Bendigo State Park

Geobox Protected Area
name = Bendigo State Park
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category_local = Pennsylvania State Park
category_iucn = III


image_caption =
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = William Thompson Bendigo
country = United States
state = Pennsylvania
region_type = County
region = Elk
district_type = Township
district = Jones
city =
location =
lat_d = 41
lat_m = 31
lat_s = 53
lat_NS = N
long_d = 78
long_m = 37
long_s = 41
long_EW = W
location_note = cite web
url=Gnis3|1209415
title=Bendigo State Park
date = August 2 1979
work=Geographic Names Information System
publisher=United States Geological Survey
accessdate=2008-04-03]
elevation_imperial = 1493
elevation_round = 1
elevation_note =
area_unit = acre
area_imperial = 100
area_round = 1
area1_imperial =
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highest =
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lowest =
lowest_location =
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biome =
biome_share =
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geology =
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plant =
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established_type =
established = 1959
management_body = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
management_location =
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visitation =
visitation_year =
free_type = Nearest city
free = Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
free1_type =
free1 =


map_caption = Location of Bendigo State Park in Pennsylvania
map_locator = Pennsylvania
map_first = yes
website = [http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/bendigo.aspx Bendigo State Park]

Bendigo State Park is a convert|100|acre|km2|2|adj=on 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. Only convert|20|acre|km2|2 of the park is developed. The other convert|80|acre|km2|2 is 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. 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. 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 1900s and many of the mill towns, like Bendigo, were abandoned.cite web
url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/Parks/bendigo.aspx
title = Bendigo State Park
accessdate = 2006-11-07
publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ]

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.

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.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within convert|30|mi|0 of Bendigo State Park: [cite map |scale = 1:65,000| publisher= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division
url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/elk_GHSN.PDF
title= 2007 General Highway Map Elk County Pennsylvania
accessdate= 2007-07-27 "Note: shows Bendigo State Park "] [cite web
url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/region_wilds.aspx
title = Find a Park PA Wilds
accessdate = 2006-11-07
publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ] cite web
last = Michels
first = Chris
year = 1997
url = http://www2.nau.edu/~cvm/latlongdist.html
title = Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation
publisher = Northern Arizona University
accessdate = 2008-04-20]
*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

External links

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