After visiting the Corning Glass Museum, we returned home for a few days before heading to Plymouth MA. The Kingsessing Morris Men, the team Joe dances with, were invited to a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Muddy River Morris Team. The event was scheduled for Saturday with arrival on Friday at Pinewoods Camp.

Rather than make the six-hour trip by car we decided to take our RV. We also chose to camp in our RV rather stay in the non-electric cabins at the campground, as there were only a limited number of beds available for the invited guests.

Traveling in our RV gave us an opportunity make a few stops along the way, which included the Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, Pennsylvania. Grey Towers was the home of Gifford Pinchot. We first became familiar with Pinchot a few years ago after camping in Gifford Pinchot State Park, Pennsylvania’s First Metropolitan State Park.

Pinchot was born into a wealthy family as you may surmise from his home. His father James was a successful New York City wallpaper merchant and his mother Mary Eno was the daughter of wealthy New York City real estate developers.

He graduated from Yale, and with the support of his parents who were concerned about the environmental damage occurring in North-Eastern Pennsylvania from Anthracite Coal mining, he pursued a career in professional forestry at a time when this career was not recognized in the United States. He traveled to Europe and studied at the French School of Forestry. He was the first American to receive formal instruction in forestry.

At the invitation of George Vanderbilt, Pinchot began his Forestry Career with the systematic management of the forests around Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate, near Asheville, North Carolina. 

In 1898, Pinchot was appointed the 4th Chief of the Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture. During his tenure as Chief, protected national forests increased from 50 to 175 million acres.

After Theodore Roosevelt was elected in 1901, he and Pinchot convinced Congress to establish the US Forest Service as a stand-alone agency within the Department of Agriculture. Pinchot then became the 1st Chief of the newly designated United States Forest Service. This is why today Grey Towers is the only National Historic Site managed by the US Forest Service. Did you notice the Forest Service logo in the quilt photo at the beginning of this post? Here is a closeup of that section of the quilt.

Gifford is acknowledged as the “father” of American forestry and was largely responsible for conservation becoming widely known and supported by the public and established in policy by both federal and state governments. Pinchot supported the sustainable use of resources within public lands and land management based on scientific principles. He was also a Republican. Goodness, times have changed.

Pinchot also served two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1923-1927 and 1931-1935. He was quoted as saying, “I have been governor every now and then, but I am a forester all the time.”

We have focused heavily on Pinchot’s public service but the house and the grounds are spectacular to see and well worth a visit. Grey Towers is located at 122 Old Owego Turnpike, Milford, PA 18337 and has ample parking for large RVs.

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