The Arch Tree At Sinnemahoning State Park - An Old Indian Trail Marker

The Arch Tree At Sinnemahoning State Park

GPS Coords: 41.471953, -78.056247

Thought to be a very old, surviving relic of the days when Native American Indians traveled these lands.  They would sometimes "bend" trees.  According to Appalachian History, some trees were weighted down with rocks or dirt while others were tied down with rawhide, bark, or vine, depending on the materials the tree shaper had access to.  The tree at Sinnemahoning appears to have scars at the bends, showing where the tree was lashed.

To Get There - Park at the Sinnemahoning State Park Visitors Center.

Walk along the upper road (Park Road) past the visitors center, and off to the left you will see a trail marker.  Just a few feet behind it will be a second marker, a brown sign with yellow layers pointing to the Arch Tree.  It's a short walk from the parking lot to the tree.

The tree is a beautiful, and popular,  spot for photos and weddings.

Pocono Record June 1966

Sinnemahoning State Park is located about 2 hours northwest of the central Susquehanna Valley. It's a long drive just to see a tree, but there is SO much to see in this area. There are abandoned jet bunkers, the ruins of old hunting camps, Elk, lakes to kayak, and trails to hike, as well as trails to bike. Nearby is the ruins of the Austin Dam, the Coudersport Ice Mine, and a creamery that makes the best ice cream, from their own cows milk. We've visited this area many times and still have not seen everything that is on my list to see in this area!

Was The Arch Tree An Indian Trail Marker?
Quite possibly!  Although it's impossible to know for sure.

We spend a fair amount of time in the woods, and I know that over the years I have seen many trees bent similarly to, although not exactly like,  this one.  I've never given it much thought.  When I first read that the Arch tree at Sinnemahoning was an Indian Trail Marker, I assumed it was a story to make the tree even more interesting.  After all, we've seen trees bent in all sorts of angles from storms and damage. 

For instance, not far from the famous Arch tree at Sinnemahoning is this tree, along the rail trail,  which fell over, and then grew up sideways from where it landed.  (Find this tree along the bike trail, right down from the Arch Tree.  Approximate GPS coords - N 41° 28.029 W 078° 03.512 )

An 1880's photo of an Indian Trail Marker Tree

The idea of bent trees as trail markers however, does have merit.  It's been well researched, and documented.   Not every bent tree is a trail marker, and many of the ones that were trail markers have been lost to highway construction, storms, and old age.

There are a few features that distinguish a trail marker from a naturally bent tree:

1. They be old enough to have been alive when Native American tribes still lived in the area.
2.  The bend should not be too far from the ground
3. There may be scars on the tree from where the throngs lashed it to the ground.
4.  The tree should indicate some sort of feature of the land -  a trail, a spring,  or a place to ford a river.  Others say that markers may indicate areas such as a rattlesnake den.  Trees bent in the same way, along a particular trail, might indicate human intervention.

Marker trees shown in a map in 1847 - proving this is not a new theory or idea - 

“Map of Ouilmette Reservation with its Indian Reminders dated 1828–1844”. This map shows actual drawings and locations of existing trail marker trees.

===================

Find More Sights To See Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/04/sights-to-see.html

=============

READ MORE

=============

https://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/wi78b.htm
https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2016/11/28/searching-for-a-sign/
https://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/the-history-of-marker-trees
https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2017/12/indian-trail-trees.html

 

"Long ago, Native Americans manipulated young saplings into distinctive trail markers, but many in the area were cut down during the region’s lumber heyday. This unusually shaped tree may be a rare survivor of this practice, and its curious character has made it a popular site for weddings and photo sessions."

I found the above quote on so many different sites that I cannot be sure where it originated. .

"In a part of India that is so wet that many man-made structures rot during the monsoon season, humans have been shaping the roots of rubber trees into incredibly strong bridges for hundreds of years. According to the BBC, the strongest bridges are over 100 years old."

"The Crooked Forest has defied explanation since it was first discovered.
According to Business Insider, the trees were planted around 1930, and many of them bend sharply near the ground. This was at a time when Germany occupied the area, and no one knows if the odd shape is natural, a result of the forces of war, or intentionally made by humans."

"Native cultures called this area Sinnemahoning (Anglicized version of the American Indian word “Achsinni-mahoni”), a phrase that meant “stony lick.” This was probably in reference to a natural salt lick that reportedly existed at the mouth of Grove Run near the town of Sinnemahoning"