McConnells Mill Slippery Rock Creek and Falls
by Janice Pariza
Title
McConnells Mill Slippery Rock Creek and Falls
Artist
Janice Pariza
Medium
Photograph - Photography Art
Description
This image was captured on a slightly warm January day.
Slippery Rock Creek flows in a deep, winding gorge cut into flat-lying layers of bedrock.
The gorge cuts through an old drainage divide, the remnants of a ridge that once
separated streams flowing to the north from streams flowing to the south. The gorge is
deepest and narrowest near Cleland Rock on the divide and becomes progressively
shallower and wider both to the north and to the south. This is not a typical pattern
because the valleys of streams in areas of flat-lying rocks normally become progressively
shallower and wider toward their outlets.
McConnells Mill State Park is a 2,546 acres (1,030 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Perry and Slippery Rock Townships, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park features a deep scenic gorge with the restored watermill and a covered bridge at the bottom, accessible by a roadway that winds between large, room-sized boulders on the hillside. McConnells Mill State Park is along the Slippery Rock Creek just southwest of the intersection of US 422 and US 19.
McConnells Mill State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
Daniel Kennedy opened a gristmill on Slippery Rock Creek in 1852. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1868 and was quickly rebuilt. Ownership of the mill was transferred to the park's namesake, Thomas McConnell in 1875. He replaced the waterwheel with water turbines and the grindstones with rolling mills. This made McConnell's Mill one of the first rolling mills in the country. The mill processed oats, corn, buckwheat and wheat until it was closed in 1928. Ownership of the land transferred from Thomas H. Hartman to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1942. The conservancy then transferred the land to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1957 when McConnells Mill State Park was formally dedicated.
The bedrock at McConnells Mill State Park was formed over 300,000,000 years ago as layers of peat, mud and sand were compressed. This part of Pennsylvania was a coastal area at the time. The layers of bedrock were built into mountains as the continental plates shifted. The layers of bedrock had different strengths. Some of the layers eroded quickly and others eroded at a much slower pace. The various erosion rates account for the variety of geologic features at McConnells Mill State Park. The geology of the park was also heavily influenced by the glacial effects of the ice age: a large glacial lake (water that was held in place by a glacier), broke about 140,000 years ago. This break in the glacial dam caused a dramatic change in the flow of the water. The lake that had previously drained in a northward direction was now draining to the south. The drastic change in direction and very high volume of water flow created Slippery Rock Creek Gorge.
There are several trails in the park, including a pair that lead to a waterfall (with an old limestone kiln next to it). The trail system is part of the North Country Trail, the nation' longest National Scenic Trail which runs from North Dakota to New England. There are two climbing/rappelling areas. Both are only recommended for "equipped and experienced climbers". The more difficult of the two is at Breakneck Bridge.
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Uploaded
January 8th, 2019
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Comments (5)
Jan Mulherin
Congratulations!! This stunning image has been selected to be featured for the week in the “Art for Ever with You” Group Home Page. You are welcome to add a preview of this featured image to the group’s discussion post titled “2019 March: Stunning Group Featured Images and Thank-you’s” for a permanent display within the group, to share this achievement with others. Also feel free to post your feature on our group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/296998814248643/ . If the activity is allowed, your image will also be posted to Twitter. Thank you for your participation in the group! ~Jan (March 21, 2019)
Randy Rosenberger
Your excellence in your submission of this work is worthy of special recognition, and I am seeing to it, that this happens in the WFS group. I am so happy to have you as an active member of our family of friends and fine artists, who support one another by comments, likes, faves, sharing, etc. Thanks for all your efforts to make our group so special by having a fine artist like yourself among many other fine artists that make our group so special.