Whipple Dam - Petersburg, Pennsylvania
Posted by: 
ted28285
N 40° 40.986 W 077° 51.945
18T E 257820 N 4507529
A small dam constructed during the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a recreational facility.
Waymark Code: WM14T1N
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/19/2021
Views: 2
" The park area was originally purchased from the Iroquois Confederation by the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania on July 6, 1754. The land eventually became part of the Monroe Iron Works, a few miles to the north.
Charcoal was produced in the area for use in the iron furnace, and there is some evidence of iron ore mining. During 1868, Osgood M. Whipple purchased a large block of land and constructed a dam and sawmill near the current park dam. The purpose of the dam was to supply a source of water for the operation of an “up and down” sawmill. Whipple left the lumber business in 1897, but the dam remained for many years and was known locally as “Whipple’s Dam.”
During 1927, the Department of Forests and Waters was considering a recreation site in the area and surveyed the old log-crib dam. It was decided to construct a new dam upstream at a better location. The new dam was completed during the spring of 1928 and provided a shallow pool.
Recreational activities began almost immediately and by the early 1930s, Whipple Dam was listed as a State Forest Public Camp. During 1928, a camp for Boy and Girl scouts opened on the north side of the lake. The camp closed during 1941." From the DCNR website