Monday, April 8, 2019

"The Rocks" at Picture Rocks PA

Directions - Take 220 into Picture Rocks.  Cross a small bridge, and turn right on water street.  The Rocks will be about 3 blocks back on the right.  There's pull off parking along the road on the right.

"The peculiar name - Picture Rocks - was given to the place by the early settlers, who found crude Indian pictures painted on the rocks. They have long since disappeared. These hieroglyphics attracted much attention at first and were long regarded as an object of curiosity by the whites. What they indicated no one could tell. Tradition informs us that the flat on which the town is built was once a favorite camping place for bands of Monsie Indians, and as many arrow points and other relies of the departed race were found there, such was probably the fact." History of Lycoming County by Meginness 

The pillars read "The Rocks" 

For awhile, the area was shown on google maps as "Kings Beach". That has recently been corrected.  

 From what little  I could find about the area, the park is owned by the borough.

The "no trespassing" signs refer to vehicles, you are not allowed to drive in here.  There are plastic chains down both sides to keep people from parking on the grass as well.  

To the left of the entrance road, there is an altar area and a large grassy field.  Weddings have been held here - it's much prettier in the spring and summer!


To the right is another large grass area, with picnic tables.


We visited last winter when huge blocks of ice had broken up and "landed" along the beach.



Unrelated side note - 
Borough resident John Wesley Little achieved regional fame for his watercolor landscapes and images of rural farms and animals. His studio/home is located along Water Street. His original paintings are highly sought after at local auctions.  Read more about him here - 
 https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/02/john-wesley-little-artist-from-picture.html


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8 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking the time to do this! I grew up in Picture Rocks and always swam down at the swimming hole at The Rocks. Brings back nice memories!

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  2. The image titled "THE ROCKS - seeing them at night" is from a postcard?
    Is the postcard Available for sale? Would like to get a higher resolution image if possible!

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  3. Where did you get the image of the "the rocks at night" postcard?

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    1. Most likely I found it on ebay or a post card or auction site - that is where I find most of these old post cards.. but I have no idea where you could buy it now. An idea is to right click on it and save the photo, then upload it to a google reverse image search - it may show up in an auction or sale that way. In my experience, google reverse image searches are... hit and miss. Sometimes they have great results, other times, it doesn't come close to matching the photo.

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    2. Thank you Heather! I did find an image of this postcard (one very similar) in the State Archive in Harrisburg. Also found the Picture Rocks park yesterday, Took some good pictures and had a nice picnic lunch! Regards, JRF

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    3. Heading up there now for a road trip. We wondered how it got it's name. Thanks for your info. Hoping the little bar is still open for lunch. Cheers

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  4. My family, Walters live/lived in Picture Rocks for a very long time. Great memories from the area.

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  5. This is explained in detail in chapter 8 of my latest book titled Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks - Volume 1, published by Sunbury Press. Available through the publisher or on Amazon.

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I'll read the comments and approve them to post as soon as I can! Thanks for stopping by!