Cross Fork is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in Potter County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. The village today is very small, but during the early 1900s it had a population numbering in the thousands and was an important

lumbering Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

center. Today, the Cross Fork area is known for trout fishing on Kettle Creek and

Cross Fork Cross Fork is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of Kettle Creek in Potter County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keyston ...

Creek, including a children's fishing derby held annually in May.

History

In the early 1900s the trees on nearby mountains were cut down. This small town now has only a fire department and a post office. However, it used to include a school, fire, ambulance, police, major league baseball, football, and many other facilities of a city. The town was burned down in the 1910s. There was a sawmill located along the creek that belonged to the Lackawanna Lumber Company. The sawmill burned down about 3 times but was rebuilt each time. The town quickly grew and was soon the biggest logging town in Pennsylvania. The nearby town of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

was the runner-up. When the trees were all gone the lumber company moved out and the town was burned. Very few people were left. The sawmill no longer exists and there was one building left that was condemned and burned in 2006. All local fire companies attended and used it as structural fire training. With the burning of this building the last of the history was gone. This town would be forever forgotten---however, the local community has organized events to bring in more population including Kettle Creek Valley Outdoors Show, now known as the Earl Brown Memorial Turkey Calling contest, Kettle Creek Music Festival, Cross Fork Snake Hunt, AMA Endurance Race and Fishing Derby.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Potter County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania Logging communities in the United States