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(since 12/2007)
Rock Point Park News [copyright 2007 - 2008]
Bruce Draganjac
Baden, PA
54 years old
wife Judy
Have been interested in the area since a young man. So glad to have had the opportunity to explore the area and imagine what used to be!
Thank you for taking the time to create a site dedicated to Rock Point. I have lived in Ellwood my whole life, as have my parents, and I have never had the opportunity to visit this beautiful park until looking through your site today. I live a mere 3 miles from Rock Point, maybe now I can go exploring there myself.
Earlier today I emailed you a photo of my ancestors who held a family reunion there. This past summer they celebrated the 100th annual reunion.
I look forward to knowing and seeing more. I also hope that I can join in on your meeting in Jan/Feb
My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Rock Point Park this past summer and many found memories were awakened from the stories my grandfather, the late William G. Strouse, would tell while we were training his beagles after walking from Park Avenue down behind the Ellwood City Forge and across the train tresle to the Park in the early 1950′s. My grandmother, the late Agnes (Lemerie) Strouse also worked at a concession in the Park. A souvenir from her concession at the Park is pictured on the artifacts page (the little green & gold glass box). One of my favorite stories was how my Grandfather and his hooligan friends would all go swimming at the Park and then sneak up and help themselves to other peoples lunchs left on the picnic tables.
This is fantastic that such a project would be started. I remember my grandparents telling me about the park and the train excursions to it. Keep up the good work. Lookng forward to coming to the meeting Jan/Feb
Thanks for stopping by, Tracie, Patrick, Peggy, and Bob! It’s so exciting for me to see folks enjoying the information we’ve put up here. I hope you’ll visit often!
Hello,
Wanted to say that I love your site on Rock Point and want to add this little bit of info.
I lived in the house still standing at 508 College in Ellwood City and it was the womens comfort station at Rock Point.
I don’t know when or how it was moved to its present location. Ride by and you will immediately recognize it as such.
Also the Mens station was on Glen Ave but was torn down for the new 5th street bridge.
Thanks again for the great web site
Thanks, Chuck! I’ll have to check that out. The story I had heard was that the Women’s Cottage was torn down for the 5th St bridge. This is exciting! I’ll have to take some pictures of it to share. Thanks again!
I grew up in the Ellwood City area and have heard stories of Rock Point Park for many years. I am excited to hear that it is getting some attention locally and would love to know more about it. I will check it out on the first warm day, if someone can give me more specific directions to the entry road itself…
Hi Kregg! Thanks for writing!
I emailed you with specific directions.
Happy trails!
Hello Bruce.
Just curious to see if you had been able to check out the house yet.
very possible that it could have been one or the other. You know how things go as the info is passed on and on.
Another thing I remember is my Grandfather telling me about riding the train from pittsburgh to the park as I was growing up. I would listen to him telling of the roller coaster and chutes and dances later in the day.
He was a photographer but that was back in the days of glass plate negatives and unfortunately no pictures remain. Probably his equipment wasn’t portable either.
enough for now. Hope to meet you someday and pass along tales and stories and knowledge.
Haven’t had a chance to get up there again yet… with the Holidays and all. But, I will soon.
I’d love to hear more about your Grandfather’s stories of the park. Please share more as you can. Thanks!
Hi Bruce;
I ordered a hat and got it in time for Christmas.It is now the hat of choice and I hope others will see it and also purchase products. We need to publicize your efforts
Bob Stevenson
Thanks, Bob! I really appreciate your kind words. Quite a few people ordered items in the last couple weeks. It does my heart good to know that others are as passionate about Rock Point Park as I am (speaking for the whole team)!
I am 24 years old, and I grew up living in a now abandoned house by Rock Point and playing in these woods until I was 14/15 and had no idea all this was there until a few years ago. This site has really giving me a perspective on what was really there all those years ago, this also answers alot of questions about oddly shaped rocks I’d seen for years. Thank you for all of your time and effort.
The people I’ve met through this project have been such wonderful folks! Reminiscing over days gone by brings so many good things about; ideas, memories, personalities long forgotten. The wealth of those who have contributed is irreplaceable! Rock Point Park was a great place to visit in antiquity, it seems it’s even better to experience all over again in this modern, busy world.
Thanks for doing such a thorough job; Virginia Lash was a great source of information, and I know Pat Shoaf of the ECAHS was also helpful.
Your site makes me homesick to have been there when it was in full swing (think Bridey Murphy?). What a treasure for future Ellwoodians!
This Site Is So Interesting. My Parents & Grandparents Lived In EllwoodCity All There Lives . Wish They Were Here To See This.Keep Up The Good Work.
Thank you for a wonderful site. I was lucky to have belonged to a scout group who had permission to use the area in the mid-fifties. We had a great time exploring and I continued to take walks through the park until the boat club was started. My Grandfather was a carpenter and told stories of work at the site. One, in particular, was when he was asked to repair damage from a fire in a small concession building and found between the the wall studs some stolen articles that were taken in an Ellwood robbery. AS a child,itt was a thrill to find the stone lined gravel paths that meandered through the park along with the remains of fountains , shoot the shoots, the wishing well, dump sites with carnival glass and other interesting finds. Your site has help me to relive that experience.
Bruce and company,
Thanks for the link to this fascinating website. As a local history buff, I have often wondered what activities may have occurred in that beautiful river valley when I drove over the Ellwood-Koppel bridge. Didn’t know there was a “trolley park” in the area until I saw it on the web. Plan to take a a drive and hike around the site in the near future. Keep up the good work. I will return to the website often to see what other history you and your crew unearth. Thanks again.
Thanks Gabriel, Judy, Joann, Rodney, Jim, and Jef for taking time to stop by and say hello. Your kind comments are an encouragement to the team. As warmer weather comes, I hope we can all get together and tour the property. And don’t forget, the Meet & Greet is coming up. It would be wonderful to see you all there!
Bruce
My great grandparents owned the Matheny Tavern in Rock Point, the correct spelling is Matheny with an A. My Mom used to tell us stories about her parents meeting there, have a few pictures. It is nice to know that everyone has not forgotten. I have a lot of geneology stories about there also. There were presidents and poets who passed through the inn. I have shared with my family over the years. President Garfield I believe almost drowned and Grandma Matheny helped retore him to health he was only 15 at the time.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to get the link from my little sister Tracie!
I’ve been very interested in finding out all I could about the park for years now. It’s great to see there are others that share my interest.
Myself and a very good friend Dana Darche, a past Ellwood resident, spent hours searching the net for anything we could find on Rock Point.
Sorry to say we didn’t come up with as much info as we would have liked.
We did manage to purchase some old postcards from ebay and would love to share them. Dana still lives in Florida but I have moved back home and live in Ellport.
I also was with the scouts with Jim Hardie and was fortunate enough to have spent time down there. I also fished, hunted and boated down there.
It’s a beautiful place and it’s a shame more people don’t know it’s even there.
Thanks for your efforts and if I can be of any assistance please let me know.
Dave Haswel, just e-mailed me the link to the Rock Point Park site, I grew up on Line Ave and never knew the park was there until I found it in a History of Ellwood City 1892-1942 that my mother had given me after I had already moved away from the area. Dave and I collected some post cards which are beautiful and I was fortunate that my sister set up a tour of the park on my next trip home.by Mr. Merle Shilling, which was fabulous.
Look forward to reading the information and seeing the park again on my next visit.
Glad the park and all all the memories are being preserved for the future generations.
Thanks for all the hard work
Hi Bruce
I want you to know how much I enjoyed your website.Looking at the pictures I never realized how besutiful it is down there.Having been there on my metal detecting excursions,I missed the beauty of the woods,trees ,rocks and stairways that are still there. As soon as the weather permits,Iwant to take a stroll thru there and get a new view of everything.Keep up the good work.
Sincerely
Mollie Mazzant
Thank you Rosemary, Dana, David, and Mollie for visiting, and for your kind comments. I love what’s happening here. So many folks with a common love for Rock Point Park history are coming together, joining into the conversation, contributing their insights… adding value to the effort. I’m so glad this can be a place of sharing!
Very informative website! I am very much interested in the history of Rock Point Park and hope to attend Friday evening. Thanks.
Joe Cearfoss
Hi Bruce!
I grew up 1/4 mile down road from Rock Point entrance and still live in same area. Took many walks down that road to the boat club. NEVER knew much about the layout of the park……thanks for your research!!
Thank you for all your hard work. This story will always remain a part of our family history also. I’ve always thought of Rock Point as part of my backyard and have ridden my horses through every inch in fact the Rock Point Boat Club Sign sits on my property now, will have to make time to locate all the old glass bottles I have found in the 60′s and 70′s . Again thank you.
Bruce,
I really thought that our get together with all of the Rock Pointers went really well. It was incredible to meet people who have been to the park and appreciate its history, and meeting some who knew people who went there when the park was open was really something. Seeing “The Saw” was a special treat that I’ll not forget. (I wonder who had the winning raffle ticket?)
I look forward to any events or get togethers in the future. It would be nice to see the Rock Pointers again.
What a fantastic evening we had with the “Meet and Greet” No one wanted to leave! Several people asked if we are going to do this again..what a great idea. I learn something new everytime I talk to someone and love to hear stories – especially about someone that worked there.
That is a glorious way to spend an afternoon hiking through the park – quiet, serene and yet exciting..esoecially when Merle is there because he knows every inch of what “used to be” plus every flower. I have been there both spring and fall and don’t know which is my favorite
Thanks, Bruce and Judy and all who helped for all your work and for last Friday. Looking forward to another meeting.
Hello Bruce.
Enjoyed the meet and greet. good to meet you and others. I hope we can get together again soon and keep us updated on the spring event at the park
Thanks again
Bruce, I really enjoyed the Meet and Greet at the Ellwood City Historical Society. As I told you, my parents and I used to walk there when I was very young. I remember that there was a picket fence and stairs down the river bank onto docks that the boat club had there. I always loved to walk there. A friend and I used to go there all the time to try to find where things used to be located. Your web site has been a real help in knowing whre to look for any remenants. I also am a good friend of Mr. Schilling and I love to go there with him and hear his many stories. Thanks again.
Hey Bruce!
Im loving the new info and photo’s! And I wouldnt be one bit surprised if you did indeed hear the band playing as you stood on the ledge!
The winter scene photo’s are gorgeous!
Bruce,
I looked at the recent tape of the park area in this site. It is amazing that except for the modifications near the Boat Club, there is really no change in the rest of the park from when I first was there with the scouts in November of 1957. I was 11 at the time and it certainly was exciting to explore. That was over 50 years ago and I remember seeing the same items as on your tape. I believe that everyone who has walked through that area in the last 50 years has been careful to leave it as they found it in respect for the living history it represents. One note – along the cliff on the Beaver side of the upper park, There are little overhangs that in the 50′s were used by hobos to sleep and cook food. We saw several at that time.
Bruce, still waiting for a reply about the surveyers that are redoing rockpointpark and who can get involved because he said the current map is off by as many as 283 feet, had a lot of negative responses about the waterways con., and what they think they own. I forsee trouble if someone doesn.t get involved now. Hope I’m overreacting but they were digging in my yard without permission and were very rude. See you 3/28?
i grew up in ellwood and have always i had a thing for the stories of rock point it still feel’s more like a mythical fairtale to me… maybe even more so now being i live in the middle of the state.. i was looking up stuff on the internet and decided to see if there was anything about rock point on the internet and came to find out the it is open to the public to go exploring… wow so then i went farther and got to see all the wounderful pictures that are posted and the walk through taping to.. all’s i can say is thank u so much and know i am looking foward to getting home to take a walk through the woods one day…
Hey!
I had a great time today touring Rock Point with Bruce & Brian and crew!
It really was a great day for this… and I found that the pictures on the site mean so much more to me now having actually been there!
Thank you so much for taking the time to guide us Bruce. If possible, I’d love to do it again!
Sincerely,
Tracie L. Haswell
Hello:
We were glad the rain held off & it turned into a nice tour day.
Thanks Bruce for You & your Friend Brian for the wonderful, enlightning Tour. I enjoyed visiting with all.
It was nice to meet Joe Cearfoss and his family as well as Tracie Haswell. After growing up for 15 yrs. of my life on Matheny property I was happy to be enlightened on the park.
What a nice Group.
Sorry forgot the Boys name.
It was too short but had a great Time.
Thanks for all your hard work on this Project.
This was a Treat for me & my friend Lynn..
Will have to go again. Would like to go further on the walks you mentioned.
Sincerely
Jean & Lynn
Bruce,
Very nice site you have put together here. I am 34 years old and have been going to Rock Point pretty much my whole life. My step father is an absolute RP fanatic and put together a scrapbook for the park years ago when I was in high school. He has photos of where rides were and where they are now. I really enjoyed watching your video! I have been fishing this area for yearsand I don’t think people realize the smallmouth fishery that we have here. There is one thing that scares me though. I know that the Boat Club Members and the WWC know what a treasure we have in Rock Point. We will follow rules be respectable to our suroundings. These arent the people that worry me. One only needs to go on the Park Gate side to see the trash that people leave. I fear that the road leading down to the river will soon be a DUMP spot for people I’ve seen this down at the road were the old treatment plan was located. Alot of people don’t care about keeping our waterways clean from trash. I wish I had known about the clean up effort erlier this year. I hope I am wrong about the statements that I have made about the dumping of trash and time will only tell if if I am wrong or right. One thing that I do know for sure is that the reason that this place has stayed this nice for so long was the fact that only Club Members had access. Please feel free to email me if you would know of any other clean up efforts along the Connie! I know just last week I fished from the treatment plant up to the Ewing Park Bridge and seen about 10 tires, 2 bikes, broken beer bottles, and a Hot Water tank just to name a few. That was only near the creek bed. up along the hillside along that stretch I could fill up a Legal Pad list of things scattered along the hillside….I would also like to pose a question. Now with the gate opened to the public who will police the the roadway down to the creek? The Township, Boat Club, DCNR? This is a very important question that needs to be answered if we are to continue to enjoy the beauty and history that Rock Point has to offer. Sorry for the mini Rant but I have enjoyed this place my whole life and now my children enjoy going there. LETS KEEP ROCK POINT BEAUTIFUL!
The postcard of the waterfall that you guys list as unidentified I beleive is Buttermilk Falls. If you walk the trainbed towards Chewton 2 miles. It will be on the right hand side of the tracks. This is the runoff of the small stream that starts behind Rod and Gun club.
Thanks for writing, Ryan. I appreciate your concerns about protecting the park. I guess, as good stewards, we just have to be better about cleaning up the trash than they are at dumping it. When I’m on the property, I always carry a plastic shopping bag with me so that I can gather up any trash I come across. I know it’s not much, but I almost always come out with several items… beer cans, candy wrappers, etc. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone littering, but I guess not everyone holds themselves to a civilized standard.
I’ll have to check out Buttermilk Falls. Thanks for the tip!
Back in the late 50′s and early 60′s .I at the time was 8 years old till around 13 .I cut the grass for this women .She was in her 80′s .She never married .After I cut the grass out came the lemon aid and stories of her many trips to when she was a young girl ..She would tell me stories of Rock Point along with tons of pictures and other things she saved from the old Park .She also loved the ferns that grew there and still and are still there . .I went with my dad and my uncle to Rock Point before there was a Boat Club late 50′s .I have been a member of the Boat Club for many years and live only a couple of miles from Rock Point .Sadly the Park I knew will soon be no more !Awesome site thank you .
The previous comment was made by my Step Father!!!!!!
Thanks for the great historical work! My grandparents used to talk about Rock Point Park and going dancing there.
When I was 11-15 in the mid to late 50′s, my friends an I used to spend a great deal of time in the woods at Rock Point. We lived in Koppel and used to cross the Beaver River on the “dingy” bridge (an old narrow-guage train bridge just north of the Koppel-Ellwood City bridge), slide down an embankment, and walk along the railroad tracks, eventually crossing the train bridge over the Connoquenessing to Rock Point.
From your photos, nothing seems to have changed much, except for the walking bridge over the Connoquenessing. Back then it was a set of rusty arches with some metalic cross pieces. I remeber my one friend saying that he had crossed it and dared us to cross it ourselves. It looked pretty scary and, thank heavens, we didn’t.
The stream from Buttermilk Falls went through a concrete tressel under the train tracks. I remember playing in the water on several occasions.
There also was another park called Buttermilk Falls (different Buttermilk Falls) in Koppel near the stone quarry towards the Beaver River. My father used to talk of swimming and having picnics there whe he was young.
Just visited Rock Point park with a friend of mine (Dana) who used to live in Ellwood City. She had a family reunion last week and transported various relatives down the rocky road!~They made it!
When she mentioned it to me, I just had to go. What a picture-postcard place to visit. It is a very well kept secret. I plan to visit again.
Great site!
We’ve enjoyed looking at it tonight; enjoyed the photos, history, etc.
My husband is descended from Moses Matheny (we spell ours MEtheny) too.
FYI:
The info. I have states that Moses Matheny obtained a Land Patent in Harrisburg, PA issued by Gov. Thomas McKean in 1804. His farm contained nearly 1500 acres including part of present Ellwood
City, Park Gate, and Rock Point and the old homestead on Ellwood City and Wampum Road.
Do you have a mailing list we can sign up for? We’d love to get more involved.
THANKS!
A terrific site for information regarding this once beautiful park. Personally I can’t wait to walk the grounds since my grandfather ran the “Shoot the Chutes” ride and my grandmother took tickets in the dance hall. There is a lot of our family history there!
I found you by reading the article in the Beaver Co. Times online.
I think your website, research and dedication are such an asset to everyone in the area. Or even to those of us now reside elsewhere. I never knew of Rock Point Park but as a kid I swam in Connequenessing frequently. I am so very interested in the cause. Thank you again.
What a great site you have! I read the article in the Times. I have passed the sign for years and always wondered how much was left. I am a history buff and am interested in how things were around here long ago, as my father’s house sits basically on top of the site of the old coal town of Keeley. I would love to do the same thing with the town. You’ve proven to be a great inspiration for me to go walk around in the woods behind my house.
Bruce,
Very interesting. I never appreciated all the history of the area growing up there. We’re going to try to visit the park before summer ends.
Rich
Wow, very impressive website! Your passion to unearth the details of Rock Point Park is admirable. It’s obvious that you put serious time and energy into your research. I usually check the headlines in the Beaver County Times each morning which is where I stumbled upon the link. Once I started, I couldn’t stop until I covered every inch of it! My husband and I have been members of the boat club for many years. It is without doubt a very beautiful place. I’d heard some stories about it but never in the detail revealed in the website.
My sincere thanks to the entire team for their effort to uncover and share pieces of history that would otherwise be left buried in time. Truly enjoyable reading! I will forward the link to others with hope that it will eventually reach someone that can provide you with additional information.
I look forward to learning more and perhaps becoming involved with contributing to this remarkable website.
Cyndi
I have always wanted to visit this site as I have heard my father and mother talk about it years ago. I left Ellwood City 38 years ago but still return every year during the Labor Day holiday. This year I intend to visit this beautiful area.
Just finished reading the Ledger and had to check out your website. Planning a trip to Rock Point with our neighbor who is 102! He still remembers Rock Point and early Ellwood. Keep up the GREAT work and informative site.
This site is awesome! I have drove past RPBC for years on my way to work and never knew what existed beyond the dirt path!
This is such a nice site. It is so sad something like this park couldn’t be revived. Thanks for your time and effort in putting this site together.
Congratulations on a stunning and superb bit of work and research on Rock Point Park. I grew up in Ellwood 1942-1965 and was always fascinated about that place and the mystery and history of those old ruins. I remember my mother telling me what she had heard of it although she would have been too young, having been born in 1922. I once “trespassed” and went down there with a few buddies in the late 50s and we saw some of the old stone foundations. I also lived across Crescent Avenue from Mattie Kane, an elderly woman whom the Ledger interviewed in the 1980’s and she told how proud she was back in the early 1900s when she won the dance contest at Rock Point Park and “beat those Pittsburgh girls.”
Your website brings it alive in every way, visually, historically, and emotionally. Makes you kind of think of what might have been and how Ellwood might have been different had the park survived. I have emailed news of your website to several friends so I hope its fame will spread.
I am now a librarian in Greenwich, Connecticut but still follow news of Ellwood. Actually, I was Googling Rock Point Park when I stumbled upon your website. You have done all of us Ellwoodians a favor.
Nice job with the website and research. Must have been a “labor of love.”
My grandparents, Addison and Mabel Caldwell use to tell me stories about the Park. My grandmother was about age 94 when the Ledger interviewed her about the Park in the late 1980′s. She was about 94 at the time.
This place is amazeing! I cant wait to explore itim36years old and never heard of it and lived in beaver county my whole life.These woods would make an awsome disc golf course! if you never heard of disc golf just check out the clubs website pfds.org IT stands for pittsburgh flying disc society.the course at moraine state park is considerd the crown jewel of disc golf courses in the mid-atlantic and some say in the whole country. The pros just ramp and rave over it. this place i think could be the grandaddy of disc golf ! i understand u want to keep the land natural disc golf would not harm the woods.that was the big issue with moraine state park had with the idea.the only thing u leave behind u at moraine is your footsteps. we have a carry in carry out policy. the park will not tolarate litter bugs and our club dosent either.if litter happend there moraine would abolish our course .the park claims the disc golf course is one of the greatest gifts that ever happened there.any questions or comments email me at cores4pitt@yahoo.com or the club at http://www.pfds.org
I work just down the river at Geneva College. Thanks for this great website and historical information.
My father spoke of this park many times when I was a child, even though he never saw it operating (he was born in 1911). His parents went there many times. Dad & I once walked along the tracks from the Koppel Bridge to the park and I recall seeing what was left of the iron bridge across the Connie Creek. I have often wondered about the history of the area. Now, thanks to this website and the CCW making the area open to the public, I will be able to stoll through history and see this area for myself .
You have done a wonderful job of compiling historical info about Rock Point Park. Thanks for a job well done.
Bruce,
Magnificent job with your Rock Point Park website. I have lived in EC my whole life and always wanted to learn more about the park. Recently, I drove down and walked around near the railroad bridge, and thought to myself, this doesn’t look all that big. I later went home and discovered your website, and realized just how vast the park was. The present day aerial view of the land, with the landmarks superimposed on it was a tremendous way to help me visualize the enormity of the Park. I plan on doing some more hiking and exploring in the future. Once again, “Wonderful Job”!
Also, for the meet and greet on Aug 30th, where should you park? Up above on the Wampum Rd. and walk down? Or all the way down by the Creek? Please get back to me.
Bruce.
Sorry to hear of your decision to abandon the site. You did such a great job that lots of us who never knew the history and just where everything was located were astounded. I’m going to try to print what pictures I can of this site before it goes down. Thanks again for your wonderful piece of local history. It wa a pleasure to meet you and I will keep my hat to pass onto to my children.
Bob
Sorry, I just wanted to thank you for a very professional site about an interesting era of Ellwood City history. Your time and effort have been well spent and it is a shame that more people didn’t participate in your efforts. Thanks for a great year! Jim
Thanks Bob and Jim. I doubt that the Rock Point Park website will go away. It’s only the newsletter that won’t be available after some point. It piggybacks on the main site though, so I might just leave it here and not do any updates.
Bruce,
Thanks for all your hard work. I took my wife Lisa to the park today and we had a great time. I enjoyed showing her all of the locations and areas of note. Please keep up the good work. Sorry to see the newsletter going down but I hope you keep the web site running. I plan on using it in my Western Pa. History class that I teach at Lincoln High School in Ellwood.
Thanks so much again,
Rob Brough
Hey Bruce, great site my wife Sandy and I would both like to thank you for all your hard work. Rock Point is one of our favorite ends when kayaking down the creek and we both love old tyme places and ruins like those found here. Please drop us a line next time you tour people around the park we’d be very interested in joining you. All the best in 2009.
This site is wonderful, I am an Aide for Third Grade at Hartman School, Our class is doing a project about the history of Ellwood City. I have enjoyed sharing the info you have on this old park. The kids loved looking at the pics of the old buildings and the water ride. Sorry to hear the site will be closing. Thanks for the great insight. Jan. 14, 09
This is a fantastic site. Even though the newsletter is shutting down I hope the website remains. This glimpse of local history is priceless. I will be visiting the park when the weather warms.
Hi,
I am the son-in-law of the owners of Rock Point Farm. I’d be interested in talking with you for a few minutes on ways to keep this site running. What a great site, it would be a shame to see it taken down.
Please feel free to email me if you are interested in talking –
Thanks!
Geoff
This site was one of the things that really got me excited about the history of the general area. I had collected pictures of Ellwood City but seeing the fantastic job Bruce does here inspired me. To see the pictures of yesteryear compared to today is exciting. I have been looking forward all winter to go back down there to just walk around and soak it in. Thank you Bruce.
Loved learning about the beautiful park. It does remind me of Cascade Park when I was younger. It also was a beautiful park. One thing that I did notice on the postcard section, that there was a water ride way ahead of time of today. It must have been a great place to visit and would love to see it as it is today.
Thanks for the great website of great information.
After visiting the park i have decided to create a 16 page booklet for my college graphic design project. I am from Conneautville PA, and herd about the park from a friend. We went to the park and explored all day. There was an old man that lives there and he came over and talked to us and told us about his experience growing up there. It was a wonderful way to spend the day.
Great Job on this Site. I tried to collect some pictures of rock point when I planned on opening a restaurant in the area. I learned that Mr Nastis(Not sure of the spelling) who lives where the old nastis gas station and store is had many pictures I was going to scan them into my laptop but never got around to it. You might want to see it they are still available.
Have you considered restoring it exactly as it was and reopening it as an amusment park again? I think that It would be a jewel in Ellwood City’s hat and I would be proud to help restore it in it’s entirety.
There is a lot to be said about creating a respite from the hustle and bustle of modern life!
I’m writing a book right now and a portion of it is set in the time frame of when this park was functioning. I hope you don’t mind but I think I’m going to use some of your research to make my storyline work.
I appreciate all your hard work!
I was looking at the postcards and photos and saw that the lower bridge was removed some time in the 1950′s. The very first time I was at the park was November or early December of 1957. The bridge was there at that visit and was not here later in the decade. Some of my Boy Scout friends from Troop 58 – North Side may remember more about it.
Hi Bruce. I throughly enjoyed your wonderful site about Rock Point Park! When I was about 10 years old my dad John and his good friend Patsy Jeannette took me and my siblings out for a boat ride, entering from the Boat Club. When we got back we walked through the woods for hours seeking out remnants of the past park. I remember being amazed at the “Chutes” lagoon and how the stone wall/track was still there. It was so exciting hearing my dad and Patsy tell of what they had been told about the park, we didn’t want to leave! I always wanted to take my own children back through the park, but we never did go. Now that it is open again I think it will make a perfect fall excursion for my now grown kids and my grandchildren. Thank you for sharing all the information you so loving uncovered about this beautiful place.
I have driven past the sign many times guessed it was an old park now in private hands. Just found this website today. Had no idea that it was open to the public. I live in Wampum, I don’t think many people know. I will visit the area in the next few days. Thanks for the site!
Discovered the park on a Westmoreland Conservancy hike today. We were fortunate to run into two boat club members who were kind enough to show us around and point out where the old buildings and structures used to be. They highly recommended this site as a source of additional information. We had such a wonderful visit that we “stopped by” to take a look at your photographs and read the history of the park. What a wonderful collection of information that you have amassed. Thank you so much for sharing!
My parents have always talked about the fabulous and nearly unbelievable Rock Point Park (RPP). I went to visit the area this morning, and was strangely moved by the colossal place this once was. There’s still magic in the air! I’m so grateful that the area is again accessible to the public, because it offers wonderful hiking so close to town.
I ran into other hikers who found out about RPP on the internet, which led me to discover this wonderful website dedicated to preserving the memory of RPP. I especially was touched by the wonderful artifacts: green glass box, souvenir cups and vases. This place really DID exist! Thanks for all the work that you’ve done to keep the dream alive!
Awesome site…I can’t wait to check out the park! Thanks for all of your dedication and hard work.