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| History |
The Bureau of State Parks was interested in Salt Springs because of its rare geological aspects, old-growth hemlock trees, and deep gorge with waterfalls. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired Salt Springs in
1973 with money raised through Pennsylvania’s Project 70. With The Nature Conservancy acting as financial intermediary from 1971 to 1973, ownership passed from the James Wheaton family to the Bureau of State Parks. The 405-acre homestead became Salt Springs State Park.
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The Wheaton House, 2005. Early evening art exhibit for Rodrica Tilley, Specialist-in-Residence.
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The homestead includes woods, trails, a strikingly beautiful series of waterfalls through a deep gorge, and a grove of virgin
hemlock that is unique in the area. The property was settled by the Wheaton family in the
1840s and remained in the family until 1971. Two nineteenth-century farmhouses have been
renovated. One serves as a private, income-producing residence. The other, the Wheaton House, is where the Friends hold public programs, maintain their offices, and offer interpretive displays of natural and human history. Renovation of the carriage barn is complete, and work is progressing on the dairy barn.
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Why Salt "Springs"?
Many people ask us why we call the park "Springs" when there is only one spring.
The park’s name reflects what the area has "always" been called, at least since 1813. The land around "the spring," the hemlock grove, and the Wheaton farmstead is riddled with underground streams of salty water that reach the surface here and there. The one spring that was mined was the most accessible.
Who are we to contradict Rev. Davis Dimock, who
wrote the following in his diary in 1813: dined with four gentlemen from Philadelphia who . . . stayed the night before at the Salt Springs . . . they dealt in extraordinaries about it, as though they had been on a voyage around the world.
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The park includes an additional 437 acres owned exclusively by the Friends of Salt Springs Park, Inc. In 2000, the Friends purchased a 300-acre tract adjacent to the park. This tract is called the Friends
Land. To ensure preservation of the Friends Land in perpetuity, it was placed in a Conservation Easement that is held by the Edward L. Rose Conservancy. In 2006, the Friends increased the Friends Land by purchasing another adjacent 137-acre tract. Both purchases were made
possible by grants from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, with matching funds donated by the public. The Friends Land is easily reached by park trails. It offers expanded recreational opportunities and further protection to the Fall Brook watershed and its diverse habitats.
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Friends of Salt Springs Park
The Friends of Salt Springs Park, Inc., is a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation, exempt from federal taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This means that contributions to the Friends qualify as charitable deductions for the donors’ federal tax. As a nonprofit corporation, the Friends has bylaws, a Board of Directors, and a structure
of committees (see Friends Organizational Structure).
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The Friends is a volunteer organization, formed by local citizens with the initial goal of stopping the deterioration of the facilities at Salt Springs State Park and preserving its potential for future generations. The
Friends has approximately 450 paid memberships (fees range from $20 for individual to $40 for families and upward for organizations). Its officers and directors serve without compensation other than the satisfaction of seeing their accomplishments. The organization has enjoyed the full cooperation of the Susquehanna County Commissioners and the Franklin Township supervisors, both of whom have ex officio seats on the Friends Board. Click here for more information on membership.
Although the Wheaton homestead became Salt Springs State Park in 1973, the Bureau of State Parks was unwilling to stretch limited funds to improve or maintain its newest, and one of its most rural, properties. Local citizens were, and they formed the Friends of Salt Springs Park, Inc.,
in 1994. In 1995, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contracted with Susquehanna County for the latter to manage the park. Susquehanna County in turn subcontracted its responsibilities to the Friends.
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Volunteers resting after painting, weeding, hauling, picking up trash . . . on our May Work Day in 1997. Left to right: Rusty Ely, Bruce Rossman, Toby Anderson, Zoe Poster, Rodrica Tilley, Libby Anderson. Back: Vince and Nita Homer.
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This is the only time in Pennsylvania that a private organization has been given responsibility for a state park. Since then, the Friends have been the driving force behind improvement of the park facilities, restoration of its buildings, enlargement of its hiking and camping facilities, and year-round programs. When this 10-year contract expired in December 2004, the state was so pleased with the Friends’ management that it signed a new contract directly with the Friends.
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Seed money to get going: In June 1995, Representative Scott Chadwick awarded the Friends a Legislative Initiative Grant. It funded the beginning of our building renovations. Left to Right: Board members Lloyd Stephens and John McNamara; Rep. Chadwick; Board members Ron Boyd and Toby Anderson; County Commissioner Warren Williams; and Board member Charles Randall.
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