Almost 1,000 tons of small rounded stones were removed and Jones soon realized that the vertical tunnel discovered by the coal miners was a large pothole.

[3] After serving as a ventilation shaft for the mine, the pothole was fenced in by the owner of the land, Colonel Hackley, for tourists.

[3] While the pothole and surrounding park were long a popular tourist attraction, by the 1990s attendance had fallen and the facilities were in need of repair.

[5] In an attempt to address these issues, in 2002 the Pennsylvania State Legislature approved more improvements to the park, including "least two soccer fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, a walking trail, a playground, roads and parking areas".

A pothole, in geologic terms, is a hole that is worn into the bedrock of a stream in strong rapids or at the base of a waterfall.

The force of the water spins rock fragments, sand and gravel into a small indentation in the bedrock.

As the glacier melted, a stream that flowed on top may have fallen into a crevasse and then fell to the bedrock.

[6][8] A small loop trail follows an old coal mine tram road for hiking.

Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania State Game Commission.