Raystown Lake's 50 years of Growth

The Raystown Lake you have come to know and love was not built in a day. Rather, it has been changing and evolving since its completion 50 years ago. The area has seen plenty of growth from its opening as just a dam to its current state with hydroelectric facilities, 11 boat launches, 14 playgrounds and over 200 picnic sites. Let’s take a journey through some of the last 50 years’ highlights.

October 1973 - Green Construction completes construction on the new dam

The second dam at Raystown Lake was completed in 1973 by Green Construction, but the process started over a decade prior. First the Senate and the House had to approve money to go toward such a project and it took them 25 years of debating to do so. Ultimately in 1962, $32.5 million was allotted towards the construction of a new dam designed for flood control and creating a recreational haven. Construction began on the new, much larger dam in 1968. Though it was not complete at the time, this new dam prevented large amounts of flood damage during the Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. A year later, the new dam was finally complete.

Vice President Ford signing autographs for the crowd (Photo by Blair Shore)

June 6, 1974 - Vice President Gerald Ford speaks at Raystown Lake's dedication

Vice President Ford spoke at the dedication ceremony highlighting all the good the dam had and would provide, such as fishing, swimming, the potential for hydroelectric power and even the amount of damage it prevented during Tropical Storm Agnes before it was even finished. Ford closed out his remarks by saying, “So may the Raystown Dam we dedicate here today challenge us to dedicate ourselves to building a better nation and a better world for us all.”

The waters would reach recreational pool levels that December, allowing for motor boats.

Click here for Vice President Ford’s full remarks.

February 1975 - Juniata College gets a lease to open the Raystown Field Station

Situated on the James Creek branch of Raystown Lake near Mile Marker 13, Juniata College opened their 365-acre field station in February 1975. The field station is made up of the Lakeside Center, the Grove Farm and the James Creek Boat Launch. At the Lakeside Center there are two lodges, Davis and Robison, and the main hall, Shuster. These facilities allow classes and student groups the opportunity to learn about the environment in the environment, rather than from some classroom on campus. The best part about these facilities is that they aren’t just for students; you can rent them too!

To learn more about the facilities, including how to rent them, check out the Raystown Field Station section of Juniata College’s website.

July 1976 - Seven Points Marina opens

There’s no better way to spend a hot summer day than boating out on the lake. Seven Points Marina opened with 400 docks in July 1976 to allow visitors to do just that. Over the years more additions have been made to the marina, such as the Memories at the Docks restaurant and over 500 more dock spaces. In 2010, Seven Points Marina received the Large Marina of the Year Award (the first for Pennsylvania). For those who don’t have a boat of their own, there is a small fleet of pontoons and houseboats available for rent.

Whether you want to dock your own boat, get a rental for the day or you’re curious about other services the Seven Points Marina has to offer, check out their website: https://www.7pointsmarina.com/

1978 - Rothrock Area opens

This may not be a name everyone is familiar with, but it is definitely a place many people know and love. The Rothrock Area was the original name for what is now known as the Lake Raystown Resort. When the original resort opened, plans were immediately proposed to build a hotel-lodge and cabin concession. Six years later in 1984, Lake Raystown Resort held the ribbon cutting for its new $9 million development. The big additions with this development included a new marina and waterslide. With this new development opened, the resort recorded a total of 1.3 million visitors that year.

Check out the resort’s website to see what all they have to offer nearly fifty years after opening: https://rvcoutdoors.com/lake-raystown-resort/

August 1988 - Raystown Dam opens its hydroelectric plant

A long history went into hydroelectric coming to Raystown Lake. In 1905, George Ernest and Warren Brown Simpson had an idea for a hydroelectric dam on Raystown’s branch of the Juniata. Their Raystown Water Power Company built the original dam to do just that, but when construction began in 1968 on the new US Army Corps of Engineers dam, hydropower wasn’t part of the design. Plans to get clearance for a hydroelectric plant were announced in 1977, but ground didn’t break on such a project until 1986. The $41 million Wiliam F. Matson Hydroelectric Generating Station was completed in 1988 by 14 rural electric cooperatives. With the plant's 21-megawatt capacity, it serves around 8500 local homes.

1999 - Raystown Lake Visitor Center open to the public

Right before the turn of the century, the Raystown Lake Visitor Center opened to the public. The Visitor Center is a hub for many things going on at Seven Points Recreation Area. The Huntington County Visitors Bureau operates from the bottom floor of the building right across the hall from the Raystown Lake, Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger office. On the main floor is the Raystown Reflections Gift Shoppe and also a walk through exhibit hall detailing Raystown Lake’s history, such as the dam construction, archeology and more.

2009, 2013 & 2016 - Trails, Paths and a Skill Park

Not everything here at Raystown is about aquatics. In 2009 the 36 miles of Allegrippis Trails opened. Designed by mountain bikers and built by the International Mountain Bicycling Association, all 24 trails were built for a variety of uses, such as mountain biking, running, cross-country skiing and more. They use a difficulty rating system to help visitors decide which trail to use. Harder trails typically cover more distance, and include more climbs to slow down your pace, but don’t require additional skill.

For those that want to tackle the Allegrippis Trails but want to get a warm up in, we’ve got the place for you. The Raystown Mountain Bike Skills Park opened in 2016 and is located just across the road from the Raystown Lake Visitor Center. This small course is the perfect size to get some warmup in before heading out on an excursion or to even just come learn the basics of mountain biking.

Seven Points Recreation Area is a fairly large area and that means it can sometimes be a pain to get from place to place. This was made better in 2013 when the Greenside Pathway opened, which is a multi-use trail that connects recreational areas of the Seven Points Recreation Area The 2-mile loop also has branches that connect the Ridge and Point camping loops.

Check out the Trails and Parks section of our website to learn about even more trails and parks in the area.

June 2022 - Don Donaldson picnic pavilion dedicated

Don Donaldson was a Raystown Lake seasonal ranger for 39 years before he passed away in March of 2020. Unfortunately, there couldn’t be a Celebration of Life at the time because of COVID-19 regulations and restrictions. In 2022, a picnic pavilion on the Oak Peninsula was dedicated in memory of him for his years of service to Raystown Lake.

April 2023 - Disc Golf comes to Seven Points

Disc golf has been growing in popularity over the years, so it was finally time to add it to the roster of activities around the lake. Two courses were built in the area around the Raystown Lake Visitor Center, the Seven Points Pine 9 and the Seven Points Ravine 18. The Pine 9 opened in 2021 as the first taste of disc golf. The Ravine 18 was finished in 2023 with a bit more of a challenge in its design. Between longer distances, tree coverage and more holes, the Ravine 18 has plenty to make it an endurance course.

Learn more about our disc golf courses by visiting the disc golf page on our website, or check out maps of the courses by searching the course names at https://udisc.com/.

With 50 years under Raystown Lake’s belt, naming every last development from its history could be an entire book. The 50th anniversary of Raystown Lake Project’s dedication is only two weeks away and plenty of events are going on to commemorate. Make sure to keep an eye on the events calendar so you don’t miss out!