PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — Inside the Brookfield Environmental Learning Center near Lake Wallenpaupack, an old, 18-foot dugout canoe sits in its display. Now its history has been better explained before it came to be at the center in Pike County.
Judy Unger, the former owner of the canoe, purchased the canoe from the original owner, who told them it was found in the west branch of the Wallenpaupack Creek in 1957.
Many people in attendance remember hearing the stories about the Indian canoe after the floods from Hurricane Diane in 1955.
"I think also part of the mystique for me is the fact that, out of the devastation of the flood, we found this. And that's like the bright spot because the flood up here was devastating," Louise Knoll said.
John Tandy with the Wallenpaupack Historical Society has worked on the research for the canoe. He says another researcher came to see it and pointed out some oddities, such as whether it fit the timeline of when Native Americans were in the area.
"The only evidence that you really have is A, that it's a canoe because it's shaped like a canoe, and B, that it's made out of some sort of wood, which you could look at, and people could tell you it was chestnut," Tandy said.
In 2015, a sample was sent to the University of Georgia for a carbon-dating test. When the results came back, the tree the canoe was made from dated between 1820 and 1850. That means it was most likely made by Europeans, not Native Americans.
"At first, disappointing, but it's good to know, and it's history in its own merit," Linda Stephens said.
Although its origins are not as originally expected, the canoe, along with many other Native American artifacts, will remain on display for the public inside the learning center.