddock Campaign of 1755 and the Forbes Expedition of 1758. His son William Henry II established a small gunmaking shop in Christian Springs in 1778. He moved his operation to Jacobsburg in 1792 and built an iron forge to provide the needed iron to manufacture his rifles at Jacobsburg. The War of 1812 lead to an increase in demand, and Henry II built

299-678: The Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center . The confluence with the Delaware River is in Easton . The stream was historically named Lafever Creek, Lefebres Creek, Lefevres Creek, Lefrever Creek, Leheihan Creek, Lehieton Creek, Tatamys Creek, Tatemy's Creek, or Tattamys Creek. 40°42′58″N 75°14′46″W  /  40.716°N 75.246°W  / 40.716; -75.246 This Northampton County, Pennsylvania state location article

322-589: The 1930s, some mere camping and picnic areas in state forests, while others preserved unique sites. The 1930s saw a great expansion of parks and their facilities under Governor Gifford Pinchot , who cooperated with President Franklin Roosevelt , despite their being of different political parties. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established 113 CCC camps in Pennsylvania (second only to California). Using CCC and Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor,

345-656: The DCNR, the state parks in Pennsylvania are on more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) with some 606 full-time and more than 1,600 part-time employees serving approximately 36 million visitors each year. Admission to all Pennsylvania state parks is free, although there are fees charged for use of cabins, marinas, etc. Pennsylvania's state parks offer "over 7,000 family campsites, 286 cabins, nearly 30,000 picnic tables, 56 major recreational lakes, 10 marinas, 61 beaches for swimming, 17 swimming pools" and over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of trails. Pennsylvania's first state park

368-541: The NPS built five Recreation Demonstration Areas , which became Pennsylvania state parks in 1945 and 1946: Blue Knob , French Creek , Hickory Run , Laurel Hill , and Raccoon Creek . The CCC also "fought forest fires, planted trees, built roads, buildings, picnic areas, swimming areas, campgrounds and created many state parks". In 1956, there were forty-four state parks in Pennsylvania, mostly in rural areas. Forty-five parks had been added by 1979, mostly near urban areas, and

391-720: The NPS, four to the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission , two to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , one to both the Corps and the Pennsylvania Game Commission , five to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry , and one has ceased to exist. Nine current and two former state parks have had major name changes or have been known under alternate names. The list gives an overview of Pennsylvania state parks and

414-422: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven parks preserve the industrial past: Canoe Creek is the site of a former lime kiln , and Caledonia , French Creek , Greenwood Furnace , Kings Gap , Mont Alto , and Pine Grove Furnace (plus one former park) are all former iron furnace sites. Eight current parks and one former park contain at least part of eight different National Natural Landmarks . According to

437-501: The former state parks were also chiefly historic. In addition to preserving historic sites, Pennsylvania also sought to preserve natural beauty and offer opportunities for recreation in its state parks. In 1902 Mont Alto State Forest Park was the second park established, a year after the state "Bureau of Forestry" was set up to purchase, preserve, and restore Pennsylvania's forests, which had been ravaged by lumbering, charcoal production, and wild fires. Parks were added sporadically until

460-492: The main parking lot was destroyed in 2004 during a flood caused by Hurricane Frances , but was replaced in 2008. The center provides an environmental education program, with classes in natural history. The center is known for its diversity of wildflowers that are especially striking during springtime. There is a heritage education program at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. This program displays and demonstrates early gunmaking practices. A living history program includes

483-434: The system had increased by 130,000 acres (53,000 ha). This was thanks largely to the efforts of Maurice K. Goddard , who served as director of the precursors to the DCNR for twenty-four years under six administrations. The number of visitors to parks more than tripled in this time and two voter approved bond issues (Projects 70 and 500) raised millions of dollars for park expansions and improvements. All this expansion

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506-762: Was Valley Forge State Park , purchased by the Commonwealth on May 30, 1893, to preserve Valley Forge . It was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) on the Bicentennial of the United States , July 4, 1976. Many state parks still preserve history: as of 2012, forty-two Pennsylvania state park sites are on the National Register of Historic Places , including two National Historic Landmarks ( Delaware Canal and Point ), twenty-eight Civilian Conservation Corps sites in nineteen parks, and twelve other parks' historic sites and districts. Eight of

529-748: Was not without costs and by 1988 there was an estimated $ 90 million in deferred maintenance. In 1993, as the park system celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary, new tax and bond revenues were earmarked for the parks. Since 2000, parks are being improved through the state's Growing Greener and Growing Greener II and bond programs. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for nine current Pennsylvania state parks. Note that many parks were originally "State Forest Parks" or were state public camping or picnic areas in Pennsylvania state forests. In modern times, some "State Parks" have become "Environmental Education Centers", while other parks have dropped one word from their name ("Cherry Springs Drive"

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