How did Deer Park in Pennsylvania get it’s name? This page provides a brief history about Deer Park in Pennsylvania, the people who settled on it, and the industry rising around it.
A recreation center on the wooded hill just south of Aquetong Spring. This land came into possession of the Beaumont family by deed from Samuel D. Ingham and wife to Horatio Nelson Beaumont, dated March 27, 1849, the entire tract containing 309 acres. Andrew J. Beaumont, a brother of Horatio Nelson, was the original promoter of Beaumont Deer Park. It was first opened as a zoological garden on a small scale, with buffaloes, deer, raccoons and other native animals as exhibits. It was soon abandoned for this purpose and the animals were sold or released and a few killed. In 1879 the park came under control of the Solebury Deer Park Association, which held annual musical and literary exercises in a large pavilion in August, closing with a dance in the evening. The grounds are beautifully situated along the edge of Aquetong Spring Lake and for years it was a popular resort for social gatherings. It finally passed into the hands of private owners and with this change the name Deer Park disappeared. Sportsmen have recently become interested in this tract as an appropriate location for a game refuge and it may soon resume its old name. It lies within the historic Loganian Lands.
Some inaccuracies: The Deer Park Association, a collection of shareholders, continued to operate what was then called the Solebury Deer Park. In 1901, it became the property of Hugh B. Eastburn, Jr. until in 1921 it was sold to a church denomination which became the Community of Christ, who continues to operate it now as Deer Park Camp and Retreat Center, for their use and for use by other nonprofit groups. A. J. Beaumont’s legacy lives on.
Thanks for taking the time to provide some updated information Patty!