Village of Foxburg: Photo By Dennis Keyes

This glacier molded territory known as Penn’s Woods or Pennsylvania was deeded to William Penn in 1681 by King Charles II. As the legend goes, a fellow Quaker (a physician by the name of Fox) was owed a debt by William Penn. The two agreed that the payment would be a parcel of land in the great wild west…as much as could be walked from sunup to sundown.

An ingenious man, he hired the fastest local Indian to walk for him on June 21st…the longest day of the year. As a result he became the owner of 1,800 acres of forest spanning the beautiful Allegheny and bordered on the south by the rapids of the Clarion river. Time passed and one day an heir, Joseph Mickle Fox, came to settle the tract of land. In 1845 he built a large stone mansion complete with stables and barn. These buildings are still standing in excellent condition. You can see them hidden among the hillside trees high above the flowing rivers.

Joseph Mickle Fox was responsible for bringing the game of golf to Foxburg after enjoying it in St. Andrews, Scotland. He formed the Foxburg Country Club in 1887. Originally only five holes, the course has the distinction of being the oldest golf course in continuous use in the United States.

It was grandson Joseph Logan Fox who built the roads, bridges and railroads to link the tiny hamlet to such far away communities as Clarion, Butler, Emlenton and Parker’s Landing. This man who accomplished so much in such a short time died at the age of twenty-nine.

Today this historic community is being rediscovered by those wanting to relax and get back to life’s simple pleasures.