Frances Slocum State Park

Frances Slocum State Park
Pennsylvania State Park
Natural Monument (IUCN III)
Swampland in the park in autumn
Named for: Frances Slocum
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Luzerne
Township	Kingston
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	41°20′24″N 75°53′29″W / 41.34000°N 75.89139°W / 41.34000; -75.89139Coordinates: 41°20′24″N 75°53′29″W / 41.34000°N 75.89139°W / 41.34000; -75.89139
- elevation	1,148 ft (349.9 m) ^[1]
Area	1,035 acres (419 ha)
Founded	1968
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location of Frances Slocum State Park in Pennsylvania
Website : Frances Slocum State Park

Frances Slocum State Park is a 1,035-acre (419 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Frances Slocum Lake is a 165-acre (67 ha) man-made, horseshoe-shaped lake that is a popular fishing and boating destination. The park is 5 miles (8.0 km) from Dallas and 10 miles (16 km) from Wilkes-Barre.

History

The park is named for Frances Slocum, who was taken captive by a group of Lenape on November 2, 1778 when she was just five years old. Her family had been among the first whites to settle in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. It is believed that she escaped captivity that first night but was soon recaptured and was held for the night under a rock ledge along Abraham Creek in what is now part of Frances Slocum State Park. Frances Slocum spent the rest of her life with the Native Americans. Her brothers found her 59 years later living on an Indian Reservation near Peru, Indiana. Despite the pleadings of her brothers, Frances refused to leave her family. She had been married twice and was the mother of four children. Frances, now called "Mocanaquah" (meaning "Young Bear"), lived for the rest of her life in Indiana. She died in 1847 when she was 74 years old. Her name lives on in Indiana, where the Frances Slocum State Recreational Area and Lost Sister Trail in the Mississinewa Reservoir and State Forest are named in her memory. Her final resting place is marked with a monument along the banks of the Mississinewa River in Indiana.^[2]

Frances Slocum Lake was built to help control flooding in the North Branch Susquehanna River basin in 1968. Frances Slocum State Park was built around the dam and lake. The park became home to 280 families that were displaced by the flood created by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The park was closed to the public and was not reopened until 1974 when all the families had moved out of their temporary homes.^[2]

Recreation

Hunting and fishing

A frozen Frances Slocum Lake

About 700 acres (280 ha) of Frances Slocum State Park are open to hunting. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The common game species are squirrels, rabbits and white-tailed deer. The hunting of groundhogs is prohibited.^[2]

Frances Slocum Lake is a warm-water fishery. Fisherman can catch crappie, bluegill, walleye, muskellunge, pickerel, and smallmouth and largemouth bass from the shore, fishing pier and from electric or non-powered boats. Gasoline-powered boats are prohibited at Frances Slocum State Park.^[2]

Camping and picnicking

There are 100 campsites at Frances Slocum State Park. 15 are walk-in tent sites and 85 sites can accommodate tents or trailers. The larger sites have electric hook-ups. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. There is a modern bathhouse with showers, flush toilets and drinking water. There is a large group tenting area that has a 40 tent capacity. It is within walking distance of the main camping area and its bathhouse.^[2]

A picnic area at the park

The Park made some changes to its registration process in 2008 to accommodate a new camp store for campers. Previously, camper registration was performed at the Contact Station along the road to the campsites. That building is no longer used, and camper registration is performed at the Main Office near the entrance to the Park.

Frances Slocum State Park has several picnic areas. There are three pavilions available to rent. The picnic areas have tables, grills and charcoal disposal pits. They also have restrooms, drinking water, and garbage and recycling bins.^[2]

Trails

Frances Slocum State Park has 9 miles (14 km) of hiking trails.^[2]

Frances Slocum Trail is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) in length. It is marked with blue blazes. It begins and ends at the boat rental parking lot and passes the rock ledge where Frances Slocum was held for the first night of her captivity.^[2]
Campground Trail is 1 mile (1.6 km) in length. It is marked with white blazes. It runs from the Stony Point parking lot to the group tenting area.^[2]

Salamanders are a common sight along Lakeshore Trail

Deer Trail is 3.8 miles (6.1 km) in length at its greatest. It is marked with yellow blazes. Deer Trail has three loops. It passes the lakeshore, a thicket, a hemlock stand, a marsh and mixed and hardwood forests. This trail is used by hunters during hunting season.^[2]
Lakeshore Trail is 1.4 miles (2.3 km) in length. It is marked with red blazes and provides access to the lakeshore for hikers and fishermen.^[2]
Larch Tree Trail is 2 miles (3.2 km) in length. It is marked with orange blazes. It loops through a stand of larch trees.^[2]

Winter activities

Frances Slocum State Park is open during the winter months for ice fishing, ice skating, sledding, tobogganing, and snow mobiling.^[2]

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Frances Slocum State Park:^[3] ^[4]^[5]

Archbald Pothole State Park (Lackawanna County)
Gouldsboro State Park (Monroe and Wayne Counties)
Hickory Run State Park (Carbon County)
Lackawanna State Park (Lackawanna County)
Lehigh Gorge State Park (Carbon and Luzerne Counties)
Nescopeck State Park (Luzerne County)
Ricketts Glen State Park (Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan Counties)
Tobyhanna State Park (Monroe County)
Varden Conservation Area (Wayne County)

References

1 2 "Frances Slocum State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 30, 1990. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Frances Slocum State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
↑ "Find a Park by Region (interactive map)". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
↑ 2007 General Highway Map Luzerne County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65,000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division. Retrieved 2007-07-27. Note: shows Frances Slocum State Park
↑ Michels, Chris (1997). "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2008-04-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frances Slocum State Park.

"Frances Slocum State Park official map" (PDF). (473 KB)

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Pinchot Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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