Picture Rocks, Pennsylvania | |
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Borough | |
Heading north on US Route 220 into Picture Rocks
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Map of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania highlighting Picture Rocks |
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Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lycoming County |
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Coordinates: 41°16′48″N 76°42′42″W / 41.28000°N 76.71167°WCoordinates: 41°16′48″N 76°42′42″W / 41.28000°N 76.71167°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Lycoming |
Settled | 1848 |
Incorporated | 1857 |
Area | |
• Total | 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2) |
• Land | 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 646 ft (197 m) |
Population (2000) | |
• Total | 693 |
• Density | 740.3/sq mi (285.8/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 17762 |
Area code(s) | 570 |
FIPS code | 42-60136 |
GNIS feature ID | 1193116 |
Picture Rocks is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 693 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Picture Rocks is the birthplace of Warren Sprout, who won a gold medal at the Olympics.
Picture Rocks was incorporated as a borough on September 27, 1875 from Wolf Township, but its history began a century earlier. The earliest settlers, who arrived in 1773, observed Indian pictographs (no longer extant) in the Muncy Creek valley, and the borough occupies the site of a Munsee Indian village. Evidence of this is found in the arrowheads and other relics that have been found in the vicinity of the creek.
The first warrant for property in the Picture Rocks area was issued by the Province of Pennsylvania to Henry Rody on June 3, 1773. The land was used very little and passed through several hands until 1848 when it was sold to A. R. Sprout and Amos Burrows who went on to become the founding fathers of Picture Rocks. Sprout and Burrows worked to clear the land that was thought to be worthless of the rocks, logs and brush that covered it. They also rebuilt an abandoned sawmill and established a factory that manufactured sashes, doors, and window blinds. This factory, the first of its kind in the area, caused a stir among the local carpenters who believed that the ready made building materials would curtail their profitability. The original factory was later used by the Burrows Brothers Furniture Company before becoming the Handle and Excelsior Company. Another factory, located at the present intersection of U.S. Route 220 and Factory Street, manufactured ladders.