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Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania)

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Coordinates: 40°3′55″N 75°20′31″W / 40.06528°N 75.34194°W / 40.06528; -75.34194
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Hanging Rock
Hanging Rock, 2019
Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania) is located in Pennsylvania
Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania)
Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania) is located in the United States
Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania)
Location1144 S. Gulph Rd., Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°3′55″N 75°20′31″W / 40.06528°N 75.34194°W / 40.06528; -75.34194
Arealess than one acre
Built1924
NRHP reference No.97001251[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 24, 1997

Hanging Rock, also known as Overhanging Rock, or locally as Drummond's head, is a historic natural feature located in Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is a large natural outcropping of phyllite that protrudes approximately eight feet over the roadway.[2] The roadway, Pennsylvania Route 320 (S Gulph Road), was laid out as a public highway in 1711–1712. The road was traveled by General George Washington and the Continental Army into Valley Forge for the winter encampment of 1777–1778. The rock 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 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 site distances; the project was completed in June 2022.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[1]

Hanging Rock on what is now PA 320 in Gulph Mills
1919
2019

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Stacy A. Swigart (August 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Hanging Rock" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  3. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-05-12. Note: This includes Stacy A. Swigart (August 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Hanging Rock" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  4. ^ "PennDOT Completes Route 320 (S. Gulph Road) Improvement Project, Reopens Highway at Hanging Rock in Upper Merion Township". Upper Merion Township. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
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