From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leonard Harrison
Leonard Harrison
Leonard Harrison familiar with land throughout the county. He began to
work in the lumber business, and in 1883 began a coal
business, which operated for ten years.[2]
In 1882 Harrison married Mary Green. They lived at
10 West Avenue in Wellsboro and had three children: Ge-
orge, Emily, and Catherine. Emily died before 1900, and
William was killed working in the family lumber business
in West Virginia in 1941. Catherine never married and
died in 1971. All are buried in the Wellsboro Cemetery. [2]
Lumberman and civic leader
Harrison was a founder of the "Tyoga Lumber Company"
Born January 10, 1850(1850-01-10) which owned large tracts of land for timber and coal
Delmar Township, Pennsylvania
in Nicholas County, West Virginia,[2] as well as land in
Died January 13, 1929(1929-01-13) (aged 79) Michigan, Newfoundland, and Pennsylvania.[1] Harrison
Baltimore, Maryland owned a substantial amount of land in the Pine Creek
Resting place Wellsboro Cemetery Gorge. In the 1890s Harrison operated a sawmill on Pine
Creek at Tiadaghton in the middle of the gorge. This mill
Nationality United States was supplied with logs, not by train as was most common
Occupation Businessman in that era, but by a log slide built into the side of the
gorge.[3][4] The log slide was used on a year round basis:
Known for Leonard Harrison State Park during the winter the logs slid down on ice; following the
Home town Wellsboro, Pennsylvania snowmelt the slide was greased to ease the descent of the
logs.[5]
Leonard Harrison (January 10, 1850 – January 13, 1929) Harrison served as first president of the Wellsbor-
was a lumberman and businessman who spent most of ough Electric Company, which was incorporated on April
his life in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania and donated Leonard 11, 1894.[6] In August 1896 Harrison was chosen president
Harrison State Park to the state of Pennsylvania in of the First National Bank of Wellsboro.[1] He also served
1922.[1] as clerk and burgess for the borough of Wellsboro and
served for more than forty years as a school director
there.[1][2] Harrison helped rebuild the Wellsboro Penn
Early and personal life Hotel in the 1920s. He was a major supporter and leader
Harrison’s maternal grandparents, William and Cather- of the Wellsboro Presbyterian Church.[2]
ine Meek, lived in England, where his mother, Catherine,
was born in 1816. The Meek family came to Wellsboro
in 1833, where William was a merchant and tailor. Har-
State park, death, and legacy
rison’s father William was born in New Jersey, and also After the village of Tiadaghton and its mill were de-
came to Wellsboro in 1833, where he helped build the stroyed by a fire, Harrison turned his attention to
Tioga County courthouse. Harrison’s parents met in tourism. He purchased 121 acres (49 ha) of land at the site
Wellsboro, married, and had seven children, although of the current state park that bears his name in 1906. He
only three survived to adulthood. Leonard Harrison was developed this land, then known as "The Lookout", and
born on January 10, 1850.[2] invited the public to enjoy the beauty of the Pine Creek
Harrison attended the Wellsboro public schools and Gorge. Harrison donated the picnic grounds to the Com-
the Wellsboro Academy. He worked as a carpenter in his monwealth of Pennsylvania in 1922, and it is known as
father’s business initially, then began working as a clerk Leonard Harrison State Park.[5][7]
in the Wellsboro post office and for a bookstore when he Harrison died of pneumonia following surgery on
was 15.[1] From 1878 to 1884 he worked as a clerk in the January 13, 1929 at the Johns Hopkins University hospital
Tioga County Commissioners’ office, where he became in Baltimore, Maryland. His obituary on the front page of
the Wellsboro newspaper read "Borough Loses Greatest
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leonard Harrison
news/resource/res2005/
05-0315-leonardharrisonsp.aspx. Retrieved
2008-10-04.
[4] Sexton Jr., John L. (1883). "Shippen Township".
History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania with Illustrations,
Portraits and Sketches. New York, New York: W. W.
Munsell & Co.. pp. 313–326.
http://www.joycetice.com/1883/shippent.htm.
Retrieved 2008-07-23.
[5] ^ "Leonard Harrison State Park". Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/
stateparks/Parks/leonardharrison.aspx. Retrieved
2008-10-04.
View south into the Pine Creek Gorge from a lookout in [6] "How We Started". Wellsboro Electric Company.
Leonard Harrison State Park 2008. http://wellsboroelectric.com/weco/
companyHistory.asp. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
Giver",[1] and he was notable enough to have a brief obit- [7] Forrey, William C. (1984). History of Pennsylvania’s
uary in the New York Times.[8] State Parks. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Bureau of
Harrison left plans and a large bequest for the State Parks, Office of Resources Management,
Soldiers and Sailors Hospital in Wellsboro, which was Department of Environmental Resources,
built only after his death.[2] The state park which bears Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. pp. 14, 90.
his name became very popular after a publicity campaign OCLC 17824084.
in the 1930s. More than 300,000 tourists visited the [8] "Obituary 8: Leonard Harrison.". The New York
canyon by the autumn of 1936, and 15,000 visited Times. January 14, 1929. p. 19.
Leonard Harrison over Memorial Day weekend in 1937. [9] Owlett, Steven E. (1993). "The Birth of
That year more visitors came to the Pine Creek Gorge Pennsylvania’s ’Grand Canyon’". Seasons Along The
than to Yellowstone National Park.[9] In 2003, the park Tiadaghton: An Environmental History of the Pine Creek
had 142,716 visitors,[10] and Leonard Harrison State Park Gorge (1st Edition ed.). Petaluma, California:
is part of the twenty-one state parks chosen by the DCNR Interprint. pp. 65, 67, 68, 72. ISBN 0-9635905-0-2.
Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its "Twenty Must-See [10] Fermata Inc. of Austin, Texas (August 2005). "Pine
Pennsylvania State Parks" list. Leoanrd Harrison and Creek Valley Early Action Recommendations"
Colton Point State Parks are the only two parks treated (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of Conservation
as one unit for the list. The DCNR describes the parks to- and Natural Resources.
gether, noting how they "offer spectacular vistas and a http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/info/pawilds/
fabulous view of Pine Creek Gorge, also known as Penn- recplan-app08.pdf. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
sylvania’s Grand Canyon".[11] It goes on to praise their in- [11] ^ "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
clusion in a National Natural Landmark and State Park Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and
Natural Area, hiking and trails, and the Pine Creek Rail Natural Resources. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/
Trail and bicycling.[11] stateparks/twenty/20parks.aspx. Retrieved August
8, 2007. Note: Despite the title, there are twenty-one
References parks in the list, with Colton Point and Leonard Harrison
State Parks treated as one.
[1] ^ "Borough Loses Greatest Giver". The Wellsboro Persondata
Gazette. January 17, 1929. p. 1.
http://greenfreelibrary.newspaperarchive.com/ Name Harrison, Leonard
Alternative names
PdfViewer.aspx?img=16929894&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=0¤tPage=0.
[2] ^ Frazier, Betty (August 15, 2001). "Reflections: Short description
Number Ten West Avenue". The Wellsboro Gazette.
Date of birth January 10, 1850
p. 4-A.
http://greenfreelibrary.newspaperarchive.com/ Place of birth Delmar Township, Pennsylvania
Date of death January 13, 1929
PdfViewer.aspx?img=12127803&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=0¤tPage=0.
[3] Morey, Tim. "Park Spotlight: Leonard Harrison and Place of death Baltimore, Maryland
Colton Point state parks". Resource: The
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and
natural resources. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leonard Harrison
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonard_Harrison&oldid=464826726"
Categories:
• 1850 births
• 1929 deaths
• Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
• People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania
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