Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

I’m always saying that we have a rich history here in Clinton County, but the truth is that we have a rich pre-history, too. I have a tendency, when writing, to begin with the timeframe of about 1773, when Fort Reed was built around present-day Water Street. But actually there was plenty happening before that—It just wasn’t documented by any source I can find today.

I’m talking about the Native Americans, of course. The big tribe in our area was the Susquehannocks, but a lot of different tribes visited here. There are still a few signs—Some cairns remain in the mountains of Colebrook Township, a fish trap is still visible in Bald Eagle Creek in Castanea Township, and Lock Haven itself was built on at least four burial grounds.

There were paths, too, all over Pennsylvania. And the interesting thing is that the settlers didn’t just build over the paths, the way they did the burial grounds. They adapted them, in a way, using them as their own routes. A significant portion of the roads we use today are adapted from Native American paths, which is why PennDOT appears to be under a curse.

Clinton County didn’t exist yet. For that matter, neither did Pennsylvania. But here in the area, Great Island was the big landmark. Back in the days before road signs, Wal-Marts, etc., the Native Americans used natural features to find their way. The bigger the better, and Great Island in the Susquehanna River was a pretty noticeable one.

Which led to the Great Island Path. The Great Island path led roughly east to west, ending about at present-day Route 15, near Sunbury. It ran along the Susquehanna, through the area that later became Lock Haven. If you wanted to follow the Great Island Path today, you’d go up Water Street as far as the Renovo Road. Fort Reed, the westernmost fort along the Susquehanna Line, stood along the Great Island Path, leading to routine encounters with the Native American tribes.

From Lock Haven, it turned into the Sinnemahoning Path. This led upstream along the west branch of the Susquehanna, and turned north at present-day Keating Township, running up along the Sinnemahoning Creek. If you wanted to follow it today, you’d have to drive up Route 120, way up into Cameron County.

At this time, the counties and communities didn’t exist yet. Lock Haven hadn’t been founded, which is too bad as the Susquehannocks would have liked the Texas Restaurant. As I’ve mentioned, Great Island existed at the time, and another path that crossed it is the Great Shamokin Path.

The Great Shamokin Path is not to be confused with the Great Island Path, the Great Minquas Path, the Great Warriors Path, or the Great Path. A lot of the time they didn’t vary the names excessively much. The path came up along the west branch of the Susquehanna River from present-day Sunbury, crossed Great Island, and then more or less due west to Clearfield County. The Great Shamokin Path crossed over Great Island Path in two places, then—Sunbury and Lock Haven.

Clinton County’s western border basically runs along one of these paths: The Pine Creek Path. Beginning at about Jersey Shore, the Pine Creek Path ran along Pine Creek, hence the name. You’ll notice a whole lot of these routes stuck very near water, which makes sense in context. Water routes, such as rivers and creeks, were not likely to change significantly, so the paths could be used for generations. And water is necessary for survival, often providing plants, fish, and animals for food, as well. These days we build fast food places along our routes. The Native Americans chose to go where the food already was.

It’s fascinating, these signs of the past. They’re out there, if you know where to look. All you have to do is follow them.