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Sand Run House was located on Route 287 in Delmar Township, Tioga County, PA, about eight miles south of Wellsboro. It was located just south of Sand Run Creek, a small mountain creek that flowed west under Route 287 into Wilson Creek. Just to the north and east of the house ran Sand Run Road, the road that connects Route 287 with the coal mining town of Antrim, PA. The coal mines are closed, but the rumble of coal trucks has been replaced with waste trucks on their way to Antrim. The Bertsche family jokingly referred to the steep, curvy Sand Run Road as one and 1/2 mile drive up to Antrim, and only one mile drive down to Sand Run.
The photo below shows what the property looked like in 2014. Imagine the old Sand Run Road being the berm on the east and north side of the current road, and the old Route 287 being the berm on the west side of the current highway. The space in between was just big enough for a large house. On the strip of land south of the house was a wood pavilion, an outhouse, a two-story garage (former horse stable), a chicken coup, and a one-acre garden.
Except for a small strip of land along the east side of Wilson Creek, the terrain is mountainous (what the locals call hills). When Sand Run House was occupied, the area just north of Sand Run creek was a small hayfield that provided hay for the horses that were stabled near the house. Eugene Bertsche built a wooden bridge of tethered logs to connect the hay field with Sand Run Road where the road curved behind the house. He also built stone checkers table alongside the pathway to the bridge. Hurricane Agnes in 1972 washed out the bridge and eroded the south side of Sand Run creek, causing the stone table to tumble into the creek. Trees have reclaimed the unused hayfield, whose existence can only be hinted at by the chain link fence that surrounds the old field.
Sand Run Satellite Image 2014
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