Pymatuning Reservoir

Pymatuning Reservoir
Pymatuning Reservoir, seen from the Spillway, Linesville, PA
Pymatuning Reservoir Pymatuning Reservoir
Location	Crawford County, Pennsylvania/Ashtabula County, Ohio,US
Coordinates	41°29′54″N80°27′41″W
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Shenango River
Primary outflows	Shenango River
Basincountries	United States
Max. length	17 mi (27 km)
Max. width	1.6 mi (2.6 km)
Surface area	17,088 acres (6,915 ha)
Average depth	15 ft (4.6 m)
Max. depth	35 ft (11 m)
Water volume	64,300,000,000 imp gal (0.292 km3)
Shore length1	70 mi (110 km)
Surface elevation	1,001 ft (305 m)
Islands	Ackerman, Clark, Ford, Glenn, Harris, Stockers, Whaley
References
1Shore length isnot a well-defined measure.

Pymatuning Reservoiris a man-madelakeinCrawford County, PennsylvaniaandAshtabula County, Ohioin theUnited States,on land that was once a very largeswamp.Much of it is incorporated into two state parks:Pymatuning State ParkinPennsylvania,andPymatuning State ParkinOhio.

History

The first known inhabitants were theMound builders.Two of their mounds were flooded by the creation of Pymatuning Lake. TheLenapewere living in the area when European settlers first came there. The lake is named for thechiefwho lived in the area at the time, Pihmtomink. The Lenape were pushed out of the area by theSenecatribe, a member of theIroquois Confederacy.The Seneca were defeated byGeneral Anthony Wayne's forces during theNorthwest Indian Warand left the area under the terms of theTreaty of Greenville.This treaty marked the end ofNative Americansinhabiting the area.

The first settlers to the area werefarmers,whose life was not easy, as the land was very swampy and very difficult toreclaim.Farm animals that wandered off were often lost in thequicksandsof the swamp, or fellpreytopredatorslikefoxes,bearsandmountain lions.The swamps were infested withmosquitoesthat broughtyellow feverto the settlers.

An unsolved murder case is associated with the then Pymatuning Swamp: in 1932 by herpetologistNorman Edouard Hartweg,while he was searching for reptiles, ran into a body of a lady. The police concluded that she had been murdered elsewhere, but her identity was never confirmed, nor the murderer identified.

Dam and lake

Building a dam on the Shenango River was first explored in 1911. A massivefloodin 1913 caused $3 million in damage and took several lives. ThePennsylvania General Assemblyapproved a budget of $1.2 million to build at dam across the Shenango, butGovernor John K. Tenerslashed the budget to just $100,000.

The Pennsylvania legislature took action again in 1917, this time approving a $400,000 budget under the condition that the needed land inOhiobe purchased by the private sector. The Pymatuning Land Company was formed and raised the funds to purchase the needed Ohio properties. The land was finally acquired in full by 1931 whenGovernor Gifford Pinchotapproved $1.5 million to complete the dam. 7,000 men began work on the dam in 1931 and the project was completed in 1934, with a final total cost of $3,717,739. The lake now holds 64.3 billion US gallons (243,000,000 m³) of water, covering 17,088 acres (69.15 km²) over a length of 17 miles (27 km) with a width of 1.6 miles (2.6 km) at the widest and 70 miles (110 km) of shoreline, with a maximum depth of 35 feet (11 m). The lake has served to provide a water supply for the Shenango and Beaver valleys, it has lessened the damage caused by floods, and provided recreation for the people of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Two state parks, each named "Pymatuning State Park",are on the lake in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A scenic 2-mile-longcausewaybridge spans the middle of the lake, connecting the towns of Espyville on the Pennsylvania side of the lake and Andover on the Ohio side. The bridge is crowned in the middle, with tall pillars and broad ducts underneath to allow lakewater to flow freely across the reservoir, and to permit the passage of sailboats and other pleasure craft travelling from one half of the lake to the other. The bridge is also equipped with small concrete and earthen pull-offs large enough for several vehicles apiece, with concrete staircases and walkways below the parking spaces to allow travelers to stroll down and fish or sightsee beside the bridge.

The Pennsylvania portion also has a spillway separating the (higher) upstream-most portion of the lake from the rest. A parking area along the spillway serves a popular warm-weather attraction commonly known as "where the ducks walk on the fish" because visitors throw bread to the thousands of carp and Canada geese who congregate there.

Pymatuning Central,acensus-designated placeadjacent to Pymatuning Reservoir inCrawford County, Pennsylvania

References

• "Pymatuning State Park".Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.Archived fromthe originalon March 2, 2004.Retrieved2007-01-20.
• "Park Spotlight: Pymatuning State Park".Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2006.Retrieved2007-01-20.
• "Pymatuning State Park".Ohio Department of Natural Resources.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-01-16.Retrieved2007-01-20.

External links

• Pymatuning Lake - Lakelubbers
• Pymatuning Lake - Lake Community Index
• Ohio DNR fishing map of Pymatuning Lake
• Pymatuning Boating Map