Hanging Rock | |
Location | 1144 S. Gulph Rd., Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°3′55″N75°20′31″W / 40.06528°N 75.34194°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1924 |
NRHP reference No. | 97001251 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 24, 1997 |
Hanging Rock, also known as Overhanging Rock, or locally as Drummond's head, is a historic natural feature which is located in Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is a large natural outcropping of phyllite that protrudes approximately eight feet over a roadway, [2] Pennsylvania Route 320 (South Gulph Road), which was laid out as a public highway between 1711 and 1712.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. [1]
The road near Hanging Rock, Pennsylvania Route 320 (South Gulph Road), was built between 1711 and 1712 to serve as a public highway. It was subsequently used by General George Washington and the Continental Army to move troops into Valley Forge for the winter encampment of 1777–1778. [3]
The rock formation was dedicated as a memorial to that march by the Valley Forge Historical Society in 1924. [3]
In 1917 and 1954, holes were drilled into Hanging Rock for the placement of dynamite in an effort to remove the rock. This, along with erosion and vehicle collisions, has changed the shape of the rock over time. The "overhang" of the rock has decreased since the invention of the automobile as car crashes have chipped away at the rock over the years. [2]
In January 2020, PennDot started a project to realign Route 320 (South Gulph Road) away from Hanging Rock, which had protruded into the roadway, resulting in limited sight distances; the project was completed in June 2022. [4]
Hanging Rock was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. [1]
Hereford Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the easternmost municipality within Berks County. Its population was 2,969 at the 2020 census. It is in Upper Perkiomen School District.
Schuylkill Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It contains the village of Valley Forge. The population was 8,516 at the 2010 census.
Tredyffrin Township is a township located in eastern Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,332 at the 2010 census.
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,028.
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the Welsh Meirionnydd.
Upper Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The population was 33,613 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Located 16 miles (26 km) from Philadelphia, it consists of the villages of Gulph Mills, King of Prussia, Swedeland, Swedesburg, and portions of Radnor, and Wayne.
Radnor Township, often called simply Radnor, is a first class township with home rule status in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2019 United States census estimate, the township population is 31,875. Radnor Township is the largest municipality in Delaware County by land area and the fourth-largest by population, following Upper Darby Township, Haverford Township, and Chester.
The Schuylkill Expressway, locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia. It is the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, southeast to the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Maintenance and planning for most of the highway are administered through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6, with the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) maintaining the approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge.
Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) is a state highway located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania that is a spur of PA 63. The route runs 11.96 mi (19.25 km) from an interchange with U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Audubon northeast to an intersection with PA 63 in Lansdale. The route runs mostly through suburban areas of central Montgomery County, passing some farmland in Worcester Township. PA 363 is designated along Trooper Road, Ridge Pike, Park Avenue, and Valley Forge Road. In the community of Worcester, the route crosses PA 73.
Gulph Mills station is a SEPTA rapid transit station in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania. It serves the Norristown High Speed Line and is officially located at Trinity Road and Crest Lane in Upper Merion Township, however another parking lot can be found across the tracks on South Gulph Road. This parking lot is only accessible for northbound drivers along South Gulph Road, though. All trains stop at Gulph Mills. Transfers are available for buses to the King of Prussia mall. The station lies 10.3 track miles (16.6 km) from 69th Street Terminal. There is off-street parking available at this station.
Pennsylvania Route 320 is a north–south state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the 18.8-mile (30.3 km) long route is at U.S. Route 13 /PA 291 in Chester. The northern terminus is at PA 23 in Swedeland. The route passes through suburban areas in Delaware and Montgomery counties to the west of Philadelphia, serving Swarthmore, Springfield, Broomall, Villanova, and Gulph Mills. PA 320 intersects many important highways including US 13 Business and Interstate 95 (I-95) in Chester, US 1 in Springfield, US 30 in Villanova, and I-76 in Gulph Mills. PA 320 runs parallel to I-476 for much of its length and crosses it four times. Even though there are no direct interchanges between I-476 and PA 320, several roads that intersect PA 320 provide access to I-476.
Pennsylvania Route 23 is an 81.14-mile-long (130.58 km) state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The route begins at PA 441 in Marietta and heads east to U.S. Route 1 at City Avenue on the border of Lower Merion Township and Philadelphia. PA 23 begins at Marietta in Lancaster County and continues east to Lancaster, where it passes through the city on a one-way pair of streets and intersects US 222 and US 30.
Pennsylvania Route 183 (PA 183) is a 31.7-mile-long (51.0 km) route that runs north to south in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 422 Business in Reading in Berks County. Its northern terminus is at PA 61 near Schuylkill Haven in Schuylkill County. The road passes through developed areas near Reading before continuing north through rural areas, crossing from Berks County into Schuylkill County at Blue Mountain. PA 183 serves the communities of Bernville, Strausstown, and Cressona.
Pennsylvania Route 652 is a 10.559-mile-long (16.993 km) east–west state highway located in the northeast Pennsylvania county of Wayne. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 6 in the Texas Township community of Indian Orchard. The highways heads to the northeast, and reaches the eastern terminus at the New York-Pennsylvania border in Damascus Township, where PA 652 crosses the Narrowsburg–Darbytown Bridge over the Delaware River and into New York, continuing as New York State Route 52 and County Route 24 in Sullivan County.
Gulph Mills is an unincorporated community that is located in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is served by the Upper Merion Area School District.
Pennsylvania Route 252 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects PA 320 in Nether Providence Township at its southern terminus to PA 23 in Valley Forge at its northern terminus. The route runs through the western suburbs of Philadelphia in Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery counties, including Nether Providence Township, the borough of Media, Upper Providence Township, Marple Township, Newtown Township, Easttown Township, Tredyffrin Township, and Upper Merion Township. The route intersects many roads including U.S. Route 1 north of Media, PA 3 in Newtown Square, US 30 in Paoli, and US 202 near Berwyn.
U.S. Route 202 is a US Highway running from New Castle, Delaware, northeast to Bangor, Maine. The route runs through the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, passing through the western and northern suburbs of Philadelphia in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. US 202 serves largely as a toll-free bypass around the city, avoiding the busy traffic and congestion on Interstate 95 (I-95). It is signed north–south and follows a general southwest–northeast direction through the state, serving West Chester, King of Prussia, Bridgeport, Norristown, Montgomeryville, Doylestown, and New Hope. US 202 enters Pennsylvania from Delaware and heads north as a divided highway, where it becomes concurrent with US 322 at an intersection with US 1 in Painters Crossing. The two routes run north and become a freeway that bypasses West Chester to the east, with US 322 splitting from US 202. US 202 continues north and east along the freeway to King of Prussia, where it reverts to an at-grade divided highway following an interchange with I-76. The route becomes a one-way pair as it passes through Bridgeport and Norristown before both directions rejoin and the road continues northeast. US 202 follows an expressway-grade parkway between Montgomeryville and Doylestown prior to bypassing Doylestown to the south along a freeway. The route continues northeast as an at-grade road to New Hope, where it turns into a freeway again before it crosses the Delaware River on the New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge into New Jersey.
State Route 2005 is a major 9.3 mile (15 km) long road, running in a southeast–northwest direction in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 320 in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania. Its eastern terminus is at a Cobbs Creek bridge in Darby, Pennsylvania. Past this bridge is State Route 3023, which continues into Philadelphia. SR 2005 is known as Darby Road in Haverford Township, Lansdowne Avenue from U.S. Route 1 to Darby, and Main Street in Darby.
Bridge in Upper Merion Township is a historic stone arch bridge located at Gulph Mills in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1789. It has a single 20-foot-long (6.1 m) span with a width of 34 feet, and an overall length of 100-foot (30 m). The bridge crosses Gulph Creek.
Gulph Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River that is located in southeastern Pennsylvania. Approximately six miles long, it flows in an easterly direction, and is one of four watersheds in Radnor Township, the others being, Ithan Creek, Darby Creek, and Meadowbrook Run.