But the features of the landscape don’t stand out in any particularly striking way, and a casual observer may notice little more than the meandering bends of the narrow road as it weaves through the forest. Yet if you were to stop for just a moment, step out of your vehicle and take note of the kiosks, you would soon learn that this seemly unremarkable place — tucked gently into the layered hills of the South Mountain — has a complex and fascinating story to tell.

Beginning in 1787, this now-forested landscape was a family-operated farm of approximately 250 acres called Bunker Hill Farm. Owned by Pine Grove Furnace from the late 1700s to the late 1800s to support the nearby ironmaking community, farming continued into the 1920s after the state of Pennsylvania bought the land in 1913. The Great Depression was responsible for the site’s resurrection in 1933, when it became the site of the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp established on state-owned land in Pennsylvania. Until 1942, the CCC worked on the surrounding landscape, constructing roads, installing telephone lines, and planting trees to restore approximately 60 square miles of forest.

During the Second World War, because of its proximity to the Carlisle War Barracks and its secluded mountain location, the site was used as a Prisoner of War interrogation camp for both Japanese and German prisoners. During a 30-month period from 1943 to 1945, thousands of prisoners passed through the top-secret site for brief interrogations then were taken to camps elsewhere.

The site next became the location of a church camp which operated from 1946 to 1972, under the United Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ. In 1975, the state auctioned all surviving buildings on the site. For the first time in nearly 200 years the site was left largely on its own to “return to nature.”

Fast forward to 2012, during her first year with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Marian Orlousky — now the Director of Science and Stewardship — was assigned to inventory sections of the A.T. in the Mid-Atlantic and New England for the presence of non-native invasive species. While working on the portion of the A.T. through Camp Michaux and Bunker Hill Farm, she identified the most highly invaded and ecologically devastated area of any she’d documented along the Trail.

Orlousky shares, “I was startled by what I saw and initially wrote off the site as a lost cause for restoration. I went back to the office that day wanting to know more about what had happened on the site in the past. I hoped at the very least we could learn from past management and perhaps avoid repeating the same ecological missteps in other areas.” She soon learned that there was much more to the site than first meets the eye, and perhaps all was not lost.

Over the last fourteen years, teams of foresters with Michaux State Forest under the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR); organizations and groups, such as the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Friends of Michaux State Forest, the South Mountain Partnership, and the Nature Conservancy; and A.T. partners like the ATC and Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) set out to conduct cultural and natural resource restoration on the 204 acres (the area encompassing both the historic site of Bunker Hill Farm and all of Camp Michaux). The goal has been to replace the impenetrable forest of invasive species with a mix of native warm-season grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees that will benefit both wildlife and the recreating public.

The government organizations and volunteer groups that come together to care for Camp Michaux today — such as the Cumberland County Historical Society — are not only dedicated to restoring its ecology, but also to educating the public with accurate information about the site’s layered history. However, since the land has been transformed many times for different purposes, its restoration becomes a complex question: What is the land’s “natural” state, and how can it be re-created in a manner resilient to concerns like climate change?

Michael Wright of the PA DCNR has seen the site take on new life in recent years, with species like the monarch butterfly, rare moths, and other pollinators returning due to extensive restoration efforts. PA DCNR’s staff are dedicated to enhancing and preserving the site, as the removal of invasives requires constant mowing and herbicide projects. Partner organizations like the Wild Turkey Federation also helped secure funding for re-vegetation work that eventually drew wild turkeys — and other native birds like the American Woodcock, Eastern whip-poor-will, and red-headed woodpecker — back to Camp Michaux.

Wright and his staff are working on what he calls a “mosaic and hybrid landscape approach” that combines different — yet equally important priorities — for the stewardship of Camp Michaux. As plans for the site’s future take shape, the PA DCNR must balance care for endangered species, historical accuracy, and community engagement and education. In the coming years, staff and volunteers aim to re-create aspects of Bunker Hill Farm, construct outdoor learning spaces, and continue to rebuild habitats for native species.

Wright believes that the area provides a unique learning opportunity for A.T. visitors, showcasing how the ATC partners with local governments and volunteer organizations to care for both the Trail and its corridor. Stories that span generations encourage people to explore the site’s history and shape the present story of Camp Michaux, prompting its caretakers to reflect on how this time period will be remembered.

“The modern story of Camp Michaux is of volunteer work,” shares André Weltman, Chair of the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace State Park. “The effort to clear invasive species from the trails is never-ending.” Since about 2010, volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure the trails remain safe and accessible for visiting hikers and local residents alike to enjoy. Among the many volunteers, Weltman especially recognizes Tom Reed, a PATC member and a maintainer for the A.T. between Toms Run shelter and Michaux Road, for his hard work in recent years. The persistence of the non-native invasive species that have overtaken the area exposes the long-term consequences of the site’s different historical iterations. The side of a mountain seems like an unlikely place for a farm, and this kind of extraction from the land may have left it vulnerable to drastic environmental shifts. As a result, volunteers and land managers must be creative and forward-thinking to protect both recreation access and archaeological efforts at the site.

A fascinating and effective strategy for land management and public engagement is found in the Story Wood project, in which local artisans use wood from Camp Michaux’s Norway spruce trees to craft musical instruments. The trees were planted by the CCC as they established trails and built several structures in the area, complete with sewage and water systems. According to David Smith, Director of the Cumberland County Historical Society’s Camp Michaux Recognition and Development Project, “It was a sophisticated operation. We also have pictures of the trees growing throughout the years, and we have verified that some standing today are the same trees from certain photographs.”

Smith explains that when the site was an Army camp, the Norway spruce were about 5 feet tall. Once the church camp was operating, those trees had grown to be 50 feet tall. Today, many are above 75 feet tall and are beginning to collapse. Instead of letting the fallen and removed trees decompose in the forest — an arguably natural solution — volunteers seized this opportunity to engage the community in historical preservation through craftsmanship. The project embodies the site’s state of flux by taking pieces of its landscape and transforming them into tools capable of storytelling. This repurposing of the land’s physical elements provides a concrete example of the site’s ability to influence local culture and displays volunteers’ commitment to cultivating positive and interactive experiences for visitors.

“My fantasy — and yes, I’ll use that word — is to hold an auction of Story Wood instruments to support the Friends of Michaux State Forest group. My real fantasy, though, is to have a benefit concert with all the acts using Story Wood instruments,” says Weltman.

Beyond restoration and community engagement efforts, volunteers like Weltman and Smith remain dedicated to combating misinformation about the site, which is sometimes found in dramatic online videos aiming to amass as many viewers as possible. Weltman attributes this trend to the tendency to make assumptions about places that make one feel strange or uneasy, an experience that visitors to Camp Michaux often report. “The site has an aesthetic sense and evokes a feeling of the passage of time,” Weltman explains. “The church camp was open within living memory to some, making it difficult for them to conceive of that time as history. Some visitors have even returned after attending the camp as children.”

Ultimately, Camp Michaux’s status as both an archaeological site and part of a current state forest may provide a microcosm for understanding the Appalachian Trail as a living, changing part of history as well. “The A.T. as we know it today is one point in time” says Orlousky. “Caring for the Trail goes beyond its initial creation and protection. It involves pulling back the curtain on an aspect of recreation a lot of us don’t think about.”

Traveling the A.T. on foot provides opportunities for an immersive experience in local cultures and histories. It allows hikers to move through past points of transformation while perhaps undergoing a mental and physical transformation themselves. Many spots along the A.T. that are now widely used for recreation can also reveal the past realities of daily life and the shifting of historical tides.

Next time you visit the Trail, think about your surroundings, ask some questions, and do some investigation — it may take you to new, unexpected places.