Bendigo State Park

Bendigo State Park
Pennsylvania State Park
East Branch Clarion River
Named for: William Thompson Bendigo

Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Elk
Township	Jones

Elevation	1,493 ft (455.1 m) ^[1]
Coordinates	41°31′53″N 78°37′41″W / 41.53139°N 78.62806°W / 41.53139; -78.62806Coordinates: 41°31′53″N 78°37′41″W / 41.53139°N 78.62806°W / 41.53139; -78.62806

Area	100.26 acres (41 ha)
- water	2.5 acres (1 ha)

Founded	1959
Management	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

IUCN category	III - Natural Monument

Location of Bendigo State Park in Pennsylvania
Website: Bendigo State Park

Bendigo State Park is a 100.26-acre (40.57 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Jones Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is in a valley on the East Branch Clarion River. 20 acres (8.1 ha) of the park are developed. The other 80 acres (32 ha) are undeveloped woodlands of beech, birch, cherry and maple.

History

Bendigo State Park is named for an Irish tavern keeper, who lived in England, named William Thompson. Thompson was also a prizefighter of some renown. Boxing for money was illegal at the time in England and Thompson was arrested 28 times for breaking the law. Legend holds that Thompson fled to America, to avoid prosecution, when an opponent died in the ring due to injuries sustained in the fight. He adopted the name Bendigo, a corruption of the Old Testament name Abed-nego and moved to the frontier of northwestern Pennsylvania. The newly named, Bendigo, began serving as a Methodist evangelist while also working on the railroads. He was a very tall and strong man and soon became a favorite of his Italian co-workers. No records exist to support the claim that Thompson ever left the British Isles let alone lived in the area.^[2] The lumber industry was beginning to boom in northwestern Pennsylvania as Bendigo was making his rounds as an evangelist and a mill town in Elk County was named Bendigo in his honor. The lumber era was not to last forever. The forests were largely chopped down by the early 20th century and many of the mill towns, like Bendigo, were abandoned.^[2]

The borough of Johnsonburg acquired the land that is currently Bendigo State Park in the 1920s and established a community park. The Works Progress Administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made many improvements to the park during the Great Depression. Flooding on the East Branch of the Clarion River destroyed most of the works of the WPA in the 1940s, but a stone wall and dam on the river are still standing. Ownership of the park was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1949 and over the course of ten years improvements were made. Bendigo State Park was formally opened to the public on August 15, 1959.^[2] The park is at an elevation of 1,493 feet (455 m).^[1]

Recreation

Bendigo State Park attracts families interested in using the swimming and picnicking facilities. The pool is opened daily from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm beginning Memorial Day weekend and ending Labor Day weekend. There are over 150 picnic tables in several picnic areas. The picnic areas have charcoal grills, drinking water, horseshoe pits and restrooms.^[2]

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Bendigo State Park:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Bucktail State Park Natural Area (Cameron and Clinton Counties)
Clear Creek State Park (Jefferson County)
Elk State Park (Elk County)
Kinzua Bridge State Park (McKean County)
Parker Dam State Park (Clearfield County)
S. B. Elliott State Park (Clearfield County)
Sinnemahoning State Park (Cameron and Potter Counties)
Sizerville State Park (Cameron and Potter Counties)

References

1 2 "Bendigo State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 2, 1979. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
1 2 3 4 "Bendigo State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
↑ 2007 General Highway Map Elk County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65,000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division. Retrieved July 27, 2007. Note: shows Bendigo State Park
↑ "Find a Park by Region (interactive map)". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
↑ Michels, Chris (1997). "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved April 20, 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bendigo State Park.

Bendigo State Park official map PDF (244.73 KB)

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Lackawanna Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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