This 1,603-acre state reforestation area consists mostly of a granite plateau ranging in character from bare rock outcrops to relatively fertile valleys. A sheer stone cliff over 100 feet high rises from Payne Lake to overlook the Payne Lake Public Fishing Access Site to the east. This state forest was named for a unique nearby rock formation that once served as an outdoor podium from which traveling clergy preached to the local pioneers.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8013.html

http://lion-tales.blogspot.com/2012/07/northern-new-york-pulpit-rock.html