The Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide - Historical Notes

The Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide 1903-to present

The back of the above postcard reads:

From the Eagles Mere Toboggan Website:

"Capt. E.S. Chase stood at the edge of the lake one January day watching his grandchildren. They asked him why he couldn’t build a “real good” toboggan slide down the slope of Lake Avenue. It was a logical idea. He began work on a design and method for building a toboggan slide that would be safe, sturdy and continued pleasure for Eagles Mere residents. The slide today is executed from these original plans using Capt. Chase’s planer and his method of grooving the ice. The Captain had a wooden toboggan built with three metal runners to fit the groove made in the ice of the slide."

In 1903 the Times Leader was already referring to the "famous toboggan slide" at Eagles Mere.

In February 1903 the Republican reported:

"A stray photographer with a "quick as lightning camera" was here the other day, and one of our prominent "hoosiers" thought it would be a fine thing to have his photo taken while riding down the ice slide. Accordingly he mounted his "tobog" and started on the down trip, Mr. Snap-shot clicked his ma-. chine and all was over. When the photograph was developed it simply showed a long black streak with bulging eyes holding with a death like grip, to what looked like a long stick rounded at the front end.  No use talking our slide is certainly swift.....

The ice slide has attracted the most attention of any one: thing. Aside from being unique in manner of construction it proves that the builders were wide awake enough to build something swift. Talk about any one being asleep on that slide! Why even the engineer and crew of the Eagles Mere Lightning Express acknowledge its swiftness. They tried the "tobog" the other day and before half the distance had been had been past the engineer, conductor and all the crew were hooting out "toot, toot, toot," for down break. It was of no avail however, for the toboggans here care not for general managers, superintendents or high and mighty potentates of any kind, and shot the boys across the Lake in less time than it takes to change the Eagles Mere R. R. time table."

UNIQUE TOBOGGAN SLIDE; WILKESBARRE MAN CONSTRUCTS ONE AT EAGLESMERE OF THICK BLOCKS OF ICB-SLEDS RUN AT RATE OF NINETY MILES AN HOUR. 

[1903 Wilkes Barre Paper]

 "There has been constructed at Eagles-mere a toboggan slide that Is probably unique. It was built by E. S. Chase, formerly of  Wilkes-Barre and is affording Eagles mere visitors rare sport.  It is constructed on an avenue of Eagles mere leading down a sharp declivity to the lake and having no cross streets, there ls no danger of colliding with teams- or pedestrians. It ls not built on a frame-work as toboggans usually are, but Is constructed of gr-eat- blocks of Ice, so laid as to cover the avenue, with a massive pavement of ice. 

The people turned out with much enthusiasm to  cut the ice from the lake, it having a thickness of fourteen Inches. When, the ice pavement has been laid all the way up the avenue from the lake to the top of the hill an Ice planer was brought into use and with it a groove for the toboggans was  planed  Into the ice pavement. The slide is brilliantly Illuminated with electric lights.

The coasters and toboggans shoot down the slide at a very high speed. By, the time they reach the lake they are flying from 40 to 100 miles an hour! The sleds and toboggans are carried half way across the lake.  They make the half mile run In from twenty to  twenty-four seconds, the start and stop of course being slow.

 The sport Is most exhilarating and In spite of I the terrific speed of the coaster sleds and toboggan the run is  considered perfectly safe. Some of The sleds are large enough to carry four teen people. It Is probably the finest toboggan slide in the country and is proving a splendid midwinter attraction for Eagles mere."

Embley Shafer Chase was born in 1855, In Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania.  He was a book keeper in Wilkes Barre in the 1880 census, but by 1896 [as mentioned in the above article] he was managing the cottages at a resort in Eagles Mere.  According to his obituary in 1946, "Captain Chase first gained prominence as one of the detectives who helped round up the Molly Maguires... his title was gained in that experience."

Chase's entire obit is at the bottom of this post under read more, but this shorter blurb about his death also ran in the Williamsport Gazette and Bulletin:

The slide was ready for operation in January of 1904.  The Sullivan newspaper reported:

"The toboggan slide, which afforded much amusement at Eagles Mere last winter, will be built again this year. A slide several hundred feet long is built of blocks of ice, ending at the edge of the frozen lake, and the tobogganers slide down the shute and are carried half way across the lake. The speed attained is said to be nearly a mile a minute.."

This postcard was mailed in 1988.  The back reads:

Mailed from Bloomsburg to Bethlehem PA

"A tradition of winter threatens to slip away from Eagles Mere, Pa. By Carol Morello Inquirer Staff Writer EAGLES MERE, Pa.

 - In winter, when the denizens of summer have fled back to the cities like so many migratory birds, the ice toboggan slide down Lake Avenue is Eagles Mere. There is precious little else to occupy the 150 year-round residents this lakeside resort village. Out of season, the dozen local gift shops are open only on weekends.

Even the nearest grocery is a 30-minute drive away. And so every winter weekend from mid-January on, Eagles Mere becomes a Norman Rockwell painting come alive. Rosy-cheeked children, bundled against the cold, squeal in delight as they zoom up to 45 m.p.h. down the 1,200-foot-long toboggan run, petering out in the middle of frozen Eagles Mere Lake. Teenagers line up for hot chocolate served from an old red trailer parked atop the hill.

Parents counsel patience to their eager offspring learning to wait their turn in line. Interrupted only by World War II and an occasional round of warm weather, the slick toboggan slide has been an annual tradition since 1904. But as the 1989 season draws to a close, some Eagles Mere residents are wondering how much longer they can keep up the tradition. As in small towns across America, Eagles Mere's young people are growing up and moving away. Each year, Eagles Mere's population grows grayer.

As it is now, it takes virtually every able-bodied resident to build the toboggan run and operate it for a few winter weekends to benefit the volunteer fire department. "I'm afraid it's a dying thing, because of the manpower problem," said Don Andrews, 40, the fire chief and full-time carpenter who directs construction of the slide. "We just don't have the people to volunteer. Coming out here every weekend takes a lot of time. And there aren't many young people left." Brian Smith is one.

He is 22, and a heavy equipment operator in Muncy, half an hour south of here. "There were 11 people in my high school graduating class, and only two of us are left," said Smith as he helped check toboggans in and out last weekend. "The rest have all moved a away." Like almost everything else in this quaint little town, a charming historical story accompanies the slide. town Developer as a E.S. resort, Chase, was who standing laid out the edge of the lake one January day in 1903 when his grandchildren asked him to build a "real good" toboggan run down the slope.

He went to the drawing board, and by the following winter was ready for the town's men and boys to build the slide. After cutting through the 12-inchthick lake ice with handsaws, they hauled the ice blocks up the hill with horse teams and laid them down in a row. A man by the name of Harry Stevens reportedly was the first to try it out - aboard an iron scoopshovel. According to local lore, Stevens went down with a trail of smoke coming from the seat of his burning pants. Good story.

Maybe there's even grain of truth to it. Maybe. "The history's a little vague," concedes Andrews. "A lot of pieces are lost, memories are lost. We get it by talking to the older people, then we pick the middle and go with it." Today, the sons, daughters and grandchildren of the original slidebuilders build the slide and the 55 toboggans, which are rented out at $8 an hour for a sled holding six adults and $10 an hour for an eight-seater.

When the ice on Eagles Mere Lake is at least 10 inches thick, volunteers measure blocks 15½ inches wide and 44 inches long. Gone are the hand saws, replaced by a special cutting machine with a circular saw attached to a motor on skis. Once cut, the ice blocks, weighing up to 250 pounds each, are floated to a belt leading to an elevator chute, which in turn carries them to the foot of the hill, where workers start laying them out. Snow is packed alongside the blocks to freeze them into place, and then grooves are cut down the length of the slide to hold the metal toboggan runners in place. It normally takes 380 man-hours to cut and maneuver the 880 to 1,000 ice blocks into place.

But if the method of construction has changed little throughout the century, there are touches of modernity to the scene that place it in the 1980s. Such as the proud parents capturing family memories on video cameras. Or the sweatshirts, T-shirts and hats emblazoned with "Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide," on sale for $15, $8 and $5 respectively. Or the ticket's liability waiver, which reads, in part: "The holder of this ticket understands that the Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide is a vigorous downhill ride at high speed ending in a slide across a frozen lake over which there is little or no control." Whether that warning provokes breathless anticipation or pangs of anxiety seems to be a function of age. "I like the speed," said Wes Tudor, 14, from Cherry Hill, as he waited in line last Sunday with a friend and their two fathers for a second trip down.

It was his first time aboard a toboggan. "It's scary while you do it," he admitted. "But at the bottom you're glad you did it, 'cause it's such an experience." Not so for the two adults in the party. "I like it when get to the bottom and everything's OK," acknowledged Jerry of Malvern, who was there with his 13-year-old son, Zach. But in Eagles Mere, the slide is more than just fun."

In the Harrisburg Telegraph, 1928:

"The men of Eagles Mere finished the ice cutting in a week. The ice houses are full and the toboggan slide has been completed. deal "The of work toboggan there slide took 468 a great as are of ice on the hill and it is 585 feet long. The slide we had last year was about 500 feet long. It is estimated that the toboggan on the runway will reach 125 miles per hour. This week sports were in full swing as there was good skating and the latter part of the week we had tobogganing. The toboggans and sleds go farther this year than last year as there is less snow covering the ice on the lake. Some of them go within fifty feet of the beach and it is great sport walking back on the slippery ice.".

According to the historical marker:

"Site of the original toboggan slide built in 1904 Designed and engineered by Cap. E.S. Chase.

Blocks of ice are measured, cut, and transported to the foot of Lake Ave where construction begins.  The side, which is 1200 feet long, is grooved to fit the hand-crafts wooden toboggans.

Toda, E.M. Slide Association uses the original plans - modern equipment replaced the old horse teams, wagons, bob-sled and hand saws.

E.M. Civic Club, E.M. Slide Association 1976"

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READ MORE

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Edgar R. Kiess and Howard Lyon of Hughesville declined to ride the slide in February of 1903, according to the Republican News Item.

June 1903

Embley Shafer Chase 1855-1946

Advertisement from 1962

2014

1968

This comic ran in a variety of newspapers in 1901, including in the Wilkes Barre paper.

Jamison City, Pennsylvania

 
Assorted Photos & History Of Jamison City, Columbia County Pa

EMRR - The Eagles Mere Railroad

"The Eagles Mere Railroad was built in 1892 to transport visitors. Eight miles long, this narrow gauge railroad ran from Sonestown, in a valley to the east, to Eagles Mere.

During much of its 35 years of operation, the railroad ran four round trips each day during the summer. No passenger service was offered between September and June and for a number of years freight trains ran year-round. But by 1924 cars were increasing in popularity and only one passenger train was operated on weekdays and there was no scheduled service on Sundays. In that year, only 2,133 passengers used the line, down significantly from previous years.

On Nov. 16 1926, the worst rainstorm in the history of Sullivan County washed out the railroad's Bully Run trestle, and repairs were not made.  Two ears later the line was sold to a Williamsport scrap dealer."

 From an article entitled The Town That Time Forgot  - By Richard Funk

Wenonah Falls Along The Eagles Mere Railroad

 

Wenonah Falls, Sullivan County Pa

October 2 2022 - Today I got to see a waterfall I never expected to be able to see - Wenonah Falls, along the old Eagles Mere Railroad line in Sullivan County Pa.

This is private property. Today was a one time, limited group tour that involved permission from 3 land owners and each of us signing 2 waivers. It was a Walk In Penns Woods event, one of more than 50 organized walks across the state of Pennsylvania on the first Sunday in October.

Colley Falls, Sullivan County Pa

Colley Falls

A 20 Foot Waterfall in State Game Lands 66, near Colley in Sullivan County PA

This possibly unnamed waterfall is  located on a tributary of Smith Cabin Run in Colley Township, near the town of Colley, in state game lands 66, Sullivan County Pa.  I haven't been able to find it named in any of my sources so far, but I do have a few more older guides to check.   I'm going to refer to it as Colley Falls for now, as it is located near that town.

John Wesley Little - The Artist From Picture Rocks

Between Showers, by J. Wesley Little

If you are shopping our local flea markets, estate sales, and thrift stores, check those watercolor paintings for the signature of J. Wesley Little.  Not only are his watercolors valued at between $300 and $600, but he was a local boy, from Picture Rocks.  A large collection of his paintings are owned by Bucknell University - as Little paid his children's college tuition in paintings, rather than in cash.

  

John Wesley Little came to Picture Rocks from Forksville Pa, as a young child.  His father, John Polhemus Little, established a wood manufacturing business in the town.

Born in 1867, he was a twin, and the youngest of nine children.   His twin died while fighting in the civil war.

Old Rover by J. Wesley Little

In the collection of the Samek Art Museum at Bucknell University

In 1884 John entered a pencil sketch for a dog titled "Old Rover" in a local art contest.  Encouraged by friends, he then went to the  National Academy of Design in New York.  He studied there  for 6 years, from 1888-1894.

Pennsylvania Canal between Lewisburg and Montandon

Canal with towpath by John Wesley Little [Picture Rocks, PA]

1898

Little's grandfather, Theopholis Little, was a revolutionary war soldier who purchased tracts of land in Sullivan County, and was instrumental in the development of Eagles Mere. It was there, by Lewis Lake, that J. Wesley Little taught art classes at the Eagles mere Chautauqua Association, for five summers.  Classes cost $2.50 per a week. During the winter months  he painted watercolors based on sketches me made throughout the year.

In 1899 Little traveled to France to paint and travel, returning in time to teach classes in Eaglesmere that summer. He made a second trip abroad years later.

After marrying Susan Heim, the couple settled in Fort Washington Pa, near enough to Philadelphia for Little to join the Sketch and Water Color Clubs of Philadelphia.

A John Wesley Little Watercolor Landscape

Hanging in the Taber Museum, Williamsport Pa

Little studied under the direction of such prolific artiss as Thomas Eakin and Leonard Ochtman, and was greatly influenced English landscape artist Sir Alfred East.


Little's art often featured pastoral scenes depicting herds of sheep  and cattle, reflecting the natural beauty of his native Pennsylvania. His work was exhibited at the St. Louis and Panama-Pacific Expositions, and before the American Water Color Society in New York.  

https://m.skinnerinc.com/search?s=John+Wesley+Little

In 1901 he was awarded the silver medal of the American Art Society. That same year, his paintings were on display at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.  Little and his wife had three children , all of whom graduated from Bucknell.  Their father paid their tuition in paintings, rather than in cash.

Downtown Lewisburg by J. Wesley Little

In 1905, Little moved his family back to his hometown of Picture Rocks, where he lived until his death in 1923.

Little died in Picture Rocks in September of 1923, at the age of 57.  

His obituary read, in part:
"J. Wesley Little was one of the best known native Pennsylvania Artists.  He was born in Sullivan County and studied in France.  In his particular medium, that of water color, he developed an individual technique which won him favorable recognition wherever he exhibited, and he was awarded medals and honors at exhibitions.
His best known works are Pennsylvania pastoral scenes and landscapes, painted in the West Branch and Muncy Creek valleys near his home."

Where To See His Work:

• The Taber House Museum in Williamsport 
• Trinity Episcopal Church  in Williamsport has a mural based on a sketch by J. Wesley Little.  Little had designed the mural, but died before it was completed.  The project was finished by S.R. Hartman.
• Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell.  (Displays change frequently, but their Little collection can be found online here - https://library.artstor.org/#/search/Wesley%20Little;page=1;size=48)
• East Lycoming Historical Society, Hughesville Pa - owns 2 paintings
• Keep scrolling, I have a bunch of photos of his work at the bottom of this post.

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On the Sesquicentennial Walking Tour, 2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BjxAjR6Yx/

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There is an out of print book on the life of John Wesley Little, published in 1966

John Wesley Little 1867-1933 Biography of an Artist 

https://amzn.to/31EK7Ex

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Source: John Wesley Little, A Paper

 by James Wright Little.

John Wesley Little, a renowned Pennsylvania artist, and the youngest child of John Polhemus Little and Martha Hallock Edkin, was born in 1867 near Forksville in Sullivan County, PA. John Polhemus was the sixth son of Theophilus Little, Jr., and Elizabeth Holmes and a twin to Josiah Little, a Civil War casualty. While John Wesley was still a young child, his father moved to Picture Rocks, PA and established a wood manufacturing business which produced ladders, bows for covered wagons, sleigh runners and other bent wood products. Best known as "Wesley" the young John was introduced to the world of labor when he worked in the commissary (employee lunch room) at the factory for which his father paid him the princely sum of 12 1/2 cents per hour.

By 1884, he had established an interest in art for he entered a pencil sketch for a dog titled "Old Rover" in a local contest. Encouraged by friends, he went to New York in 1888 and stayed with family friends while he studied at the The National Academy of Design. His formal education ended eight years later in 1896.

The next five summers were spent near Lewis Lake, Sullivan County, where Wesley taught budding artists at the Eaglesmere Chautauqua Association for $2.50 per week. During the winter, he painted watercolors from sketches he made at earlier dates. It was during this period that he met Dr. William C. Martin who was to later become his friend and mentor.

In 1899, at the invitation of Academy school chum Harry M. Walcott, he went to Paris and indulged in extensive travel on the continent, returning in time to teach the summer season at Eaglesmere. The rolling stone gathers no moss and he was soon 'discovered' by art buyers in Philadelphia and Williamsport. The notoriety, coupled with prosperity, enabled him to return to Paris the following year where he also traveled to Brussels and Venice. Returing home he met his future bride, Miss Susan Heim, at the Williamsport Railroad Station. They were married in December of the same year after a whirlwind courtship.

Wesley and his bride first lived in Fort Washington, PA , which enabled him to join the Sketch Club and Water Color Club of Philadelphia, memberships he enjoyed the rest of his life. The following five years found Wesley showing his work at many prominent art exhibits from St. Louis to South America. He made one more trip to Europe and England before moving his family in 1905 to Picture Rocks. It is here that he remodeled an old barn into a studio.

** Editor's Note: In August 2007, Susan McReadie of Chester County, PA, reported an incredible discovery likely traceable to the period before 1905 when the artist lived in the Philadelphia environs. She found an old, damaged painting. Here is her story:

A little over a year ago, an older woman in the area gave me a plastic bin (acutally one of those bins for recyclables) full of pieces of stained glass. Some of these she had been given long ago and others she collected. She hadn't used the materials in years herself and the bin was sitting in her gargage. I'm sorry to say that along with the glass, the bin contained some old recyclables and lots of straw, but remarkably, at the bottom, was this painting [shown below]. I loved the sheep, but realized the painting was pretty much a goner, so I'd set it up on my work bench in the basement to admire while working on my glass projects. About a month ago I was toying with my genealogy research (Googleing about on the internet) and I thought to read the name on the painting and see if I could find out anything about the artist. I think the fact that I was looking for my own family history drove me to want to return this to one of Mr. Little's family members. Someone who might care for it and appreciate it inspite of it's wounds. I therefore e-mailed Bob Sweeney at the Sullivan County Genealogical Page for help.

Coincidentally, at the same time, Bob Sweeney was visiting the Sullivan County Museum and Historical Society in Laporte and asked if there were a Little relative who might want the painting. Who should be there that very day but Nnancy Spencer, a Little relative, who entusiastically agreed to give the painting a home. The happy ending is that Bob informed Susan and Susan carefully mailed the painting to Nancy in Sullivan county. A photo of the picture and the painter's signature are at the bottom of this page. A few years later, by 2009, Nancy had conserved this photo and an enhanced version is also shown below. Now back to our story.....

Their first home was a 50-acre farm where Wesley supported his artistic talents and family with income from farming. The farm was successful, and in 1911 he moved the family into a house in Picture Rocks proper, located on the corner of Center and Water Streets. There, encouraged by buyers, he continued to paint.

During this time, he was very active in his community, first forming a reading circle as there was no local library. He was instrumental in getting a road built and bridge across Muncy Creek to Ardenwood. He also served as Burgess (Mayor) of Picture Rocks at one time.

In 1915, he traveled extensively in California, exhibiting his work and winning a Silver Medal at the San Francisco Exhibition for work he had done in England ten years earlier. He then went to South Dakota under contract to a rancher to produce three paintings. He was paid $500 and train fare.

Wesley and Susan had three children who all graduated from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, due to in part to their father's talents. He paid for their tuition with paintings in lieu of cash. All had distinguished careers and went on to obtain the Master or Doctorate degrees in finance, statistics, and administration.

However, it is to their daughter Jean that the Little family owes much for her "dedicated perseverance in preserving our (Little) family history" as we know it today.

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Little's Former Studio in Picture Rocks is now a privately owned home - with a facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/p/The-JW-Little-Studio-100062997561885/

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Willows

 two cows among the trees

trees and river

trees and a pond

trees

stream with trees 

the play house

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In 2006, there was an exhbit of Little's work at the Packwood House Museum

The Museum no longer exists.  More about it here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2022/11/from-tavern-to-museum-history-of.html

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Mrs. John Wesley Little

Susan [Heim] Little 1873-1965

Mrs. Susan Little, 91, Pioneer Family Member Mrs. Susan Heim Little, 91, Williamsport, descendant of pioneer settlers in Bloominggrove Valley, and secretary of the Muncy Normal' Alumni Association, died Tuesday in Williamsport Hospital. She was the widow of the noted artist, J. Wesley Little, Picture Rocks, who died in 1923.

Mrs. Little was born in Warrensville, daughter of Christian and Elizabeth Grove Heim. She graduated from Muncy Normal School in 1893, and taught school until her marriage. For many years she headed arrangements for the annual reunion of graduates of the Normal School. She was one of the original proponets of the Women's Suffrage movement in Lycoming County and was active in politics until her health failed.

Her German forebearers settled the Bloominggrove Valley north of the early 1800's, first to migrate there. Two daughters, a son, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren survive.

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https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html