On January 11, 2023 at 7 p.m., Bill Leonard, Jr. will introduce attendees of the Brodhead Chapter of Trout Unlimited January virtual meeting to the history of the Lost Town of Warnertown.
The meeting will be presented using GoToMeeting and pre-registration is required.
Once a small settlement at the center of the Tobyhanna Military Reservation and a site of one of the last operating icehouses in the Poconos, Warnertown is now nothing more than a name on a map. This presentation will explore the fascinating history of this town located halfway between Tobyhanna and Pocono Pines, and will cover the history of logging, military, ice, roads/railroads, residents, and Warnertown today.
Bill is a native of Tobyhanna and lived there all his life. His family, along with the Coolbaugh Township Historical Association, have held the Annual Tobyhanna Millpond #1 Ice Harvest since 1994. He is an avid fly fisherman and hunter. He ventures westward each summer with Don Baylor and Company in search of cutthroat, rainbow, brown, and golden trout. Much of his hunting is on the former Tobyhanna Military Reservation, now State Game Lands #127, and while wandering about pursuing game, he searches for remnants of 19th century logging operations, the ice industry, and former military activities.
Bill retired from the National Park Service in April 2016 as the Deputy Superintendent of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. He also served a six-month period as Acting Superintendent of Steamtown National Historic Site. Before coming to the National Park Service, he was the Facilities Engineer at the Tobyhanna Army Depot. He graduated from Pocono Central Catholic School in 1974 and went on to Penn State University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.