History
The land of the Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area is thought to have been inhabited for over 11,000 years. A nearby archaeological site is one of the largest and oldest Paleo-Indian sites in North America. Archaeologists believe that the evidence found at the site points to the fact that the Paleo-Indians were hunting caribou. Some of the stone tools were made from stone that can only be found 250 miles to the north in New York.
Over the years several different Native American tribes lived in the area. Including the Shawnee, Nanticoke, Lenape and the Iroquois and the Susquehannock who were living on the land when European settlers came to the Peters Mountain and Powell's Valley area. Thousands of artifacts, taken from the area, can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution and the Pennsylvania State Museum.
European settlers began living in the area in the early 18th century. Peter Allen built a house on the south side of the mountain in 1726. Peters Mountain is named for him. The road that crossed the mountains and valleys, the Augusta Road now Pennsylvania Route 225, was used by whites as a way to avoid potential conflict with the Indians who used a road along the nearby Susquehanna River. Allen's house was along this road and was used as a hotel, tollhouse and stagecoach stop. The house is still standing today and is the oldest house in Dauphin County.
Joseph E. Ibberson went to work for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania after he graduated from Yale University in 1948. He developed some of the first forestry management plans for the 2,000,000 (8,093 km²) of Pennsylvania state forests. Ibberson also helped to create and refine many divisions within what is now the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He retired in 1977 but continued his work in the field of forestry on his private land in Dauphin County. He donated his land on December 9, 1998. This led to the creation of the first conservation area in the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks. Ibberson died in 2011. His estate donated an additional 433 acres of his land to the state in 2012, bringing the total acreage of the park to 783 in two separate tracts along Peters Mountain.
Read more about this topic: Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area
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