Hanging Rock (Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hanging Rock
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Hanging Rock, 2019
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 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1144 S. Gulph Rd., Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1924 |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001251 |
| Added to NRHP | December 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 shale that protrudes approximately eight feet over the roadway. 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. 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.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
