Connoquenessing Creek Watershed Conservation Plan - Western ...

Connoquenessing Creek Watershed Conservation PlanChapter 5. Cultural ResourcesGeorge “Rube” Wadell, a professional baseball player who pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics,was raised in Prospect, Pa. In 1946, he was named to the baseball Hall of Fame.Interesting TidbitsFilming for the movie, “Night of the Living Dead” occurred around Evans City and at the Evans CityCemetery in Jackson and Forward townships.September 1940, the jeep was invented in Butler, Pa. It was a small four-wheel drive vehicledeveloped by a team under the direction of Karl Probst. Originally produced by the American Bantam CarCom pany in Butler, it was a World War II prototype.Cranberry Township was named after the wild cranberries that once grew along Brush Creek.Cranberries typically grow on shrubs or vines in moist areas with spongy soil, such as swamps ormarshes, also known as bogs. When preparing land for agriculture, early settlers drained much of themarshy habitat needed for the cranberries to grow. In 1989, members of the Cranberry TownshipHistorical Society, in efforts to recreate the Cranberry Bog, planted cranberry cuttings in a marshy,undeveloped area of Cranberry Community Park (Cranberry Township Historical Society, 1989b).Breakneck Creek, originally named Big Beaver Run by the Native Americans, got its name becauseof a horse that allegedly fell and broke its neck on a stony path next to the creek.Connoquenessing Creek and Connoquenessing Borough were named from a Native American wordmeaning, “for a long way straight.”Historic Sites, Structures, and DistrictsIn 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act established the National Register of Historic Places.Listed properties include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and other objects significant to Americanhistory, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. A listing in the register honors historicproperties, but does not interfere with the property owner’s rights. Private property owners have noobligation to maintain or manage their property, and can dispose of their property as they see fit. Siteslocated within the project area are listed in Table 5-2 and Figure 5-2.The Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commissionmanages the register for Pennsylvania. The state historicpreservation officer submits nominated properties to the statereview board. If the property owner, or the majority of theowners (if the property is owned by more than one person),objects to the nomination, it is sent to the National ParkService for a determination of eligibility without formallylisting the property in the National Register (National ParkService, 2001).Historic StructuresDiamond Street West Log Building is a Eight historic structures identified within the projectproperty eligible for listing on the area are listed on the national register; an additional 38 sitesNational Registerare identified as eligible for listing. The seven listed sitesplayed a significant role in military, architecture, politics andgove rnment, commerce and trade, domestic, education, landscape, recreation, culture, religion, and socialhistory of the region. A majority of the sites retain their historically significant use.5-19