Trip on a Tank - Take a Ride on the Riverside

Map leads drivers on adventure along the Susquehanna.

Rivertownes PA USA has created a map that takes drivers on a tour into the Susquehanna’s past.

The River Road Historic Excursion begins in Marietta and zig-zags through Lancaster and York counties as far south as Holtwood, highlighting 17 sites in a large loop that will give participants a historic look at life along the river.

On June 24, the map will be available for the first time, for the tour that also includes clues along the way that can add up to prizes for the participants, according the Rivertownes PA USA President Claire Storm. The tour will begin at 11:30 a.m. and participants are asked to register at the Musselman Vesta Furnace Site on Furnace Road in Marietta. This office building is the only intact, not privately owned remains of the iron industry that flourished along the Susquehanna River during the 19th and early 20th centuries. At one time, there were eight iron furnaces between Marietta and Columbia. Marietta Restoration Associates has a 100-year lease on the building from the Lancaster County Park, on whose land it is located, and is currently restoring.

Vehicles will then cross the Route 30 bridge and back across the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge (Route 462) into Columbia so they can view the historic, 76-year-old, multiple arched concrete bridge that carries the Lincoln Highway through Columbia. The first clue will be found on the Lancaster-York Heritage Region’s Water Trail marker in the Columbia River Park.

From there, the tour goes south on Route 441 through Washington Boro onto River Road with a stop at the Blue Rock Heritage Center, a recently restored stone mill. Here participants will find the second clue. Parking and restrooms can be found at this stop.

Moving along, the road leaves the river but offers some beautiful bucolic scenery as it travels on a winding road south, with optional stops at Tucquan Glen and the Holtwood Pinnacle Overlook. Participants will then leave Lancaster County via the Norman Wood Bridge and will again be close to the banks of the Susquehanna River.

Upon entering York County, tour-goers will arrive at Lock 12, one of the best-preserved locks on the old Susquehanna Tidewater Canal and where they’ll find the third clue. Here they will also see a double lime kiln, the remains of a sawmill and its dam, pond and millrace. Picnic facilities, parking and restrooms are available here.

The map will take drivers north on Route 74 and east on Route 425. An optional side trip to Indian Steps Museum is suggested. Continuing north on Route 425, clue four will wait on another Water Trail marker. This will be across the street from Shank’s Mare, an outfitter’s store that offers snacks and a restroom. An optional side trip to the Moon Dancer Vineyard and Winery is suggested here and Storm recommends a trip to High Point for a magnificent panoramic view of the river and both Lancaster and York counties.

Participants will then go to the final destination, the John Wright Store and Restaurant grounds, North Front Street, Wrightsville, where they may hand in the answers to their clues at RiverFest 2007. RiverFest will feature food, exhibits, a book signing by Tom Huntington, author of “Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites” and music in the afternoon and evening. The headline act will be Carey Ziegler and His Expensive Hobby from Baltimore. Tradition dictates that the night will be capped off with the burning of several braziers atop the bridge piers.

The tour isn’t a race but rather an adventure. It will take more than three hours depending on how much time you spend at each site. Cost of the map is $20. And the map may be purchased after June 24 at Susquehanna Valley Visitors Center, Fifth and Linden streets, Columbia, or visit www.rivertownes.org for a self-guided tour anytime.

The non-profit Rivertownes PA USA will use the proceeds from the map and the RiverFest for preservation efforts.

The Musselman/Vesta Iron Funace office building in Marietta.
Photo courtesy of Rivertownes PA USA