Welcome to Kettle Creek Valley!!
Local Stores / Restaurants / Bars
Some of our guests favorite places to explore, eat, hang out, and shop
Kinney's Country Store and Jeff's Bar is a staple in the area, located in downtown Cross Fork.
Stop here for fishing supplies, gas, ice cream, and Jeff's bar!
Kinney's Country Store & Bar
25 Main StKinney's Country Store and Jeff's Bar is a staple in the area, located in downtown Cross Fork.
Stop here for fishing supplies, gas, ice cream, and Jeff's bar!
Also located in downtown Cross Fork, Debs is another staple in the area for food and a bar.
Deb's Cross Fork Inn
Main StreetAlso located in downtown Cross Fork, Debs is another staple in the area for food and a bar.
Kettle Creek Inn
16494 Renovo RdAn excellent place along the Susquehanna River for some great food!
City/town information
Cross Fork is a former logging town in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The village today is very small, but during the early 1900s it had a population numbering in the thousands and was an important lumbering center. Today, the Cross Fork area is known for trout fishing on Kettle Creek and Cross Fork Creek, including a children's fishing derby held annually in May.
In the early 1900s the trees on nearby mountains were cut down. This small town now has only a fire department and a post office. However, it used to include a school, fire, ambulance, police, major league baseball, football, and many other facilities of a city. The town was burned down in the 1910s. There was a sawmill located along the creek that belonged to the Lackawanna Lumber Company. The sawmill burned down about 3 times but was rebuilt each time. The town quickly grew and was soon the biggest logging town in Pennsylvania. The nearby town of Austin was the runner-up.
When the trees were all gone the lumber company moved out and the town was burned. Very few people were left. The sawmill no longer exists and there was one building left that was condemned and burned in 2006. All local fire companies attended and used it as structural fire training. With the burning of this building the last of the history was gone. This town would be forever forgotten---however, the local community has organized events to bring in more population including Kettle Creek Valley Outdoors Show, now known as the Earl Brown Memorial Turkey Calling contest, Kettle Creek Music Festival, Cross Fork Snake Hunt, AMA Endurance Race and Fishing Derby.
Almost no remnants of the original town of Cross Fork remain today. Behind the Kettle Creek Hose Company, a small tour trail winds for about a mile on some state property, highlighting a few artifacts that do still remain from the historical roots of the town. A stand of old growth forest can be visited in the Beach Bottom area outside of town.
Cross Fork
Cross Fork is a former logging town in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The village today is very small, but during the early 1900s it had a population numbering in the thousands and was an important lumbering center. Today, the Cross Fork area is known for trout fishing on Kettle Creek and Cross Fork Creek, including a children's fishing derby held annually in May.
In the early 1900s the trees on nearby mountains were cut down. This small town now has only a fire department and a post office. However, it used to include a school, fire, ambulance, police, major league baseball, football, and many other facilities of a city. The town was burned down in the 1910s. There was a sawmill located along the creek that belonged to the Lackawanna Lumber Company. The sawmill burned down about 3 times but was rebuilt each time. The town quickly grew and was soon the biggest logging town in Pennsylvania. The nearby town of Austin was the runner-up.
When the trees were all gone the lumber company moved out and the town was burned. Very few people were left. The sawmill no longer exists and there was one building left that was condemned and burned in 2006. All local fire companies attended and used it as structural fire training. With the burning of this building the last of the history was gone. This town would be forever forgotten---however, the local community has organized events to bring in more population including Kettle Creek Valley Outdoors Show, now known as the Earl Brown Memorial Turkey Calling contest, Kettle Creek Music Festival, Cross Fork Snake Hunt, AMA Endurance Race and Fishing Derby.
Almost no remnants of the original town of Cross Fork remain today. Behind the Kettle Creek Hose Company, a small tour trail winds for about a mile on some state property, highlighting a few artifacts that do still remain from the historical roots of the town. A stand of old growth forest can be visited in the Beach Bottom area outside of town.
The borough is located on the West Branch Susquehanna River, and along Pennsylvania's Bucktail State Park Natural Area, centered on Pennsylvania Route 120, which winds through the surrounding mountains following the river. The town is the home of the "Flaming Foliage Festival" held each October, generally on the second weekend, celebrating the fall colors of the trees on the area's many mountains. The festival includes a parade and the crowning of a queen, usually chosen from one of the nearby high schools. The festival serves as a "homecoming" event for former residents of Renovo, many of whom return annually for the event. Various vendors from the surrounding areas sell food, clothing, and an array of novelties, memorabilia, and souvenirs.
Renovo was built for and by the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad as the midpoint between Philadelphia and Erie. The town was laid out on a mostly-flat flood plain along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in North-Central Pennsylvania, and was incorporated in 1866. Many of the buildings of what became the sprawling Railroad Shops complex were built before, during, and after the American Civil War.
The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, along with many other relatively smaller lines eventually became incorporated into the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest corporation in the world with an annual GPO larger than the federal government, and is the only corporation in history to have paid out dividends due to its profitability for 100 years.
Unlike most "rural" towns and residential areas, Renovo was laid out in an industrially-oriented urban grid with avenues given names of the Great Lakes, and "side streets" numbered from 1 to 16. Houses were mostly built close to one another or incorporated into row houses. Houses with larger lots allowing for big yards were a rare luxury.
Before the town was completely built out, Renovo was known and advertised as a "resort town in the mountains". One can still find newspaper ads and brochures extolling the restorative mountain air, clean water, and outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting. There were several large hotels in the town well before the turn of the 20th century. The railroad made access to this remote area seemingly quick and effortless for those living in other cities which enjoyed railroad service.
The town boasted dozens of bars and restaurants as well as churches which gave testimony to the forward-directed, optimistic, and vigorous energy which fueled the town's growth and development. Most institutions which one would find in a town of the era or today, such as a hospital, YMCA, schools, taxi service, shops, clubs, lodges, fraternal organizations, professional services, and sports teams, were established.
The major employer was the Pennsylvania Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad shops. The shops were a massive complex, stretching from one end of town to the other, containing a 25 rail freight classification yard, service shops for diesel and steam locomotives, and even its own coal power plant.[4] As long as the Railroad prospered, the town was a bustling center of activity. Some aspects of railroad business began to decrease as early as before World War II, but business surged back strongly during the War. However, further decline in demand for both passenger and freight transportation via the railroad came with the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the building of the Interstate Highway System, the surge of automobile ownership and use, and the consolidation of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Shop facilities to other locations such as Pittsburgh and Altoona.
The closing of the shops in the 1960s tolled the death knell for Renovo as an enterprising town with a future. Its present population is less than 2,000; it was once around 5,000. Many residents drive the two-lane, windy roads and I-80 to other towns for employment. There is also a substantial contingent of lifelong residents and transplants who are retired. The change in human activity over the years hasn't dimmed or substantially altered the natural environment of this Allegheny Mountain area of the larger Appalachian Highlands.
The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park and other numerous artifacts of this towns logging and railroad history remain today!
Renovo
The borough is located on the West Branch Susquehanna River, and along Pennsylvania's Bucktail State Park Natural Area, centered on Pennsylvania Route 120, which winds through the surrounding mountains following the river. The town is the home of the "Flaming Foliage Festival" held each October, generally on the second weekend, celebrating the fall colors of the trees on the area's many mountains. The festival includes a parade and the crowning of a queen, usually chosen from one of the nearby high schools. The festival serves as a "homecoming" event for former residents of Renovo, many of whom return annually for the event. Various vendors from the surrounding areas sell food, clothing, and an array of novelties, memorabilia, and souvenirs.
Renovo was built for and by the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad as the midpoint between Philadelphia and Erie. The town was laid out on a mostly-flat flood plain along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in North-Central Pennsylvania, and was incorporated in 1866. Many of the buildings of what became the sprawling Railroad Shops complex were built before, during, and after the American Civil War.
The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, along with many other relatively smaller lines eventually became incorporated into the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest corporation in the world with an annual GPO larger than the federal government, and is the only corporation in history to have paid out dividends due to its profitability for 100 years.
Unlike most "rural" towns and residential areas, Renovo was laid out in an industrially-oriented urban grid with avenues given names of the Great Lakes, and "side streets" numbered from 1 to 16. Houses were mostly built close to one another or incorporated into row houses. Houses with larger lots allowing for big yards were a rare luxury.
Before the town was completely built out, Renovo was known and advertised as a "resort town in the mountains". One can still find newspaper ads and brochures extolling the restorative mountain air, clean water, and outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting. There were several large hotels in the town well before the turn of the 20th century. The railroad made access to this remote area seemingly quick and effortless for those living in other cities which enjoyed railroad service.
The town boasted dozens of bars and restaurants as well as churches which gave testimony to the forward-directed, optimistic, and vigorous energy which fueled the town's growth and development. Most institutions which one would find in a town of the era or today, such as a hospital, YMCA, schools, taxi service, shops, clubs, lodges, fraternal organizations, professional services, and sports teams, were established.
The major employer was the Pennsylvania Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad shops. The shops were a massive complex, stretching from one end of town to the other, containing a 25 rail freight classification yard, service shops for diesel and steam locomotives, and even its own coal power plant.[4] As long as the Railroad prospered, the town was a bustling center of activity. Some aspects of railroad business began to decrease as early as before World War II, but business surged back strongly during the War. However, further decline in demand for both passenger and freight transportation via the railroad came with the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the building of the Interstate Highway System, the surge of automobile ownership and use, and the consolidation of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Shop facilities to other locations such as Pittsburgh and Altoona.
The closing of the shops in the 1960s tolled the death knell for Renovo as an enterprising town with a future. Its present population is less than 2,000; it was once around 5,000. Many residents drive the two-lane, windy roads and I-80 to other towns for employment. There is also a substantial contingent of lifelong residents and transplants who are retired. The change in human activity over the years hasn't dimmed or substantially altered the natural environment of this Allegheny Mountain area of the larger Appalachian Highlands.
The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park and other numerous artifacts of this towns logging and railroad history remain today!