Lake Gordon | Bedford, PA
This is a longer one but hang in there!
This weekend, we took my family down to Morgan’s hometown, Cumberland, Maryland! Since it’s a short car ride from the PA state line, we were able to stop at some scenic routes on the way there. One of these stops included Lake Gordon in Bedford, PA.
The history of this man-made lake is super interesting, dating back to the early 1900s. Apparently the town of Cumberland was facing a major water shortage and local officials weren’t entirely how to solve the issue. In 1911, a hydraulic engineer from New York City, James Fuentes, prepared an extensive report that proposed three best sources for municipal water; the Potomac River, Evitt’s Creek, and Savage River. It was determined that Evitt’s Creek would be best suited for the job and Fuentes was hired as a consulting engineer to complete the project.
The decision moving forward with Evitt’s Creek faced a lot of pushback; the creek is located in Pennsylvania, about 9 miles from Cumberland and citizens were concerned about water pressure issues. Additional pushback included the small creek not supplying enough water, possible health dangers of drinking stagnant water, and the potential buildup of “scale” in steam boilers supplied by Evitt’s Creek water. After discussion and debate, the plan was approved to move forward; the next concern was developing a water system that would purify and deliver safe water to residents. Notable individuals such as Finley Hendrickson, who secured property rights in both PA and MD to ensure property taxes remained the same, and Robert H. Gordon, a noteworthy Cumberland attorney that advocated for the PA-MD stream.
In 1912, it was deemed vital a dam, filtration, and transport system was to be designed and assembled. The gravity flow system site needed to be closest to Cumberland where a large amount of water can be impounded, thus providing enough pressure to supply the city’s residents. The ideal reservoir site would be located between Evitt’s and Will’s Mountains… a location like Lake Gordon. Over the next year and a half, the dam wall was built, standing at 80 feet high and 450 feet long across the valley. Lake Gordon was naturally formed by the dam and initially covered approx. 250 acres and held about 1,500,000 gallons of fresh water.
Upon the completion of the dam, Cumberland’s population grew to 38,000 in 1930, which called for another dam and reservoir. Named after Cumberland Mayor, Thomas Koon, the dam was subsequently completed in 1932, standing at 67 feet high and 725 feet across.
To this day, the water systems continue to provide Cumberland with clean water and provide lovely Appalachia backdrop! ⛰️
Source: Whetzel, Dan. Cumberland’s Century Celebration of Lake Gordon, www.mountaindiscoveries.com/images/ss2014/03dam.pdf. Accessed 14 June 2023.
