Simon B. Elliott was a prominent Pennsylvania conservationist who promoted the planting of trees to replace those lost to the heyday of logging throughout the state and Clearfield County. Elliott State Park, in Pine Township, has the honor of bearing his name.
The 318-acre park has been a quiet getaway used mostly for picnicking, camping and hiking since being planned and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933.
This corps was made up of young, unemployed men who saw little chance of landing a job, however, menial, during the Great Depression.
President Franklin Roosevelt initiated the program, as a part of his New Deal, in order to kick start the economy and bring about recovery.
This gave young men a chance to live in military-styled tents and barracks while working to preserve natural lands and restore those lost.
These men were fed, housed and paid, putting money back into local economies that were in dire need of help.
The CCC also constructed well-built log cabins, pavilions and park facilities that are still in use today. They have become local historical and architectural treasures.
The quaint 1950 photo shows flagstone walkways and a girl’s bicycle of the times. It looks like the best of post-World War II leisure here in Clearfield County. Elliott State Park today is a place of natural beauty and quiet solitude.
