The History of Owls Nest

The timber lands of the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company provided wealth for the forest products industry in the early years of Highland Township. Once the forest was basically removed by clearcutting the second industry to develop on the lands that would become the Allegheny National Forest beginning in 1923 was the natural gas and oil industries. The Owls Nest area in Highland Township has made notable contributions to the history of Elk County. The town’s name was derived from the profusion of owls that once existed in the area prior to the mass extractions that ended around the time of the Great Depression beginning in 1929. Few people are aware of the fact that two Owls Nest once existed. The Old Owls Nest was located one mile east of the present location on land owned by the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company. The land at the New Owls Nest (present site) was also owned by the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company with the exception of twenty-nine acres that were purchased by the Pennsylvania Gas Company of Warren, PA.

The Old Owls Nest

The Old Owls Nest was originally settled about 1880 and basically consisted of one house and a schoolhouse that later became a house. A lumber camp was located nearby and the schoolhouse about 1900-1901 was used for the logging camp. Atman and Sarah Weilacher and their family moved to the old village in 1914 from Hallton. Virgil Rea of Sackett recalls visiting his sister and her husband Laura and Charles Campbell there in 1921 when they lived in the schoolhouse.

Development of the Gas Fields at Owls Nest

The geological sub-strata of the plateau area near Owls Nest contained large amounts of natural gas and an excellent place to store other sources of natural gas from different parts of the country. Wells 98 and 99 were drilled in the late 1800’s and were the first wells recorded in the old Pennsylvania Gas Company records. These wells were drilled by A.W. Nickel and were purchased with the land warrant when the Pennsylvania Gas Company came to Highland Township. Well 152 was one of the first drilled by the Pennsylvania Gas Company in Highland Township. C.W. Martin began drilling on August 26, 1900 and completed the well on November 24, 1900. The last well drilled in the initial buildout of what is now a huge gas field was Number 1718 During the period of the two world wars drilling continued with the pipe required hard to purchase due to the war effort but the gas company was able to procure the needed materials.

To get the gas to market, two large pipelines were laid from the Owls Nest to Roystone, Pa Line A was laid in 1886 and Line B in 1889. Much of the distance was through virgin timber since the mass extraction of the forest had not begun during those years. An additional line, named Line L was laid in 1951. The line runs to a transmission station east of Buehler’s Corner along road SR3002 and provided purchased gas for several underground storage areas developed in the Elk County field as well as additional gas for market. There was a large pump station located at Owls Nest that was removed several years ago.

The New Owls Nest

The village of Owls Nest was begun about 1900 but was “officially” laid out about 1920. Built on the plateau between Big Run on Spring Creek and Bear Creek, to the east the village has six houses, one barn and a boarding house all owned by the Pennsylvania Gas Company. Later on, a large horse barn was built and the original barn was used as the “pest house” where men were given their daily orders. The peak population of the New Owls Nest was in the 1950’s and was never more than one hundred residents.

Bob Chapman was the last full time resident and today little remains of the village except the gas company work yard and the remodeled home with a new three stall garage belonging to Derrell Weilacher. The logging school at the New Owls Nest (later the community building) lasted until the 1939- 1940 term with Alice Snapp or Marguerite Smith as the last teacher. The grades were one through eight with higher education in grades nine through twelve could be obtained at Russell City or James City in Elk County or Kane in McKean County.

In the early years of New Owls Nest the means of transportation to and from Owls Nest were by the logging railroad, horse and surrey (the mailman) or by foot. The corduroy road from the Owls Nest to Hunter Run Road at Sackett was also utilized. The ghost town of Corduroy in Highland Township derived its name after the corduroy roads that lead to the town. For many years the pipe, lumber, sand, gravel and other building materials were shipped by way of the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company narrow gauge railroad was to a point southwest of the Owls Nest called “Barger Switch”

Gas lights provided light in the early homes and then a D.C. electrical system was developed. Streetlights and electric lights were naturally the results of “modernizing” Owls Nest. The electricity was on from 6:00 AM to 12 Noon and came back on about 4:00 PM until midnight. In 1949 West Penn Power Company commenced supplying electric power service to the community.

The Wolves

The Owls Nest was once inhabited by twelve or thirteen wolves. Be it legend or fact, it was said they came across frozen Lake Erie to the local area with the peak population from 1937 -1942.Their howling made quite a commotion in the village and the residents of New Owls Nest listened to their laments for many a night.

The Fires

The lumber industry around Owls Nest created wealth but also caused significant problems with fires in the mountains of tree tops that littered the land. The greatest of the fires was referred to as the Bear Creek Fire and started on May 17, 1926 at 11:30 AM and burned an area of 13,283 acres in Highland Township alone. The fire caused by an outbreak of the Pigeon Run fire, a tributary of Spring Creek destroyed 12 million board feet of hemlock logs, 750,000 board feet of hardwood logs, 32,500 board feet of stacked chemical wood, seven railroads including fifteen bridges, one dwelling, four garages, six automobiles. The estimated loss was $522,783.00 with the fire requiring three days to bring under control.