Parker Dam State Park-Parker Dam District
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Parker Dam State Park, in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, contains a district built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers between 1933 and 1941. The centerpiece is a reinforced concrete dam faced with rusticated stone, which replaced an earlier CCC dam washed out by a 1936 flood. Men of Camp S-118 built the dam and its construction office, Building 117-7, a rectangular log structure with saddle corners and a shed-roofed porch overlooking the dam and lake. The office now serves as a CCC museum. The rustic style, using local natural materials and placed to blend with the landscape, reflects National Park Service design ideals. The district is regarded as important for its link to the Emergency Conservation Work program, a major New Deal relief effort that employed thousands of young men, many previously homeless. The lake formed by the dam anchors the park's recreational facilities, which opened to the public in 1936.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant for its association with the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal relief program, and for its rustic architecture espoused by the National Park Service. The dam and office are presented as representative of federal recreation and building programs of the Depression era, and of state-federal cooperation on state-owned land. The construction work also employed many jobless young men.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87000049, listed February 11, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5 mi. S of Penfield off PA 153, Penfield |
|---|---|
| County | Clearfield County |
| Listed | February 11, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000049 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1933-1941 |
| Architect / builder | Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp S-118 (builder) |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The office is now used as a CCC museum and the dam is used for recreation; the district is said to contain no intrusions or non-contributing buildings. |
| Acreage | 4.8 |
| Coordinates | 41.19843, -78.50782 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87000049.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q26265140
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.