Antes - Pennsylvania - Ghost Towns on Waymarking.com

The opening of the Philadelphia-Erie Pike in 1821 opened the way for expansion and settlement began with the establishment of the Antes House. This substantial hotel hosted weary travelers, pioneers, and sheep and cattle drovers making their way across the steep Allegheny Front.

The area was a virgin evergreen forest comprised of mostly White Pine and Eastern Hemlock. It wasn't long before the Beaver Mill Lumber Company started harvesting the timber of this land. One year alone they floated over 11 million feet of logs down the Susquehanna River to mills in Williamsport, the largest amount put in by any single logger in Pennsylvania. Sawmills started to set up operations in the area bringing more in workers and their families and the area grew into a thriving community. Before the turn of the 20th century, Beaver Mills and Antes featured a large general store, a wagon shop, a blacksmith shop, mills, stables, a hotel-tavern, a schoolhouse, and a 10-pin alley! The resources weren't managed well and the trees ran out and so did the inhabitants.

In an effort to restore the land, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought thousands of acres of burnt and desolate land. Pennsylvania set a path to reforestation through the establishment of the state forest system, one that now includes Moshannon State Forest.