In 1969, James F. Hillman, president of the Harmon Creek Coal Corporation, donated 3,654 acres to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for outdoor recreation. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the gift was reported at the time to be the largest single land donation for a state park in the country, valued at more than one million dollars. The land had been used for oil drilling and coal strip mining, and known abandoned mine drainage problems existed on the site. From 1970 through 1977, the state spent $1.7 million on reclamation projects at Hillman State Park.
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