5 Things You Must Do in Warren

Warren Car Rental

Warren, Pennsylvania (population 11,000), is 52 miles east of Erie and 73 miles south of Buffalo, New York, on the Alleghany River. Founded in 1795, Warren was supported in the 19th and 20th centuries by timber and oil industries. Its architecture encompasses 25 different styles and includes one the largest and most unique collections of historic properties in the state.
 
1. The Warren Historic District: The area is comprised of 28 blocks in the heart of the city and features over 600 historic structures. National Register of Historic Places landmarks include Greek Revival and Italianate homes and structures from 1800 to 1950, shops, schools, government buildings, recreation and cultural facilities, churches, and a post office.

2. Clinton E. Wilder Museum: This museum has a wide range of artifacts, including Bentwood furniture, a Seneca Indian exhibit, Native American artifacts spanning 8,000 years, a one-handed clock invented in Warren, an exhibit on women in World War II, furnishings from the Irvine-Newbold Estate including a two-person vacuum, turn-of-the-20th-century transportation and fashion, and the Joe DeFrees firearms collection.

3. Allegheny National Forest: A large portion of this reserve is in Warren County. Chapman Dam State Park, near Clarendon, offers swimming, fishing, camping, and picnicking. There are over 600 campsites, six boat launches, six canoe-access sites, two nationally designated wildernesses, and many miles of hiking, snowmobiling, and ATV trails. The Allegheny National Forest region is also rich in cultural resources, from the Seneca Indians to Buckaloons Recreation Area, to the discovery of oil and its effects on development. l

4. Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir: This flood-control project 12 miles above Warren has campgrounds, boat-launching ramps, swimming areas and scenic overlooks. The reservoir shoreline far extends into New York state.

5. Heart's Content and Tionesta scenic areas: These are the only appreciable stands of virgin timber remaining in Pennsylvania. The old-growth forest consists of 300- to 400-year-old beech, hemlock, and sugar maples. It is the type of forest that greeted early settlers and later supported a vast lumber and sugar industry. At Hearts Content, two interlocking interpretive loops introduce the towering old-growth forest with signs identify tree species, comparing bark, explaining succession, and discussing forest evolution. Tionesta is nearly roadless, and offers great opportunities for solitude and nature study. You may encounter white-tailed deer, black bear, fishers, and several bat species. Birders can search for numerous species that prefer old- growth forests.