Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Buck Hill Falls is a private resort community in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The settlement was founded in 1901 as a Quaker retreat by a group of Friends from Philadelphia, including Charles F. Jenkins who became and remained the president of the Buck Hill Falls Company until his death in 1951.
The Inn at Buck Hill Falls, originally a small wooden hostelry, expanded ultimately to a large new stone building in 1926 and enjoyed popularity into the 1970s and 1980s. By the time of its closure, the Inn boasted over 400 guest rooms along with numerous resort amenities, including an indoor swimming pool with a retractable glass roof, elegant and formal lobby spaces, and a white linen dining room where guests were feted with fine food while occasionally enjoying live harpsichord music. Another major feature of the Inn was the north porch, a huge covered stone structure with exceptional views of the surrounding Pocono mountains. Guests could take afternoon tea and relax in rocking chairs looking out over the mountains. However, changes in ownership, financial troubles, and several fires led to the closing of the Inn in the early 1990s. Although there was no single cause of the Inn's failure, the decline in the costs of air travel, allowing vacationers from New York and Philadelphia to avoid the long drive into the Poconos was certainly a major factor in its demise. The Inn property was bought recently.
At Buck Hill Falls Rexford Tugwell
, while in charge of the New Deal
's Resettlement Administration
, conducted a June 1935 conference on the future of housing and resettlement. Stuart Taylor
also attended, as did Eleanor Roosevelt
, who considered herself to be an observer. "You cannot just build houses and tell people to go and live in them. They must be taught how to live," said Mrs. Roosevelt.
There is still a very active community of both summer and year-round residents, many of whom come for a summer retreat from New York City or Philadelphia. Many families have been coming to Buck Hill for generations.
The community still has the amenities of its past as a popular Quaker resort, including a 27-hole Donald Ross--designed golf course, 10 tennis courts, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The nearby villages of Mountainhome and Canadensis provide places to shop.
Buck Hill Falls is known for its natural beauty including its namesake waterfall, the annual Buck Hill Art Association Art Show, one of the premier cultural events in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Foxhowe Association, which sponsors lectures and oversees the Friends meeting for worship in the summer. The Buck Hill Lawn Bowling Association has also hosted National Finals several times. Also, the Buck Hill Conservation Foundation is very actively buying easements, and maintaining expansive trails throughout the 4600 acres (19 km²) of forest surrounding the settlement.
Most recently, Buck Hill Falls (in partnership with neighboring Skytop, PA) became the home of the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival, the Poconco's premiere classical music venue, featuring Opera, Chamber Music, and Jazz.
In 2000, the Buck Hill Inn was used as a location for MTV's Fear
, and several liberties were taken with its history, including claiming that Buck Hill Falls was the site of 73 murders, the suicide of one maid, and one room being built on ley lines, as well as ghost sightings. Obviously, none of this has been proven to be true, yet the Inn still has rumors of being haunted from the local residents.
The settlement was founded in 1901 as a Quaker retreat by a group of Friends from Philadelphia, including Charles F. Jenkins who became and remained the president of the Buck Hill Falls Company until his death in 1951.
The Inn at Buck Hill Falls, originally a small wooden hostelry, expanded ultimately to a large new stone building in 1926 and enjoyed popularity into the 1970s and 1980s. By the time of its closure, the Inn boasted over 400 guest rooms along with numerous resort amenities, including an indoor swimming pool with a retractable glass roof, elegant and formal lobby spaces, and a white linen dining room where guests were feted with fine food while occasionally enjoying live harpsichord music. Another major feature of the Inn was the north porch, a huge covered stone structure with exceptional views of the surrounding Pocono mountains. Guests could take afternoon tea and relax in rocking chairs looking out over the mountains. However, changes in ownership, financial troubles, and several fires led to the closing of the Inn in the early 1990s. Although there was no single cause of the Inn's failure, the decline in the costs of air travel, allowing vacationers from New York and Philadelphia to avoid the long drive into the Poconos was certainly a major factor in its demise. The Inn property was bought recently.
At Buck Hill Falls Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
, while in charge of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
's Resettlement Administration
Resettlement Administration
The Resettlement Administration was a U.S. federal agency that, between April 1935 and December 1936, relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government....
, conducted a June 1935 conference on the future of housing and resettlement. Stuart Taylor
Stuart Taylor
Stuart James Taylor is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Manchester City.-Arsenal:Taylor had been at since joining the club in 1997 as a youth player, though he was loaned out several times – to Bristol Rovers , Crystal Palace , Peterborough United...
also attended, as did Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, who considered herself to be an observer. "You cannot just build houses and tell people to go and live in them. They must be taught how to live," said Mrs. Roosevelt.
There is still a very active community of both summer and year-round residents, many of whom come for a summer retreat from New York City or Philadelphia. Many families have been coming to Buck Hill for generations.
The community still has the amenities of its past as a popular Quaker resort, including a 27-hole Donald Ross--designed golf course, 10 tennis courts, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The nearby villages of Mountainhome and Canadensis provide places to shop.
Buck Hill Falls is known for its natural beauty including its namesake waterfall, the annual Buck Hill Art Association Art Show, one of the premier cultural events in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Foxhowe Association, which sponsors lectures and oversees the Friends meeting for worship in the summer. The Buck Hill Lawn Bowling Association has also hosted National Finals several times. Also, the Buck Hill Conservation Foundation is very actively buying easements, and maintaining expansive trails throughout the 4600 acres (19 km²) of forest surrounding the settlement.
Most recently, Buck Hill Falls (in partnership with neighboring Skytop, PA) became the home of the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival, the Poconco's premiere classical music venue, featuring Opera, Chamber Music, and Jazz.
In 2000, the Buck Hill Inn was used as a location for MTV's Fear
MTV's Fear
MTV's Fear is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from 2000 to 2002 on MTV. The program follows a group of 5 or more contestants being left at an allegedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore and confirm whether or not the...
, and several liberties were taken with its history, including claiming that Buck Hill Falls was the site of 73 murders, the suicide of one maid, and one room being built on ley lines, as well as ghost sightings. Obviously, none of this has been proven to be true, yet the Inn still has rumors of being haunted from the local residents.