Frances Slocum State Park

Frances Slocum State Park consists of 1,035 acres in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County. The horseshoe shaped, 165-acre lake is popular for boating and  fishing, and is a home to many species of birds, fish and wildlife. The many hiking and mountain biking trails and the large day use area attract visitors to picnic and explore the forests. The park is named for Frances Slocum, a young girl who was kidnapped by American Indians. Frances was one of ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Slocum. This Quaker family lived on what is now North Street in Wilkes-Barre. On November 2, 1778, a small group of Delaware Indians entered the Slocum home and carried away Frances who was then just five years old. The first night after her abduction was spent in a crude shelter under a rock ledge along Abraham Creek, believed to be within the state park boundary. Frances tried to escape during the first night but was soon recaptured. Frances was taken along as the Delaware Indians moved westward and spent the rest of her life with them. Fifty-seven years after her abduction, Maconaquah, who could not remember her original name, told her story to a traveling merchant, who sent word back east. Several years later the brothers and a sister got the news and traveled to investigate. They found Frances Slocum living on a reservation near Peru, Indiana. She had been married twice and had borne four children. Frances refused the pleas of her brothers to return to Pennsylvania. The brothers wrote to her and learned many of the details of her abduction and life with American Indians. Frances Slocum died in Indiana in 1847, at the age of 74. Mississinewa Lake in Indiana contains the Frances Slocum State Recreational Area and Lost Sister Trail. Along the Mississinewa River in Indiana, there is a monument that marks the final resting-place of Frances Slocum, also called Maconaquah, the “Young Bear.”