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Lecture series kicks off with Canoe Creek

Local historian Jim Fitch will discuss the history of Canoe Creek State Park at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Blair County Historical Society’s Baker Mansion headquarters.

“If you go to Canoe Creek, there’s a number of on-the-ground artifacts like kilns, mines and railroads. We talk about other features on the ground that people see, but don’t know what they are,” Fitch said.

The talk will take place in the lecture room at the mansion, located on the basement level of the building. The lectures are free, though donations are welcomed.

Fitch’s discussion is part of the inaugural Baker Mansion Lecture Series, a series of educational lectures and talks about the local history of Blair County. All presentations are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., unless they occur in observance of a special anniversary. The lecture series will conclude in October.

Fitch is involved with Friends of Canoe Creek, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the park’s facilities and designs programs to promote it. He will focus on the historical evolution of the state park, discussing how it was used to develop industrial growth in Blair County in the early 20th century through railroading, lumbering, mining and kiln operations.

“The kilns are the most recognized and most studied, so we get questions like: What about the railroads? Where did they go? Why were they built? What kinds were there? The same questions can be asked about the mines and owners. The history of the area is long and varied,” he said.

Fitch said that after he moved to Blair County and started exploring Canoe Creek State Park, he wanted to know more about the area’s history. That curiosity now drives his passion to educate others with similar questions.

“While walking the trails, we would ask what a structure was, when it was built and in general what happened. Most of the major trails have historical artifacts on or near them. My talk is about these structures, who, what, when, and why how they were built,” he said.

The Baker Mansion Lecture Series will feature many other topics in the next few months. Visit www.blairhistory.org for more information.

If you go

What: Blair County Historical Society’s Baker Mansion Lecture Series on Canoe Creek State Park featuring Jim Fitch

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Baker Mansion

Admission: Free, but donations will be accepted.

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