Cross Fork is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

in the southwest corner of Stewardson Township in Potter County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, 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

center. Archived November 29, 2014 Today, the Cross Fork area is known for trout fishing on Kettle Creek and Cross Fork 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 refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

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.

Geography

The community is located in the southwest corner of Stewardson Township at the convergence of Kettle Creek with its tributary, Cross Fork. There are a few remnant lumbering railroad grades along Kettle Creek near the village that were used to transport milled logs, convenient for hiking and fishing. Most of the

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

land is publicly owned, although some of the old

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

s traverse what are now private land holdings.

Pennsylvania Route 144 Pennsylvania Route 144 (PA 144) is a state highway located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering a distance of about . The southern terminus is located near an interchange with U.S. Route 322 (US 322) at State Route 2015 (SR ...

is now the vital link through the community connecting northwest 8.6 miles to Oleona and to the south 18.2 miles to PA Route 120 just west of Renovo.

References

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