Foxburg Boro

Foxburg History...

Again, Foxburg lies in the scenic rural valleys of the Allegheny and Clarion Rivers. Foxburg is approximately 55 miles north of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. The area is rich in natural resources including lumber, oil, and natural gas which was shipped to towns along the Allegheny River in route to Pittsburgh. The natural resources created fortunes for some entrepreneurs.

History Continues...

In 1785, the Land Office of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued a warrant for a piece of 1,100 acres of land along the Allegheny and Clarion Rivers. The purchaser was Samuel Mickle Fox from Philadelphia. Samuel Mickle Fox was a member of the Colonial Assembly. Governor Thomas Mifflin signed the deed for this property for the sum of "five pounds, six shillings, nine pence". Samuel Mickle Fox acquired another 18,000 acres along the valley.

In 1820, Joseph Mickle Fox, son of Samuel Mickle Fox married Hannah Emlen of Philadelphia and eventually built a summer home in Clarion County. They built the Fox Mansion completely out of materials obtained from their land. The mansion was completed in 1828. Aside from the mansion, the Fox's built carriage houses, stables, an ice house, a greenhouse, barns, a log cabin for a play area for the Fox children, and a complete arboretum. The Fox's built the first arboretum in the Commonwealth and obtained a specimen from each indigenous tree to the area. The Mansion was kept within the Fox family until 1967. Since 1967, the mansion has been owned by several families. The stables, barn and an arena for horses was used as a therapy school for physically challenged persons. Currently, the Fox Estate is privately owned.

Recognized as philanthropists, the Fox family took great interest in the local community and built the Memorial Church of Our Father, the Foxburg Free Library, and the Foxburg Golf Course.