Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area

{{Short description|Natural area in Pennsylvania}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area | iucn_category = III | iucn_ref =  | image = SnyderMiddleswarth.jpg | image_caption = Relict virgin forest within Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area  | map = USA Pennsylvania | image_map = | map_size = | map_caption = Location of Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area in Pennsylvania | relief =  | location = [[Snyder County, Pennsylvania|Snyder County]], [[Pennsylvania]] | nearest_city = | nearest_town = [[Troxelville, Pennsylvania|Troxelville]] | coordinates = {{coord|40|48|36|N|77|16|59|W|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref =  | length = | length_mi = | length_km = | width = | width_mi = | width_km = | area_acre = 500 | area_ref = <ref name="dcnr">{{cite web| url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/snydermiddleswarth.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040302164219/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/snydermiddleswarth.aspx | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 2, 2004 | title=Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area, Tall Timbers Natural Area | accessdate=2007-12-11| publisher= [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]]}}</ref> | elevation = {{convert|1329|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="usgs">{{cite web | url={{Gnis3|1212570}} | title=Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area | date = October 1, 1989 | work=[[Geographic Names Information System]] | publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] | accessdate=2007-12-11 }}</ref> | elevation_avg = | elevation_min = | elevation_max = | dimensions = | designation =  | authorized = | created = | designated = | established = 1921<ref name="cupper">{{cite book |last= Cupper |first= Dan |title= Our Priceless Heritage: Pennsylvania's State Parks 1893-1993 |year= 1993 |publisher= [[Pennsylvania|Commonwealth of Pennsylvania]], [[Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]] for [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|Department of Natural Resources]], Bureau of State Parks |location= [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]] |isbn= 0-89271-056-X}}</ref> | named_for = [[Simon Snyder]] and <br />[[Ner Alexander Middleswarth]] | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | governing_body = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources | administrator = | operator = | owner =  | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20040302164219/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/snydermiddleswarth.aspx Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area] {{designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NNL |designation1_date=1967}} | module = }}

'''Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area''' is a 500 acre (202 ha) [[National Natural Landmark]] within [[Bald Eagle State Forest]] in [[Spring Township, Snyder County, Pennsylvania|Spring Township]], [[Snyder County, Pennsylvania|Snyder County]], [[Pennsylvania]] in the [[United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bald Eagle State Forest Wild and Natural Areas |url=https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateForests/FindAForest/BaldEagle/Pages/Wild_NaturalAreas.aspx |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources |language=en-US}}</ref> It is named for two Pennsylvania politicians from Snyder County: [[Simon Snyder]] and [[Ner Alexander Middleswarth]]. It was formerly a [[List of Pennsylvania state parks|Pennsylvania state park]] and was the only one in Snyder County, but lost its state park status in the mid 1990s.<ref name="state park">{{cite web | url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/stateforests/baldeagleparks.aspx | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040302162425/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/baldeagleparks.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-date = March 2, 2004 | title = State Parks near the Bald Eagle State Forest: Snyder Middleswarth State Park| accessdate = 2007-12-11 | publisher = [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] }}</ref>

==Name== Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area is named for two Pennsylvania politicians from Snyder County: [[Simon Snyder]] and [[Ner Alexander Middleswarth]].<ref name="state park"/> Snyder County is also named for Simon Snyder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_71264_0_0_18/ |title = The Pennsylvania Manual: Pennsylvania Local Government |publisher= The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |accessdate = 2007-12-19 |format = PDF |pages = 6–40}}</ref>

Snyder (1759 – 1819) was a three-time Speaker of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]] and the third [[List of Governors of Pennsylvania|governor of Pennsylvania]]. He was elected to the [[United States Senate]], but died before he could take office. As of 2007 he remains the only Pennsylvania governor from Snyder County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/governors/snyder.asp?secid=31 | title = Pennsylvania Governors Past to Present: Governor Simon Snyder |publisher = [[Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]] |accessdate = 2007-12-12 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017023551/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/governors/snyder.asp?secid=31  |archivedate = 2007-10-17}}</ref> Middleswarth (1783 – 1865) was twice Speaker of the Pennsylvania House, and served in the [[Pennsylvania State Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000695| title = MIDDLESWARTH, Ner, (1783 - 1865) |publisher = [[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |accessdate = 2007-12-12}}</ref>

The [[United States Geological Survey]] [[Geographic Names Information System]] (GNIS) lists the name as "Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area".<ref name="usgs 2">{{cite web | url={{Gnis3|1187962}} | title=Snyder-Middleswarth State Park | date = August 2, 1979 | work=[[Geographic Names Information System]] | publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] | accessdate=2007-12-12 }}</ref> As of 2023, the hyphen is used by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as the [[National Park Service]] in its entry for the [[National Natural Landmark]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=National Park Service |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=SNMI-PA |website=National Natural Landmarks|title= Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>

==Location== Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area is in Spring Township in western Snyder County, about 5 miles (8 km) west of [[Troxelville, Pennsylvania|Troxelville]] on Swift Run Road.<ref name="penndot">{{Cite FTP |author = Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division |url = ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/union_snyder_GHSN.PDF |title = 2007 General Highway Map Snyder County and Union County Pennsylvania |access-date = 2007-12-11 |url-status = dead |server = FTP server }}</ref> It is 23 miles (37 km) southwest of [[Lewisburg, Pennsylvania|Lewisburg]] and 31 miles (50 km) southeast of [[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]].<ref name="distance">{{cite web | last = Michels | first = Chris | year = 1997 | url = http://www2.nau.edu/~cvm/latlongdist.html | title = Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation | accessdate = 2007-12-13 | archive-date = 2008-04-11 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080411174434/http://www.nau.edu/~cvm/latlongdist.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> The natural area is in the [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians]], in a narrow east-west valley between Jacks Mountain to the south and Buck and Penns Creek Mountains to the north.<ref>{{cite news | author= United States Geological Survey | url= http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=40.80591&lon=-77.29582&s=200&size=l&symshow=n&u=4&datum=nad83&layer=DRG | title= Weikert Pennsylvania Topographic Map | publisher = TopoQuest.com | accessdate= 2008-06-29 }}</ref> Swift Run, a tributary of [[Middle Creek (Penns Creek)|Middle Creek]], flows east through the area. The Rock Springs Picnic Area is at the eastern end of the preserve, with the Snyder-Middleswarth Picnic Area west of this, in about the center of the tract, just where Swift Run Road leaves Swift Run. Tall Timbers Natural Area is the western border, while Bald Eagle State Forest lands surround Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area in all other directions.<ref name="bald eagle map">{{cite news | url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/maps/fd07_map.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116013240/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/maps/fd07_map.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 16, 2006 |title=Bald Eagle State Forest |publisher=[[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] | accessdate= 2007-12-13 }}</ref>

==History== [[File:Swift Run Pooled.jpg|thumb|left|Swift Run in High Rock picnic area]] In the 19th and early 20th centuries, almost all of Pennsylvania's forests were clear cut, with only a few isolated tracts of virgin forest surviving. The land that became Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area was purchased by the state in 1902, as part of a larger 14,000 acre (56.66 km) parcel.<ref name="hikes">{{cite book |last= Thwaites |first= Tom |title= Fifty Hikes in Central Pennsylvania |year= 1992 |edition= Fourth updated printing |publisher= Backcountry Publications |location= [[Woodstock, Vermont]] |isbn= 0-942440-24-2 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/fiftyhikesincent0000thwa/page/69 69–71] |url= https://archive.org/details/fiftyhikesincent0000thwa/page/69 }}</ref> On April 12, 1921 the governor signed the law creating "Snyder-Middleswarth State Forest Park", making it Pennsylvania's ninth state park. By 1923 the park had a telephone and some structures, and in 1937 the state named it a "Forest Monument" as an "area of botanical or historic interest".<ref name="cupper"/> Early in the park's history a [[fire tower]] was built just west of it, but this was eventually abandoned and only the foundations remained by 1992.<ref name="hikes"/>

Snyder-Middleswarth was still a "State Forest Park" on the official 1965 [[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation|Pennsylvania Department of Highways]] Snyder County map.<ref name= "1965dot">{{Cite FTP | author= Pennsylvania Department of Highways | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Snyder_1965.pdf | title= General Highway Map Snyder County Pennsylvania | date= 1965 | server= FTP server | url-status= dead | accessdate= 2007-12-13 }}</ref> In November 1967, the park was named a [[National Natural Landmark]], as an "outstanding example of a relict forest composed predominantly of hemlock, birch, and pine, with scattered oaks".<ref name="nnl">{{cite web | url = http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/States/Pennsylvania/nnl/sm/index.cfm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061007060114/http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/States/Pennsylvania/nnl/sm/index.cfm | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 7, 2006 |title = National Natural Landmark: Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area |publisher = [[National Park Service]] | accessdate= 2007-12-13}}</ref> In 1980 an airplane carrying the ''[[New York Times]]'' crashed with one fatality. The crash site is on the summit of Thick Mountain, on the southern edge of the park.<ref name="hikes"/> By 1981, both the Snyder-Middleswarth and Tall Timbers Natural Areas had been established,<ref name= "1981dot">{{Cite FTP | author= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Maps/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Snyder_1981.pdf | title= General Highway Map Snyder County and Union County Pennsylvania | date= 1981 | server= FTP server | url-status= dead | accessdate= 2007-12-13 }} ''Note'': This map does not show the state park, but also omits [[Sand Bridge State Park]] in [[Union County, Pennsylvania|Union County]].</ref> the former as part of the state park and the latter as part of Bald Eagle State Forest. While both areas are on Swift Run, Tall Timbers is old second-growth forest. Snyder-Middleswarth's virgin forest is thought to have survived at least in part due to its location and the difficulty of transporting the cut timber,<ref name="dcnr"/> although the fact that many of the trees were brittle [[tsuga|hemlock]] may also have preserved them.<ref name="hikes"/>

Despite being Snyder County's only state park and a National Natural Landmark, Snyder-Middleswarth lost its status as a state park sometime between 1992 and 1996, becoming just a Natural Area within the state forest system.<ref name="hikes"/> Sources differ as to the size of the former Snyder-Middleswarth State Park. As of December 2007, at least ten years after the park ceased to exist, the DCNR webpage "State Parks near the Bald Eagle State Forest" still lists Snyder-Middleswarth State Park, and gives its size as 425 acres (172 ha).<ref name="state park"/> However, Thwaites (1992) wrote that the park was only the 8 acre (3.2 ha) picnic area, but distinguished it from the "much larger Snyder Middleswarth National Natural Landmark" (without giving its exact size).<ref name="hikes"/>

According to the DCNR, as of 2007 Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area is 500 acres (202 ha), of which 250 acres (101 ha) is virgin forest. The tallest trees at Snyder-Middleswarth are more than 150 feet (46 m) tall and measure more than 40 inches (102 cm) [[diameter at breast height]]. As measured by its [[growth rings]], one fallen tree was found to be 347 years old.<ref name="dcnr"/> The adjoining Tall Timbers Natural Area is 660 acres (267 ha), and has a "second growth forest of oak, white pine, hemlock, and hard pine".<ref name="areas">{{cite web | url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/stateforests/baldeaglewild.aspx | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040225210537/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/baldeaglewild.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-date = February 25, 2004 | title = Natural and Wild Areas of the Bald Eagle State Forest| accessdate = 2007-12-14 | publisher = [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] }}</ref>

{{Panorama |image = File:Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area panorama.jpg |caption = Panoramic view of two branches of Swift Run from the Snyder-Middleswarth picnic area parking lot bridge. The trailhead for the Hemlocks Trail is on the left by the footbridge, and the trailhead for the Swift Run Trail is on the right. Both lead through virgin forest along Swift Run. |height = 350 }}

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Old-growth forests]] [[Category:National Natural Landmarks in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1921]] [[Category:Protected areas of Snyder County, Pennsylvania]]