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Shirley township

Beacon Lodge: A Mount Union Address in Another County

The Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge Camp posts its letters to Mount Union, and nearly everyone here would tell you it is ours. It is not, quite. The camp describes itself as “a beautiful five hundred and eighty-three acre summer camp for children and adults with special needs including blindness, deafness, and many other physical and mental challenges,” set “along the Juniata River of Central Pennsylvania just two miles west of Newton Hamilton, near Mount Union.” It was established in 1948 as a summer camp for blind residents of Pennsylvania.

Its buildings stand in Wayne township, Mifflin County. What does run into this county is the road named after it: Beacon Lodge Road crosses the line and carries on west through Shirley township for most of its length. A postal address is not a county boundary, which is worth remembering every time one of these is filed.

Checked against the record. The camp's description and its 1948 founding are quoted from its own website as archived in August 2019. The county was checked twice and independently, because the postal address says Mount Union: the Census address geocoder places 114 State Route 103 in Mifflin County, Wayne township, and OpenStreetMap's node for the camp at 40.374, -77.813 geocodes to the same place. The segments of Beacon Lodge Road at 40.365, -77.849 and westward geocode to Huntingdon County, Shirley township. ⚠ The camp's own domain has lapsed since June 2025; nothing here is claimed about whether it still operates, because an expired domain is evidence about a domain.

Sources

  1. Pennsylvania Lions Beacon Lodge Camp, own website, archived 3 August 2019: the 583 acres, the description of who the camp serves, the position “two miles west of Newton Hamilton, near Mount Union”, and “established in 1948 as a summer camp for blind residents of Pennsylvania”.
  2. United States Census geocoder on the camp's published address, 114 State Route 103, Mount Union PA 17066: Pennsylvania, Mifflin County, Wayne township.
  3. OpenStreetMap: the Beacon Lodge node at 40.374, -77.813 in Mifflin County, and Beacon Lodge Road running west into Huntingdon County, Shirley township.

Checked 2026-09-01 · Archived primary source

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Photographs from Shirley township

Augwick Creek Bridge, AughwickAugwick Creek Bridge, AughwickLibrary of Congress · pa3445
Walker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg boroughWalker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg boroughLibrary of Congress · pa3065
Runk Bridge, 1 mile South of Shirleysburg, .25 mile West of Route 522, ShirleysburgRunk Bridge, 1 mile South of Shirleysburg, .25 mile West of Route 522, ShirleysburgLibrary of Congress · pa3444
Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, PAWalker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, PALibrary of Congress, No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government · pa3066.photos.358341p

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