 Hemlock wood was not widely used until the advent of wire nails, but the bark was used to tan leather.After 1870 the largest tanneries in the world were in the Pine Creek watershed, and required of bark to produce of quality sole leather.In 1879 Henry Colton, who worked for the Williamsport Lumber Company, supervised the cutting of white pine on the land owned by Silas Billings; this land would later become the park.