Laquin -- "The Most God-Forsaken Place" (Ep25)

EPISODE 25: LAQUIN – "THE MOST GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE." What was life like in Laquin (pronounced LAY-KWIN) – a lumber boomtown that rose up in a previously uninhabited forested valley in Bradford County before becoming another Pennsylvania ghost town? Founded in 1902, the town grew to a peak population of 2,000 inhabitants. It was home to five factories – a sawmill, a wood chemical plant, a barrel stave manufacturer, a hub and veneer plant, and a kindling factory. This episode describes the town and gives a sense of daily life for the workers and other residents of Laquin. What did people do to pass the time in such a remote and isolated place when the only way in and out of town was by a train that made only two stops a day? The boom ended when the nearby tracts of lumber were harvested, and the businesses packed up and moved. The chemical factory was the last to close, in 1932, at which point the town ceased to exist. The last resident of Laquin moved away in 1941.

Timestamps for major events/discussions:

[04:09] – Where was Laquin?

[04:59] – Founding of Laquin

[09:20] – The workers’ homes and the bosses’ homes

[14:43] – The sawmill

[15:40] – The wood chemical factory

[17:55] – The barrel stave factory

[19:12] – The kindling factory

[22:06] – The hub and veneer plant

[24:24] – Popular diversions in Laquin

[28:12] – Central Pennsylvania Lumber Takes Over

[29:46] – The end of Laquin

[33:21] – Why the PA lumber industry collapsed

[36:35] – The physical remains of Laquin today

[37:27] – Sources on which this episode relied

Sources include:

• Lumbering Pennsylvania – Volume I and II by Thomas T. Taber III, reprinted in 2022 by the Lumber Heritage Region of Pennsylvania.

• The documentary film Laquin, Pennsylvania – a Community Lost,
Episodes 1 and 2, produced by the Leroy Heritage Museum and narrated by Matthew Carl, available on YouTube: (Episode 1) and (Episode 2).

• The presentation “Laquin – The Rise and Fall of a Pennsylvania Lumber Town” by Matthew Carl of the Bradford County Historical Society and the Leroy History Museum, October 2024, available here on YouTube.

Places to visit mentioned in this episode:

• The Bradford County Historical Society in Bradford. Visit their website at https://bradfordhistory.org/

• The Leroy Heritage Museum in Leroy in Bradford County. Visit their website at https://leroyheritage.org/

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