# Tioga State Forest

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tioga_State_Forest
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tioga_State_Forest.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tioga_State_Forest
> Source revision: 1340331413
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Tioga State Forest Babb Creek Canyon, Tioga County, as seen from the Mid State Trail at Gillespie Point. Location of Tioga State Forest in Pennsylvania Location Pennsylvania, United States Coordinates 41°46′37″N 77°30′50″W / 41.77694°N 77.51389°W / 41.77694; -77.51389 Area 164,975 acres (667.63 km2) Elevation 2,119 ft (646 m) Established 1900 Named for Tioga River Governing body Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Website Tioga State Forest

**Tioga State Forest** is a [Pennsylvania State Forest](/source/List_of_Pennsylvania_state_forests) in District #16, in the [Allegheny Plateau](/source/Allegheny_Plateau) region within [Tioga County, Pennsylvania](/source/Tioga_County%2C_Pennsylvania).

The main offices are located in [Wellsboro](/source/Wellsboro%2C_Pennsylvania) in [Tioga County](/source/Tioga_County%2C_Pennsylvania), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania) in the [United States](/source/United_States).

The state forest was named for the Tioga [tribe](/source/Tribe) of the [Seneca](/source/Seneca_nation), a [Native American](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States) people, whose homeland was in the region. The [Seneca language](/source/Seneca_language) word "Tioga" means 'the meeting of two rivers' in English.

Prior to the July 1, 2005 realignment of Pennsylvania State Forest Districts, Tioga State Forest included almost all state forest lands in Tioga County and [Bradford County](/source/Bradford_County%2C_Pennsylvania), and encompassed 160,000 acres (64,750 ha). After realignment, the state forest tracts in Bradford County became part of the new [Loyalsock State Forest](/source/Loyalsock_State_Forest). Currently, the forest is mostly located in Tioga County and only includes small areas within Bradford and [Lycoming](/source/Lycoming_County%2C_Pennsylvania) Counties.

## History

Tioga State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. [Joseph Rothrock](/source/Joseph_Rothrock) became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies harvested the [old-growth forests](/source/Old-growth_forest), [clearcutting](/source/Clearcutting) the forests and leaving behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing [steam locomotives](/source/Steam_locomotives) ignited [wildfires](/source/Wildfire) that prevented the formation of [second growth forests](/source/Secondary_forest). The conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests.[1] The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's [Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources](/source/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Conservation_and_Natural_Resources). The [Pennsylvania General Assembly](/source/Pennsylvania_General_Assembly) passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.[1]

Most of the land acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was purchased from land holding and lumber companies. The lumber companies had stripped the land of vast stands of old growth [Eastern hemlock](/source/Tsuga_canadensis) and [white pine](/source/Eastern_white_pine) during the lumber era that swept throughout the mountains of Pennsylvania during the mid-to-late 19th century. The harvested timber was floated down Pine Creek and its tributaries to the [Susquehanna Boom](/source/Susquehanna_Boom) on the [West Branch Susquehanna River](/source/West_Branch_Susquehanna_River) near [Williamsport](/source/Williamsport%2C_Pennsylvania). The lumber companies left behind a land that was stripped of most of its trees and was scattered with tree stumps and the dried tops of trees that easily igniting causing wildfires that slowed the growth of the now thriving [second growth forest](/source/Secondary_forest) of [hardwoods](/source/Hardwood).

The establishment of the [Civilian Conservation Corps](/source/Civilian_Conservation_Corps) during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) by President [Franklin D. Roosevelt](/source/Franklin_D._Roosevelt) was vital to the recovery of the forests of Tioga State Forest.[2] Several CCC camps were scattered throughout Tioga State Forest. The young men of the CCC worked to clear the forest and streams of dried underbrush. They cleared roads and trails throughout the forest and built the recreation facilities found at [Leonard Harrison](/source/Leonard_Harrison_State_Park) and [Colton Point State Parks](/source/Colton_Point_State_Park) along the [Pennsylvania Grand Canyon](/source/Pine_Creek_Gorge).

[Birch](/source/Birch) trees in Tioga State Forest were used during the mid-20th century in the [birch oil](/source/Betulin) industry. Birch stills were built throughout the forest to produce the oil, which was used as an industrial lubricant. The last birch still in Tioga State Forest was shut down in 1972.[2]

## Neighboring state forest districts

The [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) is to the north

- [Loyalsock State Forest](/source/Loyalsock_State_Forest) (east and southeast)

- [Tiadaghton State Forest](/source/Tiadaghton_State_Forest) (south)

- [Susquehannock State Forest](/source/Susquehannock_State_Forest) (west)

## Nearby state parks

- [Leonard Harrison State Park](/source/Leonard_Harrison_State_Park) (Tioga County)

- [Colton Point State Park](/source/Colton_Point_State_Park) (Tioga County)

- [Hills Creek State Park](/source/Hills_Creek_State_Park) (Tioga County)

## Natural and wild areas

- [Black Ash Swamp Natural Area](/source/Black_Ash_Swamp_Natural_Area)

- [Pine Creek Gorge Natural Area](/source/Pine_Creek_Gorge_Natural_Area)

- [Reynolds Spring Natural Area](/source/Reynolds_Spring_Natural_Area)

- [Asaph Wild Area](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asaph_Wild_Area&action=edit&redlink=1)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-vfsfhistory_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-vfsfhistory_1-1) ["History of the William Penn State Forest"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070823033728/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/valleyforgehistory.aspx). [Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources](/source/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Conservation_and_Natural_Resources). Archived from [the original](http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/valleyforgehistory.aspx) on August 23, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-history_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-history_2-1) ["Tioga State Forest: History"](http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/tiogahistory.aspx). [Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources](/source/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Conservation_and_Natural_Resources). Retrieved November 25, 2007.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-forests/find-a-forest/tioga.html)

- ["Tioga State Forest"](http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/tioga/). [Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources](/source/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Conservation_and_Natural_Resources). Retrieved July 14, 2006.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) *Note: As of July 2006, this web page has not been updated to reflect the Pennsylvania State Forest Districts realignment.*

- ["DCNR REALIGNING FOREST DISTRICTS"](http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?Q=443999&A=11). Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. June 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2006.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

- ["State Forest Districts"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060515050052/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/images/district_realignment.gif). Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from [the original](http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/images/district_realignment.gif) on May 15, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2006. *Note: Map showing districts after the July 1, 2005 realignment*

- [Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Nature−DCNR.pa: official **Tioga State Forest** website](https://archive.today/20140305010048/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/tioga/)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Tioga State Forest](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tioga_State_Forest).

v t e Protected areas of Pennsylvania Federal National Battlefields and Military Parks Fort Necessity Gettysburg National Fish Hatcheries Allegheny National Forests Allegheny National Historic Sites and Historical Parks Allegheny Portage Railroad Edgar Allan Poe Eisenhower First State Friendship Hill Grey Towers Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Hopewell Furnace Independence Steamtown Valley Forge National Memorials Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Monuments Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Recreation Areas Allegheny Delaware Water Gap National Trails Appalachian Lewis and Clark North Country Potomac Heritage National Wild and Scenic Rivers Allegheny River Clarion River Lower Delaware Middle Delaware Upper Delaware National Wildlife Refuge Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands Other National Historic Landmarks (Philadelphia) National Natural Landmarks National Register of Historic Places Wilderness Areas State Natural Areas Alan Seeger Algerine Swamp Anders Run Bark Cabin Bear Meadows Bear Run Beartown Woods Big Flat Laurel Black Ash Swamp Bruce Lake Buckhorn Carbaugh Run Charles F. Lewis Cranberry Swamp David R. Johnson Detweiler Run Devil's Elbow East Branch Swamp Forrest H. Dutlinger Frank E. Masland Jr. Halfway Run Hemlocks The Hook Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Jakey Hollow Johnson Run Joyce Kilmer Kettle Creek Gorge Lebo Red Pine Little Juniata Little Mud Pond Swamp Little Tinicum Island Lower Jerry Run Marion Brooks M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Meeting of the Pines Miller Run Mt. Cydonia Ponds Mt. Davis Mt. Logan Pennel Run Pine Creek Gorge Pine Lake Pine Ridge Pine Tree Trail Reynolds Spring Roaring Run Rocky Ridge Rosecrans Bog Ruth Zimmerman Sheets Island Archipelago Snyder-Middleswarth Spruce Swamp Stillwater Sweet Root Tall Timbers Tamarack Run Tamarack Swamp Torbert Island State Parks Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Elk Creek Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Simon B. Elliott Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehanna Riverlands Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Vosburg Neck Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek State Forests Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Pinchot Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn Scenic Rivers Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek State Game Lands 12 13 14 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 179 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 335 Wild areas Algerine Asaph Burns Run Clear Shade Hammersley James C. Nelson Kettle Creek Russell P. Letterman Martin Hill McIntyre Penns Creek Quebec Run Quehanna Russell P. Letterman Square Timber Stairway Thickhead Mountain Trough Creek Wolf Run Other Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail Mohn Mill Ponds Wild Plant Sanctuary Stone Valley Recreation Area Local and private Abernathy Field Station Asbury Woods Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center Boyce Park Nature Center Briar Bush Nature Center Carbon County Environmental Education Center Churchville Nature Center Endless Mountains Nature Center Fern Hollow Nature Center Frick Environmental Center Great Valley Nature Center Harrison Hills Park Environmental Education Center Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Honey Hollow Environmental Education Center Jarrett Nature Center John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove Lacawac Lancaster Environmental Center Latodami Nature Center at North Park McKaig Nature Education Center McKeever Environmental Learning Center Millbrook Marsh Nature Center Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center Myrick Conservation Center Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art Nurture Nature Center Peace Valley Nature Center Pocono Environmental Education Center Pool Wildlife Sanctuary Powdermill Nature Reserve Richard Nixon Park Nature Center Riverbend Environmental Education Center Shaver's Creek Environmental Center Silver Lake Nature Center South Park Nature Center Strawberry Hill Nature Center Tom Ridge Environmental Center Trexler Environmental Center Trexler Nature Preserve Tyler Arboretum Welkinweir Whites' Woods Nature Center Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College Woodbourne Forest and Wildlife Preserve Woodcock Creek Nature Center Category Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Philadelphia Pittsburgh Commons

v t e Municipalities and communities of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States County seat: Wellsboro Boroughs Blossburg Elkland Knoxville Lawrenceville Liberty Mansfield Roseville Tioga Wellsboro Westfield Townships Bloss Brookfield Charleston Chatham Clymer Covington Deerfield Delmar Duncan Elk Farmington Gaines Hamilton Jackson Lawrence Liberty Middlebury Morris Nelson Osceola Putnam Richmond Rutland Shippen Sullivan Tioga Union Ward Westfield CDPs Arnot Mainesburg Millerton Morris Run Sabinsville Unincorporated communities Ansonia Antrim Blackwell Cowanesque Daggett Fall Brook Gaines Holliday Leetonia Morris Nauvoo Roaring Branch Thumptown Pennsylvania portal United States portal

Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National United States Israel

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tioga State Forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tioga_State_Forest) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tioga_State_Forest?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.