Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2021
The Center for the Environment (CFE) at Westminster College and Pleasant Hill Historians will host a guided walk through New Castle’s historic Cascade Park from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 26.
Participants in the walk—“A Historic Stroll through Cascade Park”— will learn to view our landscape through the lens of history and of land use over time. Attendees will also learn about the National Register of Historic Places, historic districts and the value of community-based education through historic preservation.
Ethan Brady, a Westminster senior environmental science major from Clymer, Pa., and an intern with Pleasant Hill Historians, will conduct the tour of the park with Pleasant Hill Historians President Andrew Henley. Brady is currently researching the park’s original landscape architect Frank Blaisdell, who later designed the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol. Henley is a 2017 Westminster College graduate.
Recently deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Historical and Museum Commission, Cascade Park sits on the site of a former amusement park, which ran from 1897 to the 1980s. Today the park boasts waterfalls, including Big Run Falls, hiking trails, fishing, and remnants of the former amusement park.
Several Westminster students —Gabby Lucas, a senior political science and history major from Transfer, Pa.; Alex Georgescu, a senior computer science major from Hermitage, Pa.; Peyton Mackinlay, a senior history and political science major from Rimersburg, Pa.; and Sara Small, a senior individual interdisciplinary major from Beaver, Pa.—have researched Cascade Park. Lucas co-authored the publication “Cascade Park: Western Pennsylvania’s Rural Escape.”
The guided walk is open to the public and recommended for those ages 10 and older. Tickets are $10. To register for the event, please click here.
For questions, contact Katie Miller at millerke@westminster.edu or 724-946-7404 or visit www.westminster.edu/environment.