Wopsy History

Wopsy History

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  • A Brief History of the Wopsononock Resort & Railroad
    Articles

    A Brief History of the Wopsononock Resort & Railroad

    Significant development of Wopsononock Mountain—part of the Allegheny Mountains west of Altoona,…

  • Formal Opening of the Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad, Altoona Tribune, 1891
    Newspaper Clippings

    Formal Opening of the Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad, Altoona Tribune, 1891

    Date: July 2, 1891Source: Altoona Tribune, Page 1 This article reports on…

  • When Was the Hotel Established?
    Hotel & Resort

    When Was the Hotel Established?

    When I began researching the Wopsononock Resort & Railroad in the late…

  • Wopsononock Hotel Telephone Service
    Hotel & Resort, Newspaper Clippings

    Wopsononock Hotel Telephone Service

    As early as 1880, the Altoona Telephone Company had extended its wires…

  • Hotel Dining Room, 1889-1903
    Hotel & Resort

    Hotel Dining Room, 1889-1903

    These photos from negatives from the Altoona Public Library show the elegant…

  • John Schenk Family Wopsy Cottage
    Lookout

    John Schenk Family Wopsy Cottage

    The Wopsononock Hotel opened for business in early July 1889. Although the…

  • The First Train to Wopsononock
    Train

    The First Train to Wopsononock

    After months of planning and construction, the narrow-gauge Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad…

  • Lawn Tennis and Other Wopsy Resort Amenities
    Hotel & Resort

    Lawn Tennis and Other Wopsy Resort Amenities

    This rare Wopsy Hotel image was part of a group of 4…

  • Altoona, Clearfield & Northern – A Narrow-Gauge Railroad
    Train

    Altoona, Clearfield & Northern – A Narrow-Gauge Railroad

    The Wopsononock Railroad was narrow-gauge until 1916, when a third rail was…

  • Wopsy Railroad Timeline
    Train

    Wopsy Railroad Timeline

    The Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad trestle at Sandy Gap. The narrow-gauge Wopsy…

  • Wopsy Observation Tower at Point Lookout
    Lookout

    Wopsy Observation Tower at Point Lookout

    The Wopsononock Lookout Tower was constructed sometime during the summer of 1892.…

  • Wopsy Lookout Tower Photos
    Lookout

    Wopsy Lookout Tower Photos

    These three images show the Wopsononock Lookout Tower as it once stood…

  • Hotel Addition, Circa 1892
    Hotel & Resort

    Hotel Addition, Circa 1892

    This photo, source unknown, from some time late in the history of…

  • Wopsononock Post Office
    Artifacts

    Wopsononock Post Office

    The Wopsononock post office was originally established as Stains, in Cambria County,…

  • Wopsononock Exotic Animals
    Hotel & Resort, Newspaper Clippings

    Wopsononock Exotic Animals

    During the life of the Wopsononock railroad and resort, various animals were…

  • “A Trip to Wopsononock”
    Hotel & Resort, Lookout, Newspaper Clippings, Train

    “A Trip to Wopsononock”

    A Trip to WopsononockHollidaysburg RegisterSeptember 6, 1893 “Recently, the writer enjoyed a…

  • Carousel in the Wopsononock Park
    Hotel & Resort, Newspaper Clippings

    Carousel in the Wopsononock Park

    Photo of Wopsy Carousel ruins taken by the author. A merry-go-round was…

  • Panoramic View of Altoona, Clearfield & Northern RR Rounding Sandy Gap Trestle
    Train

    Panoramic View of Altoona, Clearfield & Northern RR Rounding Sandy Gap Trestle

    A panoramic photograph of the Altoona, Clearfield & Northern narrow-gauge railroad rounding…

  • A Day at Wopsy: St. Luke’s Church Picnic, July 1894
    Hotel & Resort, Train

    A Day at Wopsy: St. Luke’s Church Picnic, July 1894

    St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Altoona held its annual picnic on July…

  • Shooting Tournament On Wopsy, 1894
    Artifacts, Hotel & Resort, Lookout, Newspaper Clippings

    Shooting Tournament On Wopsy, 1894

    The Fourth Annual Tournament of the Pennsylvania State Sportsmen’s Association commenced at…

  • Wopsononock Railroad Locomotives: The Early Years (1891–1899)
    Train

    Wopsononock Railroad Locomotives: The Early Years (1891–1899)

    The Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad (1891) The earliest and most significant of…

  • Wreck At Butcher Knife Point
    Train

    Wreck At Butcher Knife Point

    “Wreck on the Wopsy” An article from Altoona Tribune, December 13, 1896…

  • Wopsononock Hotel & Narrow-gauge Train, Circa 1891-1903
    Hotel & Resort, Train

    Wopsononock Hotel & Narrow-gauge Train, Circa 1891-1903

    Shown here is a Real Photo Postcard image of the Wopsononock Hotel…

  • Wopsononock Picnic Grounds, Circa 1898
    Hotel & Resort, Train

    Wopsononock Picnic Grounds, Circa 1898

    The owners of the Wopsononock Resort added new picnic grounds, located directly…

  • 1899 Wopsy Railroad & Resort Pamphlet
    Hotel & Resort, Train

    1899 Wopsy Railroad & Resort Pamphlet

    This 1899 Wopsononock Time Table & Tourist’s Guide was reprinted for the…

  • Wrecks on the Wopsononock Line
    Newspaper Clippings, Train

    Wrecks on the Wopsononock Line

    Along with the wreck at Butcher’s Point in 1896, other wrecks plagued…

  • Wopsy Hotel Burns Down, 1903
    Newspaper Clippings, Train

    Wopsy Hotel Burns Down, 1903

    In late April 1903, forest fires raged at several locations on Wopsononock…

  • Origins of the name “Wopsononock”
    Articles, Newspaper Clippings

    Origins of the name “Wopsononock”

    Origins of “Wopsononock” as a place name are mixed and not definitive,…

  • Out Broadway to Wopsononock Lookout, 1905
    Lookout

    Out Broadway to Wopsononock Lookout, 1905

    From Views of Altoona, L.H.Nelson Co., 1905. Looking toward Point Lookout on…

  • Wopsononock Resort and Train Postcards, Circa 1907-1916
    Articles, Lookout, Train

    Wopsononock Resort and Train Postcards, Circa 1907-1916

    The Golden Age of Postcards was roughly from 1907 to 1915, a…

  • Lookout Tower Destruction
    Lookout, Newspaper Clippings

    Lookout Tower Destruction

    On October 29, 1907, strong winds took the top two stories of…

  • Wopsy Dance Pavilion, circa 1912
    Hotel & Resort, Newspaper Clippings

    Wopsy Dance Pavilion, circa 1912

    In a May 8, 1912 article in the Altoona Tribune, plans were…

  • Wopsononock 1912 Rebirth
    Hotel & Resort, Newspaper Clippings

    Wopsononock 1912 Rebirth

    The Wopsononock Hotel, opened in July of 1889, enjoyed only a brief…

  • Wopsy Railroad Locomotive Photos from the Smithsonian
    Train

    Wopsy Railroad Locomotive Photos from the Smithsonian

    My research into the history of the Wopsononock Resort and Railroad began…

  • “#30 Wopsononock Train”, 1913
    Train

    “#30 Wopsononock Train”, 1913

    This Wopsy Railroad Real Photo Post Card (RPPC) was printed in limited…

  • First Lutheran Sunday School to Picnic at Wopsy
    Hotel & Resort, Train

    First Lutheran Sunday School to Picnic at Wopsy

    On June 23, 1914, First Lutheran Church, 12th Ave., Altoona had its…

  • Gable’s Department Store Wopsy Postcards, Circa 1915
    Articles, Train

    Gable’s Department Store Wopsy Postcards, Circa 1915

    Gable’s was a major department store open in downtown Altoona, PA from…

  • ‘The House by the Track’ by Robert Fleming Lantz, 1916
    Train

    ‘The House by the Track’ by Robert Fleming Lantz, 1916

    Robert Fleming Lantz was a well-known local poet in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and…

  • Altoona & Northern Railroad Station Built, 1916
    Newspaper Clippings, Train

    Altoona & Northern Railroad Station Built, 1916

    In the early 1890s, the Altoona & Wopsononock Railroad maintained at the…

  • Wopsy Railroad Locomotives From Later Years
    Train

    Wopsy Railroad Locomotives From Later Years

    Locomotives purchased when the railroad was narrow-gauge were never heavy enough for…

  • Shoveling Snow for the Wopsononock Railroad
    Newspaper Clippings, Train

    Shoveling Snow for the Wopsononock Railroad

    This photograph was in the album of a local resident, location unknown.…

  • The End of the Line — Wopsy Railroad & Resort
    Articles, Hotel & Resort, Train

    The End of the Line — Wopsy Railroad & Resort

    The Wopsy Railroad — officially known at various times as the Altoona…

  • Lookout Sign
    Lookout

    Lookout Sign

    This sign marked the short road to the Lookout until it disappeared…

Wopsy History

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