Slocum…Frances Slocum. Frances Who?

After leaving Elmira, I bounced my way toward Frances Slocum State Park, near Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania. I have gotten lazy with my navigation and I have been relying entirely too much on Google Maps and the voice that sounds suspiciously like Siri. After I got to the park, I pulled out a AAA map and tried to figure out where I had been. I’m still not sure, but it seems like there were some nice, smooth Interstates not too far from where I was hippity-hopping my way south.

I eventually arrived at Frances Slocum State Park. I registered and then I shimmied my Airstream into my spot. What a lovely site!

The park was beautiful, too. It was built around a man-made lake and people were out on it fishing in the autumnal sunshine.

I had electricity at my site, a good wifi signal though my hot spot and several television stations. I could have done more in the tourism realm, but I took advantage of the amenities and didn’t work too hard at seeing the sights.

I did find out some interesting information about Frances Slocum, though. When I was trying to locate the park, I Googled the name and saw listing for places in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Then it occurred to me that “Frances” was a woman’s name. How often are women honored? Oh, yes, there are your Rosa Parks Circles, Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School and Amelia Earhart Airport, but places for a person unknown to me to have places named for her in two states? I had to do some research!

It turns out that Frances Slocum was a youngster who was kidnapped in 1778 at the age of 5. She was taken from the family farm near Wilkes-Barre by three Delaware warriors. She was given to a Delaware chief and his wife who had no children. They migrated west through Niagara Falls and Detroit before settling with her Delaware family near the present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana.

She married a Miami warrior and ended up settling near Peru, Indiana, which is where her family found her in 1837. She chose to remain in Indiana, and managed to use her status as Caucasian to gain exemption from the removals that the Indians were faced with in Indiana. Through her perseverance, the people in her village were among the 148 individuals who formed the basis of the present-day Miami Nation of Indiana.

Now, this is probably quite simplified, but you get the gist of things.

It seems to me that she is being remembered in Pennsylvania for the kidnapping and remembered in Indiana for helping the Miami Nation to survive in that state.

I did zip in to Wilkes-Barre to see what I could see. I found out that the name of the city is pronounced “Wilks Berry.” I always though it was “Wilks Bahr”.

I also found out that Wilkes-Barre was laid out by a group of Connecticut settlers. I found this puzzling, until I did a bit of digging.

It turned out that King Charles II granted charters to Connecticut and Pennsylvania for the same land. Apparently, geography was not one of his strong suits.

He granted Connecticut the Wyoming Valley as part of the land grant of 1662. He included the same area in the Pennsylvania land grant of 1681. Clearly, Connecticut had reason to think they should be able to settle there. The only problem was that Pennsylvania settlers had gotten there first.

There were two Yankee-Pennemite wars. The first one was before the Revolutionary War, in 1769-1772 and then after, in 1784.

During the Revolutionary War, the British attacked the Yankee forts that had been established and they captured them. The terms of surrender was that they  would turn over the forts and weapons to the Indians fighting with the British, but would be allowed to stay on their land if they agreed not to fight against the British.

After the war, people began moving back and reestablishing themselves. A decision would have to be made about which state had the land. Congress established a court to decide the matter. After forty days of deliberation, they decided that the land belonged to Pennsylvania.

Of course, this did not settle who actually owned the farms and homes in the area. The Pennsylvania Government decided that the Connecticut people should give up their claims and move to unsettled land in Western Pennsylvania.

Well, they sent Justice Alexander Patterson and a band of Rangers and they drove the settlers from the valley by force. They compelled the settlers to leave without food or supplies and many died because of hunger and hardship. Eventually, the Pennsylvania government stepped in to restore order, but Connecticut and Vermont organized and came to the aide of the Connecticut settlers. There were skirmishes and battles, but the war was over in 1784.

The settlers became law-abiding citizens again and the Yankees from Connecticut became Pennsylvanian and were assured that their land claims would be honored.

Can you believe how much research I had to do to understand this simple roadside sign?

The next day, I had to take Cora to the vet. Luckily, I found one that could see her. Her ears were bothering her. She didn’t like it, but she cooperated. She seems to be doing better now, but I have to take her for a check up in two weeks. Who knows where I’ll be then?

After the vet visit, I decided I had to at least see Scranton. It was just a short trip up I-81.

I headed to the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron Furnace. I love that HISTORY Here app! How else would I have found it?

Unfortunately, I arrived so late that all I could see were the remains of the four massive blast furnaces.

I do love ruins, so I was happy that I came.

One thing that contributed to my enjoyment of the site was the sign explaining the rules. It was so polite and welcoming!

They didn’t use ALL CAPS and they communicated politely with their guests.

I snapped this photo from one of the excellent interpretive signs they had around the site. From what I understood, the shed was on the flat area in front of the blast furnaces. People from Buffalo will recognize these structures from Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna.

They created millions of miles of steel rails for the railroads.

The Lackawanna Railroad made it possible to move the region’s iron and coal around the country. The railroad originally ran from Scranton to Buffalo, NY and Hoboken, NJ, but mergers and acquisitions expanded its line.

This station opened in 1907 and an extra floor was added in 1923. Business was booming.

Of course, change is the only constant. By 1972 the railroad went out of business and the station was closed for 10 years.

Eventually, the building was rehabbed and it reopened as a hotel. I wish I had thought to park and look inside, but the traffic was heavy and navigating unfamiliar places with Bart, the big ass red truck, is not a pleasant task.

I decided to head home and check on Cora. The next day was a travel day, so I needed to rest up.

Next stop: Cumbola, PA.