Scotia, Pennsylvania

Andrew Carnegie leased five hundred acres from Moses Thompson in the iron ore rich pine barrens in the Nittany Valley. The area had been surface-mined since the early nineteenth century for local furnaces. Carnegie sought to finance a mining operation for his modern furnaces in Pittsburgh. He convinced the Pennsylvania Railroad to extend the line that traveled from Tyrone to Fairbrook to terminate in the barrens. In 1899 Carnegie sold the iron works at Scotia to the Bellefonte Furnace Company. The mines would close in 1911. The Scotia Barrens was the site of a lumber operation connected to a sawmill in Waddle until about 1915. The Federal government spent $500,000 to reopen the mines in the wake of World War II, but the ore was considered poor quality and the mines were again shut down and abandoned. ==Scotia Barrens==

The Scotia Barrens have a micro climate known as a frost pocket. Air from the ridge tops rushes down and gets trapped in the low lying area, making the Scotia Barrens usually colder than the surrounding areas. Parks and Recreation The Barrens lie on the 6,200 acres of State Game Lands #176. The Game Lands include paths for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, as well as a shooting range. The ruins of the ore washing site are covered in graffiti and serve as an attraction for hikers. ==References==