SLIPPERY ROCK CREEK, McCONNELLS MILL STATE PARK

McConnells Mill State Park spans 2,546 acres of the spectacular Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. Slippery Rock Creek is 49 miles long and full of slippery rocks, yet is named for one exceptionally slick rock below the Armstrong Bridge. It is believed that an Indian trail forded the creek at a shelf of sandstone near a natural oil seep, which made the rock exceptionally slippery, and gave its name to the creek, a town, a university, a rock formation, and many local businesses. During the late 1800s, oil wells briefly flourished in the valley, but the oil was swiftly invaded by groundwater and the wells were abandoned. The oil wells drained the oil seep and the Slippery Rock is no longer covered in oil. ***Description courtesy of DCNR