Frances Slocum State Park
| Frances Slocum State Park | |
| Pennsylvania State Park | |
 Swampland in the park in autumn
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| Named for: Frances Slocum | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Luzerne |
| Township | Kingston |
| Location | |
| - elevation | 1,148 ft (349.9 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°20′24″N 75°53′29″W / 41.34000°N 75.89139°WCoordinates: 41°20′24″N 75°53′29″W / 41.34000°N 75.89139°W |
| Area | 1,035 acres (419 ha) |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Management | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
| IUCN category | III - Natural Monument |
 Location of Frances Slocum State Park in Pennsylvania
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| Website: Frances Slocum State Park | |
Frances Slocum State Park is a 1,035-acre (419 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Frances Slocum Lake is a 165-acre (67 ha) man-made, horseshoe-shaped lake that is a popular fishing and boating destination. The park is 5 miles (8.0 km) from Dallas and 10 miles (16 km) from Wilkes-Barre.
The park is named for Frances Slocum, 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 flooding 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.
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