Frances Slocum State Park
Encyclopedia
Frances Slocum State Park is a 1035 acres (418.9 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County
, Pennsylvania
, in the United States. Frances Slocum Lake is a 165 acres (66.8 ha) man-made, horseshoe-shaped lake that is a popular fishing
and boating
destination. The park is 5 miles (8 km) from Dallas
and 10 miles (16.1 km) from Wilkes-Barre
.
, 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.
Frances Slocum Lake was built to help control flood
ing 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.
About 700 acres (283.3 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 squirrel
s, rabbits
and white-tailed deer
. The hunting of groundhog
s is prohibited.
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.
. 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.
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 now used as a camp store, open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 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.
, ice skating
, sledding, tobogganing, and snow mobiling.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in the United States. Frances Slocum Lake is a 165 acres (66.8 ha) man-made, horseshoe-shaped lake that is a popular fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
destination. The park is 5 miles (8 km) from Dallas
Dallas, Pennsylvania
Dallas is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,557 at the 2000 census. It was created by a charter granted April 21, 1879 from land entirely within Dallas Township. The township had been formed in 1817 and was named for Alexander J. Dallas, who was the 6th...
and 10 miles (16.1 km) from Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
.
History
The park is named for Frances SlocumFrances Slocum
Frances Slocum was an adopted member of the Miami tribe taken from her family home by the Lenape in Pennsylvania at the age of five and raised in what is now Indiana. Her burial site is a Miami Indian shrine near Peoria, Miami County, Indiana.Frances was part of a family of early Quaker settlers...
, who was taken captive by a group of Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
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
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
near Peru, Indiana
Peru, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.5 people per square mile . There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 1,287.7 per square mile...
. 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
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. 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
Mississinewa River
The Mississinewa River is a tributary of the Wabash River in eastern Indiana and a small portion of western Ohio in the United States. It is long. Via the Wabash and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. During the War of 1812, the river was the site of the Battle of the...
in Indiana.
Frances Slocum Lake was built to help control flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing 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
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
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.
Hunting and fishing
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
s, rabbits
Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...
and white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
. The hunting of groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s is prohibited.
Frances Slocum Lake is a warm-water fishery. Fisherman can catch crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, muskellunge
Muskellunge
A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...
, pickerel
American pickerel
The American pickerels are two subspecies of Esox americanus, a species of freshwater fish in the pike family of order Esociformes: the redfin pickerel, E. americanus americanus Gmelin, 1789, and the grass pickerel, E. americanus vermiculatus Lesueur, 1846.Both subspecies are native to North America...
, and smallmouth
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
and largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
from the shore, fishing pier and from electric or non-powered boats. Gasoline powered boats are prohibited at Frances Slocum State Park.
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 tablePicnic table
A picnic table is a modified table with attached benches, designed for eating a meal outdoors .-Uses:...
. 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.
Frances Slocum State Park has several picnic areas. There are three pavilions
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
available to rent. The picnic areas have tables, grills and charcoal disposal pits. They also have restrooms, drinking water, and garbage and recycling bins.
Trails
Frances Slocum State Park has 9 miles (14.5 km) of hiking trails.- 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.
- Campground Trail is 1 miles (1.6 km) in length. It is marked with white blazes. It runs from the Stony Point parking lotParking lotA parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
to the group tenting area.
- 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 thicketThicketA thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large amounts of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in the shelter of the maternal plants.In some conditions the...
, a hemlockTsugaTsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
stand, a marshMarshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
and mixed and hardwood forests. This trail is used by hunters during huntingHuntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
season.
- 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.
- Larch Tree Trail is 2 miles (3.2 km) in length. It is marked with orange blazes. It loops through a stand of larchLarchLarches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
trees.
Winter Activities
Frances Slocum State Park is open during the winter months for ice fishingIce fishing
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.-Locations:It is a popular pastime...
, ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, sledding, tobogganing, and snow mobiling.
Nearby state parks
The following state parks are within 30 miles (48.3 km) of Frances Slocum State Park:- Archbald Pothole State ParkArchbald Pothole State ParkArchbald Pothole State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Archbald, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is Archbald Pothole. The pothole is a remnant of the Wisconsin Glacial Period, deep with a largest diameter of by . It has drawn tourists since...
(Lackawanna CountyLackawanna County, PennsylvaniaAs of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
) - Gouldsboro State ParkGouldsboro State ParkGouldsboro State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County and Lehigh Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Gouldsboro Lake. Gouldsboro State Park is located very close to Tobyhanna State Park and Pennsylvania State Game...
(MonroeMonroe County, Pennsylvania-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
and Wayne CountiesWayne County, PennsylvaniaAs of the census of 2000, there were 47,722 people, 18,350 households, and 12,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 65 people per square mile . There were 30,593 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
) - Hickory Run State ParkHickory Run State ParkHickory Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kidder and Penn Forest Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is spread across the Pocono Mountains...
(Carbon CountyCarbon County, PennsylvaniaAs of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...
) - Lackawanna State ParkLackawanna State ParkLackawanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Benton and North Abington Townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lake Lackawanna, a man-made lake, is the central focus of recreation at the park...
(Lackawanna County) - Lehigh Gorge State ParkLehigh Gorge State ParkLehigh Gorge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Luzerne and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park encompasses the Lehigh Gorge, which stretches along the Lehigh River from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam in Luzerne County to Jim Thorpe in Carbon County...
(Carbon and Luzerne Counties) - Nescopeck State ParkNescopeck State ParkNescopeck State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Butler and Dennison Townships, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is one of the newest state parks in Pennsylvania, with the Environmental Education Center there opening in April, 2005. The state began acquiring the...
(Luzerne County) - Ricketts Glen State ParkRicketts Glen State ParkRicketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. Ricketts Glen is a National Natural Landmark known for its old-growth forest and 24 named waterfalls along Kitchen Creek, which flows down the Allegheny...
(ColumbiaColumbia County, PennsylvaniaAs of the census of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
, Luzerne, and Sullivan CountiesSullivan County, PennsylvaniaSullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population is 6,428. Sullivan County was created on March 15, 1847, from part of Lycoming County and named for Charles Sullivan, leader of the Pennsylvania Senate...
) - Tobyhanna State ParkTobyhanna State ParkTobyhanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on mostly in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, with a small portion of the park in Dreher and Lehigh townships in Wayne County, all in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Tobyhanna Lake and a portion of Tobyhanna Creek...
(Monroe County) - Varden Conservation AreaVarden Conservation AreaVarden Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park on in Lake and South Canaan Townships, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The conservation area is currently under development. The land was donated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in December 2001 by Dr. Mead Shaffer a...
(Wayne County)