Raccoon Creek State Park
Encyclopedia
Raccoon Creek State Park is a 7572 acres (3,064.3 ha) Pennsylvania state park on Raccoon Creek
in Hanover
and Independence
townships in Beaver County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States. The park is about 30 miles (48.3 km) from the city of Pittsburgh
, near Hookstown
. Raccoon Creek State Park is easily accessed from Pennsylvania Route 18
and U.S Routes 30
and 22
. The park offers numerous activities such as hiking, biking, cross-country skiing
, camping, swimming, fishing
, and boating, the last three at the 101 acres (40.9 ha) "Raccoon Lake."
Raccoon Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
health resort. Frankfort Minerals Springs was the site of a natural mineral spring
. It was founded by Edward McGinnis in the mid-19th century. He believed that the mineral spring waters held curative powers. McGinnis built his resort atop a hill in what is now Raccoon Creek State Park. Visitors to the resort walked down steps to the springs. The resort was very prosperous. At one time it featured a hotel
, dance hall
, livery stable and numerous guest cottages. Frankfort Mineral Springs closed during the first part of the 20th century.
during the Great Depression
. Its earliest buildings, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps
in 1935, are split between four areas: three group camps and a headquarters/maintenance complex. Built in the National Park Service Rustic
style, these buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1987 as a historic district
; a total of 114 buildings and structures
qualified as contributing properties
. The district was added to the Register for several significant reasons: besides their distinctive architecture and their role as parts of a recreational area, the buildings reflect the federal government's attempts to resolve the poverty of the Depression through political means
.
. Trails lead through a variety of habitats like oak-hickory forest, pine plantations, woodland meadows, and flood plain forest along Raccoon Creek. Wildflowers can be observed throughout the growing season with peak wildflower blooms occurring in late April and August. Because of its uniqueness and to preserve the many wildflower species, the Reserve is closed to all activities other than hiking on designated trails. Pets are prohibited in the Reserve.
ecoregion
.
s spread among 5 picnic areas at Raccoon Creek State Park. Five pavilion
s are available to rent or if unrented are available on a first come, first served basis.
Raccoon Lake is open for year round fishing. The common game fish are bullhead catfish, bluegill
, yellow perch
, crappie
, walleye
, muskellunge
, and both large
and smallmouth bass
. Raccoon Lake's feeder streams are stocked
with brook
and rainbow trout
by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
. These fish can also be found in the lake.
Hunting
is permitted on over 5000 acres (2,023.4 ha) of Raccoon Creek State Park. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission
. The common game species are ruffed grouse
, squirrels
, turkey
, pheasant
s, white-tailed deer
, and rabbits
. The hunting of groundhog
s is forbidden.
Raccoon Creek (Beaver County, Pennsylvania)
Raccoon Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States.Raccoon Creek joins the Ohio River upstream of the borough of Industry. The creek is not located within Raccoon Creek State Park, but flows outside park boundaries...
in Hanover
Hanover Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Hanover Township is a township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,529 at the 2000 census.-History:Two historic sites in Hanover Township are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the David Littell House, a nineteenth-century farmhouse, and the...
and Independence
Independence Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Independence Township is a township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,802 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...
townships in Beaver County
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 181,412 people, 72,576 households, and 50,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 418 people per square mile . There were 77,765 housing units at an average density of 179 per square mile...
, 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. The park is about 30 miles (48.3 km) from the city of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, near Hookstown
Hookstown, Pennsylvania
Hookstown is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 152 at the 2000 census.-History:Hookstown was the birthplace of Robert Justice...
. Raccoon Creek State Park is easily accessed from Pennsylvania Route 18
Pennsylvania Route 18
Pennsylvania Route 18 is a major north–south highway in Western Pennsylvania whose southern terminus is at the West Virginia state line in Greene County, Pennsylvania near the village of Garrison, while the northern terminus is at PA Route 5 in Lake City, Pennsylvania...
and U.S Routes 30
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...
and 22
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22 is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 near the Newark Liberty International Airport.US 22 also carries the names of the William...
. The park offers numerous activities such as hiking, biking, cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, camping, swimming, 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, the last three at the 101 acres (40.9 ha) "Raccoon Lake."
Raccoon Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 117 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and...
(DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
Health resort
Raccoon Creek State Park is located on the site of a former Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
health resort. Frankfort Minerals Springs was the site of a natural mineral spring
Mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value...
. It was founded by Edward McGinnis in the mid-19th century. He believed that the mineral spring waters held curative powers. McGinnis built his resort atop a hill in what is now Raccoon Creek State Park. Visitors to the resort walked down steps to the springs. The resort was very prosperous. At one time it featured a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
, livery stable and numerous guest cottages. Frankfort Mineral Springs closed during the first part of the 20th century.
Recreational Demonstration Area
Along with two other Pennsylvania state parks, Raccoon Creek State Park was established as a Recreational Demonstration AreaRecreational Demonstration Area
The Recreational Demonstration Area program was a National Park Service program during the 1930s and early 1940s that built forty-six public parks in twenty-four states on , chiefly near urban areas in the United States...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Its earliest buildings, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
in 1935, are split between four areas: three group camps and a headquarters/maintenance complex. Built in the National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
style, these buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1987 as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
; a total of 114 buildings and structures
Property type (National Register of Historic Places)
The U.S. National Register of Historic Places classifies its listings by various types of properties. Listed properties generally fall into one of five categories, though there are special considerations for other types of properties which do not fit into these five broad categories or fit into...
qualified as contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
. The district was added to the Register for several significant reasons: besides their distinctive architecture and their role as parts of a recreational area, the buildings reflect the federal government's attempts to resolve the poverty of the Depression through political means
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
.
Park
Raccoon Creek State Park has continued to develop from its beginning in the 1930s to one of the largest state parks in Pennsylvania. Facilities at the park are a mix from the early camp to modern facilities. In addition to recreational areas, there are large tracts of undeveloped land. Scenes for the film The Road were filmed at the park in the spring of 2008.Wildflower Reserve
The 314-acre Wildflower Reserve, located at the eastern section of Raccoon Creek State Park, contains one of the most diverse stands of wildflowers in western Pennsylvania. Over 700 species of plants have been identified in the Reserve. Trails lead through a variety of habitats like oak-hickory forest, pine plantations, woodland meadows, and flood plain forest along Raccoon Creek. Wildflowers can be observed throughout the growing season with peak wildflower blooms occurring in late April and August. Because of its uniqueness and to preserve the many wildflower species, the Reserve is closed to all activities other than hiking on designated trails. Pets are prohibited in the Reserve.
Environment
Raccoon Creek State Park lies within the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forestsAppalachian mixed mesophytic forests
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests are an ecoregion of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Setting:...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
.
Recreation
There are about 500 picnic tablePicnic table
A picnic table is a modified table with attached benches, designed for eating a meal outdoors .-Uses:...
s spread among 5 picnic areas at Raccoon Creek State Park. Five pavilion
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...
s are available to rent or if unrented are available on a first come, first served basis.
Raccoon Lake is open for year round fishing. The common game fish are bullhead catfish, 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:...
, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, 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...
, 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...
, and both large
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...
and smallmouth bass
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...
. Raccoon Lake's feeder streams are stocked
Fish stocking
Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or the ocean to supplement existing populations, or to create a population where none exists...
with brook
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
and rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is the state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
. These fish can also be found in the lake.
Hunting
Hunting
Hunting 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...
is permitted on over 5000 acres (2,023.4 ha) of Raccoon Creek State Park. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission
Pennsylvania Game Commission
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is the state agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management in Pennsylvania in the United States...
. The common game species are ruffed grouse
Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...
, squirrels
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...
, turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
, pheasant
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
s, 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...
, and 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:...
. 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 forbidden.
Nearby state parks
The following state parks are within 30 miles (48.3 km) of Raccoon Creek State Park:- Beaver Creek State ParkBeaver Creek State ParkBeaver Creek State Park is a Ohio state park in Columbiana County, Ohio in the United States. The park is near East Liverpool on the banks of Little Beaver Creek. It is open for year round recreation including, camping, boating, hunting, fishing and hiking. Historic remnants of the Sandy and...
(OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
) - Guilford Lake State Park (Ohio)
- Hillman State ParkHillman State ParkHillman State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Hanover Township, Washington County in the United States. It is about west of Pittsburgh. The park opened in the late 1960s and has been managed for hunting by the Pennsylvania Game Commission since the early 1980s. The park also has hiking,...
(Washington CountyWashington County, Pennsylvania-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
) - Point State ParkPoint State ParkPoint State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River....
(Allegheny CountyAllegheny County, PennsylvaniaAllegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...
) - Tomlinson Run State ParkTomlinson Run State ParkTomlinson Run State Park sits on along the small Ohio River tributary of the same name. The Hancock County park may be the only place in West Virginia that offers overnight accommodations in a yurt....
(West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
)