Ruins along a trail in the Scotia Barrens, now State Game Land 176
In 1881 Andrew Carnegie purchased 400 acres in present day Centre County Pa, and he took a 99 year lease on an additional 300 acres. The area is named Scotia, after Carnegie's homeland, Scotland. Small scale mining had been taking place in that area since the late 18th century, but in 1880, Carnegie recognized the location as ideal, with it's abundance of iron ore & with it's close proximity to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Thousands of tons of iron ore were loaded into carts and pulled by mules to the rail station in nearby Julian.
"Two miles SW of here, an iron center, called Scotia, was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1881. Here houses were erected, a railroad built, and machinery set up. A few remains of the center can be seen."
Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania)29 Apr 1939, Page 4
The area is now part of the State Game Lands, No 176.
"The Scotia Barrens are what is often referred to as a “frost pocket.” This phenomenon happens when the currents of air blow down from the ridge tops and get trapped in a lower lying area. It has a special microclimate and is usually cooler than the surrounding areas but at times can be very hot and dry as well. A great example of this harsh climate is in the mornings it may be near freezing an get up into the high 70’s to lower 80’s during the day."
http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Scotia.html
The ruins can be found a short walk from the parking area at 40.800420, -77.946291
Go past the gate, and turn left. Continue to take a left any time the trail has an option to go in multiple directions. As you walk, if you look around the trail, you will see smaller cement remnants along the way. The trail meanders around, and you will leave the woods and cross a grassy area under the power lines, then go back into a wooded area. Shortly after re-entering the woods, the first large ruin will be on your left.
40°47'56.2"N 77°56'52.0"W
The next, larger, ruin can be spotted from the trail just a bit further ahead.
40°47'58.0"N 77°56'54.0"W
This is a short, mostly flat, walk on a trail. I think it was less then 1/4 of a mile from the parking area to the ruins.
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Places to Hike
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/places-to-hike.html
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https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/places-to-hike.html
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More About The Scotia Barrens:
The Daily News (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania)23 Dec 1950, Page 6
Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania)10 Jun 1938, Fri
Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania)29 Apr 1939, SatPage 4
"My people told me" said the gold-badge veteran of 50 years service with the great railroad, "that the Barrens were burning something terrible the night the boys came home from the war in May 1865; they were to have a big celebration in their honor in the old Gatesburg church, torn down in 1869, but the boys said they preferred to save their hunting grounds to the ice cream, tea and cake. They were wearing their heavy blue service overcoats and joined the fire fighting crews just as they were, but when it became too hot they threw off their coats and most of them never recovered them, as the fire cut them off from their belongings. It was in that fire that all of the Watkins family, who made tar in the center of the Barrens, were burned to death in their shack. The hound ran out, his hair singed off, the only survivor of the disaster."
"Old people tell me that the fire and the fire that followed in 1873 wiped out the last of the heathcocks. These fine game birds were larger than a ruffled grouse, more of a generally paler shade and had a dark meant unlike the white flesh of the grouse. "
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The ruins in the photos are not from the Carnegie's mining enterprise in the 1800's, but of the remains of Scotia Mining Company's WWII venture described in "Rails to Penn State; The Story of the Bellefonte Central" by Bezilla and Rudnicki.
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