Eldorado Found: The Central Pennsylvania Highlands; a Tourist’s Survey (Metalmark Books)

In this 1917 guidebook from the pre-automobile era, Henry Shoemaker breaks from his typical literary-folklore subjects to chronicle the natural and social landscapes of central Pennsylvania. The reader is introduced to the wildlife and the geographic features of Clinton, Centre, Mifflin, Union, Lycoming, Cameron, and Snyder Counties through Shoemaker’s detailed narration and anecdotal notes. A staunch opponent of automobile tourism, Shoemaker urges his readers to avoid this “deadly, soul destroying machine . . . fatal to the lover of scenery or the naturalist.” As most roads of the time were not suitable for travel by automobile, this volume gives the modern reader a glimpse into the touring norms of the early twentieth century-on foot, by carriage, or on horseback. In the text, Shoemaker points to supposed locations for numerous legends found in his collected works. Heavily illustrated with scenic turn-of-the-century photographs, Eldorado Found brings central Pennsylvania’s history to life.