The Hereford Manor Lake Region

Upper and Lower Hereford Manor Lakes and Dams are located on Doe Run, a tributary of Conoquenessing Creek, Franklin Township, in Beaver County Pennsylvania. The dams were constructed by Mr. J. H. Cunningham in conjunction with strip mining operations in the mid 1950s. The Cunningham’s operated a pay lake at the facility for nearly twenty years.

Prior to strip mining operations the site
was the Ball Hereford Manor Farm.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting by and through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, acquired the property in 1973 for $350,000 and opened the facilities for public fishing and boating.

Lower Hereford Manor Lake

The drainage area above the lower dam is 1.38 square miles with a normal pool covering 45 acres. The height of the dam is 37 feet with a length of 1000 feet fronting State Route 288. The embankment is a homogenous earth fill structure without a toe drain. The lake level is controlled by a concrete spillway with a flashboard.

Upper Hereford Manor Lake

The drainage area above the dam at Upper Hereford Manor Lake is 1.96 square miles with a normal pool that covers 23 acres. The height of the dam is 40 feet with a length of 557 feet. The embankment is homogeneous earth fill structure without a toe drain. A spillway cut into the bedrock and a six inch diameter cast iron drain control the lake level.

In March of 2003, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ordered a draw down of Upper Hereford Manor Lake due to deficiencies in the dam and to provide for storage capacity for Lower Hereford Manor Lake. A feasibility study is planned to address concerns over the safety of both dams and their rehabilitation or possible construction of a single dam at the site.

In the Spring of 2010, the PFBC was directed to draw down the Lower Lake further. The dams are slated for demolition by 2012.