What's in a name?

WPC Ecologist Robert Coxe has put together a new six-part Wednesday series explaining how western Pennsylvania places received their names. Today, Robert enlightens us about the Clarion, which is the first entry in the series.

The Bold and Brassy Clarion

The name “Clarion” was first applied in the early 1800's to what was then Toby Creek. At that time a surveyor, David Stanard, who was surveying a state road between Bedford and Franklin, exclaimed that the sound of the riffles or rapids in the river sounded like a distant clarion, which is a a medieval brass instrument with a clear shrill tone. In 1817 the name “Clarion River” was officially applied in a legislative bill.

Today, only the upper reaches of the river are called Toby Creek. Since the naming of the river, “Clarion” has been applied to a county (Clarion County), Borough (Borough of Clarion) and a state University (Clarion University of Pennsylvania). All of these names had their origin in the description of the sound of the river.

When WPC began its work to protect the Clarion River in 1977, it was a hidden treasure. A report written in 1909 by Dr. Arnold E. Ortman, an aquatic biologist working for Carnegie Institute, found the Clarion to be opaque, and believed it to be the most polluted river in the Commonwealth. Since tanneries and paper mills on the Clarion closed in the 1960s, and serious government and private attention has been paid to the clean up of acid mine drainage, water quality has improved dramatically.

A recent survey of dragonflies and other aquatic insects by the U.S. Forest Service, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and WPC scientists revealed the existence of 52 species on the Clarion. The return of these pollution-sensitive species is a testimony to the resiliency of nature and its return to the Clarion. The river has promise to become a storehouse of biodiversity, as well as a scenic and recreational treasure. Without tooting its own horn, the Clarion River can today boast hosting 80 fish and 27 mussel species.

Beth Brokaw, WPC Ecologist, took today's picture of the Clarion River in Clarion County.

Help WPC achieve its mission.

E-mail Today's WPC Daily to a Friend!

Sign Up for WPC Daily