Lopez: Orthodox History in a Region Where Mountain Ranges Meet

Lopez brings together a regional mountain landscape and a local history shaped by Orthodox faith, craftsmanship, and the former lumber industry. If you’re looking for hotels for a stay in Lopez, these themes can help you first decide whether the destination’s cultural and historical character suits your interests.

Landscape and Surroundings

Lopez lies in a region where several mountain ranges meet and shape the regional landscape. World’s End State Park is near the town.

Orthodox History and Craftsmanship

St. Vladimir Church was founded in 1907 and is located at 127 Main Street in Lopez. The church brought the Orthodox Christian faith to Lopez; services were held there in Church Slavonic. The year of its founding and its religious tradition illuminate different aspects of the same place: its institutional history and a worship tradition shaped by language. For travelers interested in religious history, a specific location is thus connected with a distinctive local tradition.

Craftsmanship is also among the locally rooted themes: Meckley Brooms represents a family tradition spanning more than 100 years of making handcrafted corn brooms. This connection differs from the sawmill stories: here, the focus is on a family craft tradition, while the historic sawmills illustrate lumber processing in Lopez.

Bridges, Railways, and Sawmills

Around 1876, a wooden bridge coated with coal tar was built over Lopez Creek. The site was then known for several years as “Tar Bridge.” In 1886, the Lehigh Valley extended its railway line from Bernice to Lopez. In May 1887, J. S. Hoffa of Dushore built a sawmill in Lopez. In 1888, Trexler and Turrell built a large sawmill on the outskirts of town. This sequence of events covers several distinct milestones: a bridge, a historic railway extension, and two sawmill projects. Together, they offer insight into transportation and lumber-processing history without conflating the separate events. The St. Vladimir Orthodox Cemetery in Lopez also overlooks Lopez Creek and the former site of the sawmill and wood-processing operations. Here, religious tradition and the former lumber industry meet as two distinct aspects of the town’s history.

Historical Context and Remembrance

The Colley Township House in Lopez was officially designated a historic resource by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission in March 2009.

A visitor display in Lopez includes a welcome sign, a bench, five bombs spelling the word “LOPEZ,” an unmanned military drone, and an American flag. Its contents may change. The display serves as a reminder of the community’s military service during World War II. In this way, community remembrance adds another aspect of the town, alongside its religious history and evidence of earlier work and industry.

Discover more destinations: Dushore, Eagles Mere.

For the overview of the wider area: Sullivan County.