Poe Paddy State Park

Poe Paddy State Park is a 23acre Pennsylvania state park in Haines Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is surrounded by Bald Eagle State Forest. Poe Valley State Park is to the east. The park is at the confluence of Big Poe Creek and Penns Creek. Poe Paddy State Park is named for the two mountains that surround it. Poe Mountain lies to the east and Paddy Mountain lies to the west, with Penns Creek in the valley between them.HistoryPoe Paddy State Park is on the site of the former lumber town of Poe Mills. Poe Mills was part of the lumber boom that swept through the wooded mountains of Pennsylvania from the mid-to-late 19th and early 20th centuries. At its peak, Poe Mills had a population of over 300. Big Poe Creek was dammed to provide power for the mills and a railroad was built into the area to transport lumber. This railway became a scenic route connecting the area with Milroy.Poe Valley State Park and Poe Paddy State Park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The young men of the CCC also worked to clear the regrowing forests of brush to prevent forest fires. They constructed roads throughout the forests, built state park facilities, constructed bridges on the state roads, planted trees for reforestation, and cleaned streams.