Welcome to Slippery Rock!

We're glad to have you join us for a day, four-years or a lifetime. Slippery Rock is a safe and friendly community located about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh. Two major interstates, I-79 and I-80 intersect about seven miles north of the borough, so it's easy to reach us from the north, south, east or west.

Slippery Rock is a name known around the world. It's the name of the university we host, a creek and our village. There are a lot of legends about how Slippery Rock got its name. Legend has it that in colonial times, soldiers were being chased by the local Seneca Indians. The troops, wearing heavy boots, were able to cross the creek, but the Indians, wearing moccasins, slipped on the rocks in the creek bed. They named the creek Wechachochapohka - a slippery rock. Some versions of the story have George Washington as the object of the Indians' pursuit. While a young Washington did visit the area, (we are near the George Washington Trail), his place in the story is highly suspect. As is the rumor that Elvis' "everybody let's ROCK" was inspired by a visit.

The borough is located in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Our population at the 2000 census was 3,068. This number swells to more than 11,568 from August through May when Slippery Rock University is in session and more than 8,500 students temporarily reside in the borough and township. We are one of the prettiest places in western Pennsylvania, thanks in part to nearly $4 million in recent streetscape improvements. A signature rock waterfall and brick and rock sidewalks complement many new storefronts, while old-fashioned street lamps and a gazebo add nostalgic charm.