McCalls Dam State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Miles Township,

Centre County Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The lands ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the United States. The park is in the easternmost tip of Centre County, south of

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...

and north of Union County. McCalls Dam State Park is in a remote location on a gravel road between R. B. Winter State Park on

Pennsylvania Route 192 Pennsylvania Route 192 (PA 192) is a state highway located in central Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at PA 144 in Centre Hall. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 15 (US 15) in Lewisburg. Route description PA 192 begins ...

and Eastville on

Pennsylvania Route 880 Pennsylvania Route 880 (PA 880) is a state highway located in Centre, Clinton, and Lycoming Counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 192 in Miles Township. The northern terminus is at PA 44 in Limestone Township Though it ...

. The park can only be accessed in the winter months by

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

or cross-country skiing. McCalls Dam State Park has a small camping area and a small picnic area with a few tables and charcoal grills. There are no modern restroom facilities at the park and visitors are asked to carry out all trash as there is no trash pick up at the park. The park is named for the

splash dam A splash dam was a temporary wooden dam used to raise the water level in streams to float logs downstream to sawmills. By impounding water and allowing it to be released on the log drive's schedule, these dams allowed many more logs to be brought ...

that Johnny McCall built on

White Deer Creek White Deer Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Centre County and Union County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Miles Township in Centre County and Hartley Township, ...

in 1850. He used the waters that flowed from the dam to power a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. Sixteen years later the dam was rebuilt to provide water for a series of splash dams that were used to float

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

logs to the sawmills on the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...

at Watsontown. The park's facilities were originally constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

in the 1933. The mill and dam are long since gone, but they are remembered along with Johnny McCall in the name of McCalls Dam State Park.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of McCalls Dam State Park: * Bald Eagle State Park (Centre County) * Bucktail State Park Natural Area ( Cameron and Clinton Counties) * Little Pine State Park (

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...

) * Milton State Park ( Northumberland County) * Poe Paddy State Park (Centre County) * Poe Valley State Park (Centre County) *

Ravensburg State Park Ravensburg State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Crawford Township in Clinton County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is in a gorge carved by Rauchtown Run through the side of Nippenose Mountain. Ravensburg State Park is of wooded ...

(Clinton County) * R. B. Winter State Park ( Union County) * Reeds Gap State Park (

Mifflin County Mifflin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,143. Its county seat is Lewistown. The county was created on September 19, 1789, from parts of Cumberland County and Northumberlan ...

) * Sand Bridge State Park (Union County) * Shikellamy State Park (

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and Union Counties) * Susquehanna State Park (Lycoming County) * Upper Pine Bottom State Park (Lycoming County)

References

External links

* {{authority control State parks of Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1933 Parks in Centre County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Centre County, Pennsylvania