During 1794, Daniel Delany surveyed the impressive forests of white pine, hemlock, and scattered hardwoods. Logging began slowly as small sawmills processed the wood. The light, strong wood of the white pine made it the jewel of early lumbering.

Ship builders in Baltimore prized tall white pine logs for ship masts and paid premium prices. Loggers built white pine rafts and rode them down the Susquehanna River. When all went well, loggers arrived in Baltimore to sell their highly valued logs.

Logging accelerated in 1851 because of a log boom built across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Williamsport. The boom stopped floating logs for sorting and cutting by sawmills.

Upriver, “woodhicks” felled trees, cut off their branches, and marked each log with the seal of the lumber company that employed them. Most logging occurred in winter, when a thick layer of snow and ice made hauling easier. Woodhicks built wooden log slides on hillsides to easily move logs to temporary pools called splash dams. A reproduction log slide and early lumbering tools can be seen on the Log Slide Trail.

Splash dams were released each spring to float logs down Laurel Run to Bennetts Branch, then to Sinnemahoning Creek, and then into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River for their journey to the sawmills at Williamsport.

The park takes its name from William Parker, who leased lumbering rights from John Otto. Parker built a splash dam on Laurel Run at the site of the present lake.

Full-scale lumbering in the area probably began around 1870. The forests were cut and recut, first for the white pine and later for hemlock and hardwoods.

During the early 1900s, the log boom at Williamsport became inefficient because geared locomotives moved the logs directly from the forests to the mills. The log boom was dismantled in 1909.

During 1933, the CCC boys set up camp at the intersection of Tyler and Mud Run roads (Camp S-73-PA). The CCC planted trees, built roads and trails, and constructed the current dam of native sandstone on the site of William Parker's splash dam.

Their handiwork is seen in the stone pavilions and in the Lou and Helen Adams CCC Museum near the breast of the dam. Parker Dam was designated a recreational reserve in 1936.

The CCC and the Works Progress Administration continued improvements, until many CCCers were drafted in 1941 for World War II. Additional information about the CCC work in the park is available from the brochure:

Civilian Conservation Corps at Parker Dam State Park (PDF)

Since the days of the CCC, Parker Dam has changed very little. New facilities have been added and seedlings planted by the CCC have grown into trees. In May of 1985, many of the majestic trees in the park were lost to a tremendous tornado. But, through it all there is a constant; the beauty and serenity of Parker Dam State Park.

The museum is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays, from 1:00 P.M. until 4:00 P.M. during the summer season -- as volunteers are available. The museum also is available for group tours by appointment by calling the park office.