HISTORY

~ It's all Ancient History ~

Rock City Park is a prehistoric ocean floor called ocean spar. Quartz flowed from high mountains through swift rivers to this area and settled in the sand and mud. After millions of years it formed into a natural concrete, which is quartz conglomerate, also called puddingstone. The quartz is estimated to be a half billion years old and the rock three hundred twenty million years old. It extends from here, seventy feet deep, to West Virginia and into Ohio where it is about fourteen hundred feet deep.

During the uplift of the Appalachian Mountain Range and after erosion down to the level of two thousand three hundred fifty feet, this rock was left barren. What makes Rock City Park unique and one of the great scenic wonders of the world is that the glacier did not touch this area making it the largest formation of its type in the world. The uplift, frost, weathering and erosion has broken this giant rock floor into huge monolithic formations three and four stories high.

~ Rock City Park at the Turn of the 20th Century ~

Rock City Park has been an attraction open to the public since 1890. First operated by the traction line, a local rail system, Rock City Park welcomed thousands of visitors by trolley. Rock City Park was also famous for its beautiful Bon Air Hotel and dance pavilion where famous bands such as the John Phillip Sousa played. In addition, guests enjoyed its amusement park consisting of merry go round, box ball alleys, photo houses, rifle range and many other forms of entertainment. All that remains of this era are pictures in the museum. However, the natural rock formations and natural beauty of this area still astound and amaze visitors from around the world.

The Official Tourism Site of Cattaraugus County