Columbia-Montour Quarterly Vol. 10: October-December 2023

Loyalsock Township Riverfront Park (West Branch): Loyalsock comes from the word “Lawi-Saquick,” meaning “middle creek,” in Algonquian. The Loyalsock Town- ship Riverfront Park is located on the site of a former Native American village called Ostonwakin, meaning “a rock,” which expanded into what is now Montoursville. Mocanaqua (North Branch): Another community on the banks of the North Branch, Mocanaqua’s name derivation is a reminder of Frances Slocum, who was kidnapped by three Delaware warriors in an attack on the Slocum family farm in nearby Wilkes Barre. The first night after her abduction was spent in a crude shelter under a rock ledge along Abrahams Creek. In present day, this location is within the boundaries of Frances Slocum State Park, which is located just north of Wilkes Barre in Wyoming, Pennsylvania. The attack on the farm took place during a very unstable time in the region. Just a few months prior, during the Battle of Wyoming - which happened in July 1778 - British forces and Seneca warriors destroyed Forty Fort near Wilkes-Barre, killing more than three hundred American settlers. Little Frances, who was only five years old at the time of her abduction, was brought westward and eventually traded for animal pelts to a childless couple in the Miami tribe who named her “Maconaquah,” or Young Bear. As Maconaquah grew older, she became a celebrity of sorts within the native community. She was known not only for her light skin and flaming red hair, but also for excelling at the foot races and games on horseback often played by young braves. Ultimately, she married a Miami tribe leader in Indiana and lived there until her death in 1847 at the age of 74.

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