While on a hunting trip on Loyalsock Creek north of the park in 1850, brothers Elijah and Clemuel Ricketts were frustrated at having to spend the night on a hotel's parlor floor.
In 1851 or 1853 they bought 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), including what is now Lake Ganoga and some of the park, as their own hunting preserve, and built a stone house on the lake shore by 1852 or 1855.
The stone house served as their lodge and as a tavern; it was known as "Ricketts Folly" for its isolated location in the wilderness.
Clemuel died in 1858 and Elijah bought his share of the land and house.
The Ricketts family was not aware of the glens and their waterfalls until about 1865, when they were discovered by two guests from the stone house who went fishing and wandered down Kitchen Creek.

Elijah's son Robert Bruce Ricketts, for whom the park is named, joined the Union Army as a private at the outbreak of the American Civil War and rose through the ranks to become a colonel in the artillery.
After the war, R. Bruce Ricketts returned to Pennsylvania and in 1869 began purchasing the land around the lake from his father.
By 1873 he controlled or owned 66,000 acres (27,000 ha), and eventually this grew to more than 80,000 acres (32,000 ha), including the glens and waterfalls and most of the park.

While the stone house had served as a home and inn since its construction, in 1872 R. Bruce Ricketts built a three-story wooden addition north of the house.
The addition used lumber from a sawmill Ricketts and his partners operated from 1872 to 1875, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southeast of the stone house.
The North Mountain House hotel opened in 1873; Ricketts' brother Frank, for whom a park waterfall is named, managed it from then until 1898.
Many of the hotel's guests were Ricketts' friends and relations, who arrived after school let out in June and stayed all summer until school resumed in September.
In 1876 and 1877, Ricketts ran the first summer school in the United States at his house and hotel; one of the teachers was Joseph Rothrock, later known as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania.

The waterfalls and Ganoga Lake were the hotel's biggest attractions.
By 1875 Ricketts had named the tallest waterfall Ganoga Falls; he eventually named 22 of the waterfalls.
Ricketts gave most of them Native American names, and named others for relatives and friends.
Ricketts renamed Long Pond as Ganoga Lake in 1881.
The name Ganoga was suggested by Pennsylvania senator Charles R. Buckalew; it is an Iroquoian word which Buckalew said meant "water on the mountain" in the Seneca language.
Donehoo's A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania identifies it as a Cayuga language word meaning "place of floating oil" and the name of a Cayuga village in New York.
Whatever the meaning, Ricketts also named the glen with the tallest waterfall in the park "Ganoga".

Ricketts' stone house served as the base for the Ozone hiking club of Wilkes-Barre's excursions on the mountain; the club gave its name to Ozone waterfall in the park.
In 1879 Ricketts started the North Mountain Fishing Club, for anglers on the lake and creek.
Guests of the hotel paid one dollar to fish as a club member.
In 1889 Ricketts hired Matt Hirlinger and five other men to build the trails along the branches of Kitchen Creek and its waterfalls.
It took them four years to complete the trails and stone steps through the glens.

One of the highest spots on North Mountain (and in the park today) was an outlook point where Ricketts built a 40-foot (12 m) wooden observation tower for his guests.
After the first tower collapsed, he built a 100-foot (30 m) replacement, and named the site Grand View.
From the tower, people could see for 20 miles (32 km).
While on a hunting trip on Loyalsock Creek north of the park in 1850, brothers Elijah and Clemuel Ricketts were frustrated at having to spend the night on a hotel's parlor floor. In 1851 or 1853 they bought 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), including what is now Lake Ganoga and some of the park, as their own hunting preserve, and built a stone house on the lake shore by 1852 or 1855. The stone house served as their lodge and as a tavern; it was known as "Ricketts Folly" for its isolated location in the wilderness. Clemuel died in 1858 and Elijah bought his share of the land and house. The Ricketts family was not aware of the glens and their waterfalls until about 1865, when they were discovered by two guests from the stone house who went fishing and wandered down Kitchen Creek.
Elijah's son Robert Bruce Ricketts, for whom the park is named, joined the Union Army as a private at the outbreak of the American Civil War and rose through the ranks to become a colonel in the artillery. After the war, R. Bruce Ricketts returned to Pennsylvania and in 1869 began purchasing the land around the lake from his father. By 1873 he controlled or owned 66,000 acres (27,000 ha), and eventually this grew to more than 80,000 acres (32,000 ha), including the glens and waterfalls and most of the park.
While the stone house had served as a home and inn since its construction, in 1872 R. Bruce Ricketts built a three-story wooden addition north of the house. The addition used lumber from a sawmill Ricketts and his partners operated from 1872 to 1875, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southeast of the stone house. The North Mountain House hotel opened in 1873; Ricketts' brother Frank, for whom a park waterfall is named, managed it from then until 1898. Many of the hotel's guests were Ricketts' friends and relations, who arrived after school let out in June and stayed all summer until school resumed in September. In 1876 and 1877, Ricketts ran the first summer school in the United States at his house and hotel; one of the teachers was Joseph Rothrock, later known as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania.
The waterfalls and Ganoga Lake were the hotel's biggest attractions. By 1875 Ricketts had named the tallest waterfall Ganoga Falls; he eventually named 22 of the waterfalls. Ricketts gave most of them Native American names, and named others for relatives and friends. Ricketts renamed Long Pond as Ganoga Lake in 1881. The name Ganoga was suggested by Pennsylvania senator Charles R. Buckalew; it is an Iroquoian word which Buckalew said meant "water on the mountain" in the Seneca language. Donehoo's A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania identifies it as a Cayuga language word meaning "place of floating oil" and the name of a Cayuga village in New York. Whatever the meaning, Ricketts also named the glen with the tallest waterfall in the park "Ganoga".
Ricketts' stone house served as the base for the Ozone hiking club of Wilkes-Barre's excursions on the mountain; the club gave its name to Ozone waterfall in the park. In 1879 Ricketts started the North Mountain Fishing Club, for anglers on the lake and creek. Guests of the hotel paid one dollar to fish as a club member. In 1889 Ricketts hired Matt Hirlinger and five other men to build the trails along the branches of Kitchen Creek and its waterfalls. It took them four years to complete the trails and stone steps through the glens.
One of the highest spots on North Mountain (and in the park today) was an outlook point where Ricketts built a 40-foot (12 m) wooden observation tower for his guests. After the first tower collapsed, he built a 100-foot (30 m) replacement, and named the site Grand View. From the tower, people could see for 20 miles (32 km).
Ricketts Glen State Park