Raccoon Creek State Park, about 30 miles west of Pittsburgh near Hookstown, is one of Pennsylvania’s larger state parks, combining recreation with extensive undeveloped land centered on Raccoon Lake. The site began as Frankfort Mineral Springs, a Victorian-era resort founded by Edward McGinnis around a spring he believed had healing powers, but it closed in the early 20th century. During the Great Depression, the area was developed as one of Pennsylvania’s few Recreational Demonstration Areas, with Civilian Conservation Corps buildings from 1935 later recognized as a historic district. Today the park is valued for diverse outdoor recreation and for its ecologically rich Wildflower Reserve.