The Appalachian Trail Museum is located in

Pine Grove Furnace State Park Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller Lakes in Cooke Township of Cumberland County. The Park accommodates various outdoor recreation activities, protects the remains of the Pine Grove I ...

near

Gardners, Pennsylvania Gardners is an unincorporated community in Adams County, Pennsylvania and a census-designated place that includes portions of Adams and Cumberland counties in Pennsylvania, United States. The village of Gardners is located off Pennsylvania Route ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and commemorates the builders, maintainers and

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

, including those in the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. Features include a 1959 trail shelter from

Peters Mountain Peters Mountain is a mountain in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It is located on the border between Alleghany County, VA, Monroe County, WV, Giles Co.,VA, and Craig Co.,VA. Its elevation ranges from on the mountaintop to a l ...

built by

Earl Shaffer Earl V. Shaffer (November 8, 1918 – May 5, 2002), was an American outdoorsman and author known from 1948 as The Crazy One (and eventually as The Original Crazy One) for attempting what became the first publicized claimed hiking trip in a singl ...

, the first A.T. thru-hiker, vintage hiking and trail building equipment, historic A.T. signs, A.T. displays on permanent loan from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, a recreation of A.T. founder

Benton MacKaye Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...

's Sky Parlor office and a display on the

National Trails System The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

Act of 1968. The museum also has an extensive

research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...

. The museum was conceived in 1998 and is located in the Old Mill Building, a stone

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

building of the former

Pine Grove Iron Works The Pine Grove Iron Works was a southcentral Pennsylvania smelting facility during the Industrial Revolution. The works is notable for remaining structures that are historical visitor attractions of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, including the ...

. It is the first museum in the United States dedicated to a hiking trail. The museum opened in 2010. The museum is open each year from early April to late October. Parking is available adjacent to the Furnace Stack Picnic Pavilion. Admission is free. The museum also operates the Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel, a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

and special events venue located near the midpoint of the

just a few hundred yards from the museum.

Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame

The Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame was established by the museum in 2011. Each year the museum's Hall of Fame selection committee selects one or more persons to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Nominations for inclusion are accepted each year using an online survey site. Those eligible for inclusion include anyone who has made an exceptional and positive contribution to the Appalachian Trail or Appalachian Trail Community. Each year's honorees are honored at a Hall of Fame Banquet. The 2011 Charter Class included

Myron Avery Myron Haliburton Avery (1899–1952) was an American lawyer, hiker and explorer. Born in Lubec, Maine, Avery was a protégé of Judge Arthur Perkins and a collaborator and sometimes rival of Benton MacKaye. He was president of the Potomac A ...

Gene Espy Gene Espy (born 1927) is recognized as the second person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, making the entire 2,025-mile journey alone in one outing, covering 14 states in just over 123 days. Born and raised in Cordele, Georgia, Espy first heard ...

Ed Garvey Edward R. Garvey (April 18, 1940 – February 22, 2017) was an American lawyer, politician and activist. Background Garvey graduated from the University of Wisconsin (now the University of Wisconsin–Madison) and spent two years in the U.S. ...

, Arthur Perkins and

. The 2012 Class included Emma Rowena "Grandma" Gatewood, David A. Richie, J. Frank Schairer, Jean Stephenson and William Adams Welch. The 2013 Class included Ruth Blackburn, David Field, David Sherman, David Startzell and Everett (Eddie) Stone. The 2014 Class included A. Rufus Morgan, Charles R. "Chuck" Rinaldi, Clarence S. Stein and Pamela Underhill. The 2015 class included Nestell K. "Ned" Anderson, Margaret Drummond, Stanley A. Murray and Raymond H. Torrey. The 2016 class was Maurice Forrester,

Horace Kephart Horace Sowers Kephart (September 8, 1862 – April 2, 1931) was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of '' Our Southern Highlanders'' (a memoir about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina) ...

, Larry Luxenberg and Henry "Arch" Nichols. The 2017 class included

Harlean James Harlean James (1877–1969) was the executive secretary of the American Planning and Civic Association, executive secretary of the National Conference on State Parks. She advocated for the expansion of parks in the United States and was award ...

, Charles Parry, Mildred Norman "Peace Pilgrim" Ryder and Matilda "Tillie" Wood. The 2018 class included William "Bill" Kemsley, Jr., Elizabeth Levers,

George Masa George Masa (c. 1881 – June 21, 1933), born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, was a businessman and professional Large format, large-format photographer. He lived and worked in the United States. Creating a new life in America Masa arrived in ...

and Robert "Bob" Peoples. The 2019 class included M. Jean Van Gilder Cashin, Paul M. Fink, Donald T. King and Robert T. Proudman. The 2020 class consisted of Chris Brunton,

Warren Doyle Warren Doyle is a hiker and supporter of the Appalachian Trail. He holds the informal record for the hiking the entire Appalachian Trail the most times (eighteen times; 9 thru-hikes and 9 section hikes). From 1974 to 2017, he organized and led 10 g ...

, Thurston Griggs and Walkin' Jim Stoltz. The 2021 class included Harvey Benjamin Broome, Stephen Clark, Thomas Johnson and Marianne Skeen. The 2022 class was Jim & Molly Denton, JoAnn & Paul Dolan, Laurie Potteiger and Tom Speaks.

References

{{Reflist, 30em * http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/basket/article_e3e9ed0d-8a13-5781-b217-357b313fc8f0.html M History museums in Pennsylvania Museums established in 2010 Museums in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 2010 establishments in Pennsylvania

Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame

See also

References