Monday, September 12, 2011

Muddy Creek Forks, Pennsylvania



In Southern York County, a tiny village still stands that was once an agricultural hub of the county. The small town of Muddy Creek Fork was founded in the 1730’s, several decades before we were even a country. Two mills were incorporated in the town in 1759 and by the mid-1800’s the town was booming. So much so that the Peach Bottom Railroad ran tracks through the town in 1874. The village had become the center of the community. The Ma & Pa (Maryland and Pennsylvania) Railroad handled masses of freight into the small thriving village. 6 daily trains would carry people, the mail and even milk to other locales throughout the country.
In 1888 a gentleman named A.M. Grove bought some land in the area and had a small store and a large country mill used to grind buckwheat flour. Due to the proximity of the railroad, the business took off.
In 1906 Grove had a new 4-story store built. The new business included a modernized roller mill, a 9000 bushel grain elevator, a cannery and even telephone service, a rarity in those days.

But over time the small community vanished into rural abandonment. That was until 1992 when the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society acquired the village. Since then, the town has been transformed back to how it looked at the turn of the century. The natural and rural beauty of the town made it its own character in the flop “For Richer or Poorer” starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley.
Today the small town stays thriving offering visitors a 5-mile round trip train ride through the nearby scenic Muddy Creek Valley. And offering costumed guides to help you learn your way around this small village that continues to blossom in many ways.

1 comment:

paul said...

great post - it's so nice to learn about this beautiful old town in PA

btw, "For Richer or Poorer" is one of my favorite movies