Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is a Pennsylvania state park near Wind Gap, in Bushkill Township, Northampton County in

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, ...

. The Jacobsburg National Historic District is almost entirely surrounded by the park. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is just off the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

exit of

Pennsylvania Route 33 Pennsylvania Route 33 (PA 33) is a limited-access state highway in eastern Pennsylvania. The highway runs from its interchange with Interstate 78 (I-78) south of Easton in the Lehigh Valley to I-80 and PA 611 west of Stroudsburg. Until 2002 ...

Environmental Education

The main purpose of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is to provide

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

for the citizens of Pennsylvania and specifically the students of the nearby

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s, and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Jacobsburg stays busy offering hands on opportunities to these students and their teachers with a "discovery and problem solving" approach.

Jacobsburg National Historic District

The Jacobsburg National Historic District is the location of the Henry Homestead. The district includes 11 contributing buildings and 34 contributing sites. Along with the staff of the Jacobsburg Historical Society the center provides a heritage education program, with classes in gunmaking and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing. Rendezvous and period military encampments are included in the center's Living History program. The Pennsylvania Longrifle Heritage Museum is located in the Henry Homestead. ''Note:'' This includes JACOBSBURG H

The Henry family had a long history of rifle making going back before the French and Indian War. William Henry opened his first gun factory in Lancaster in 1750. During the French and Indian war he was an

armorer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. In modern terms, an armourer is a member of a military or police force who works in an armoury and maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, wit ...

for the Braddock Campaign of 1755 and the Forbes Expedition of 1758. His son William Henry II established a small gunmaking shop in Christian Springs in 1778. He moved his operation to Jacobsburg in 1792. Soon he built an iron forge to provide the needed iron to manufacture his rifles at Jacobsburg.

The War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

lead to an increase in demand, and Henry II built a second and larger factory in

Boulton Boulton may refer to: * Boulton (surname) * Boulton, Derby, England See also * Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd, aircraft manufacturer * Boulton and Watt, partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt * Bolton (disambiguation) Bolton is a town in Gr ...

. The Henry family continued manufacturing rifles for three generations.

Ecology

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is home to the only remaining

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

in the Lehigh Valley. The Henry's Woods section of the park is a largely virgin forest. Ecologists note the lack of large

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...

s in what is otherwise a stand of old growth

deciduous tree In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...

s and eastern hemlock. The trees are up to 130 feet in height.

Recreation

Recreational opportunities include

hiking 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 ...

on ,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

, horseback riding,

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, and

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

king. The walking bridge adjacent to the main parking lot was destroyed in 2004 during a flood caused by

Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...

, but was replaced in 2008.Pedestrian footbridge replaced at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center
/ref> The center provides an environmental education program, with classes in natural history. The center is known for its diversity of wildflowers that are especially striking during springtime. There is a heritage education program at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. This program displays and demonstrates early gunmaking practices. A living history program includes a mid-1840s rendezvous and military re-enactments. Blacksmith and gunsmith classes are offered and the historic buildings are open for tours.

Hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

is permitted on about of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. The most common game species are

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

s, pheasants,

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

. The hunting of groundhogs is prohibited. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Bushkill Creek Bushkill Creek (Dutch for "bushy" or "forest creek") is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania.Gertler, Ed ...

is stocked with

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center: *

Beltzville State Park Beltzville State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Franklin and Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Towamensing townships, Carbon County, Pennsyl ...

( Carbon County) *

Big Pocono State Park Big Pocono State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Jackson and Pocono townships in Monroe County, Pennsylvania in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The park is located on Camelback Mountain and is maintained jointly by the Pennsylvania Department ...

(

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

) *

Bull's Island Recreation Area The Bull's Island Recreation Area is on Bull's Island at Raven Rock along the Delaware River approximately north of Stockton, within Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The park is a part of the Delaware and Ra ...

(

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

) * Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park (New Jersey) *

Delaware Canal State Park Delaware Canal State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Bucks and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania. The main attraction of the park is the Delaware Canal which runs parallel to the Delaware River between Easton and Bristol. The Delawar ...

(

Bucks Bucks may refer to: Places * Buckinghamshire, England, abbreviated Bucks * Bucks, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Michigan, an unincorporated community ...

and Northampton counties) *

Gouldsboro State Park Gouldsboro State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County and Lehigh Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Gouldsboro Lake. Gouldsboro State Park is located very close ...

(Monroe and Wayne counties) *

Hacklebarney State Park Hacklebarney State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New Jersey, located between Long Valley and Chester in Morris County. The park is managed by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. Other parks in the Black River region inclu ...

(New Jersey) *

Hickory Run State Park Hickory Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kidder and Penn Forest Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is spread across the Pocono Mountains. The park is easily accessible from Interstate 476 and ...

(Carbon County) * Lehigh Gorge State Park (Carbon and Luzerne counties) * Nockamixon State Park (Bucks County) * Ralph Stover State Park (Bucks County) * Round Valley State Park (New Jersey) *

Spruce Run State Park Spruce Run Recreation Area is a New Jersey state recreation area located in Union Township and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. It encompasses the Spruce Run Reservoir that is used as a backup reservoir to prot ...

(New Jersey) *

Stephens State Park Stephens State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is in area, located in western Morris County, north of Hackettstown along the upper Musconetcong River. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division o ...

(New Jersey) *

Tobyhanna State Park Tobyhanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on mostly in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, with a small portion of the park in Dreher and Lehigh townships in Wayne County, all in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the ...

(Monroe and Wayne counties) *

Voorhees State Park Voorhees State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is in area and is located in Lebanon Township. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. History Voorhees State Park began whe ...

(New Jersey)

References

External links

* {{authority control Historic districts in Northampton County, Pennsylvania State parks of Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1959 Nature centers in Pennsylvania Parks in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Education in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Northampton County, Pennsylvania