Wayne County officials opened a 109-acre park Wednesday, Oct. 28, built around a historic dam that residents fought for nearly a decade to save from demolition.
The ribbon cutting at Hankins Pond Park & Conservation Area in Pleasant Mount marked the end of a $1.9 million rehabilitation funded by the state, WNEP reported. County officials and representatives from multiple state agencies attended the ceremony.
"It is spectacular," Wayne County Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer said. "Now this area that has been relatively underutilized has a beautiful dirt and gravel road back to a pavilion about half a mile down the road."
The 1,000-foot-long Hankins Pond Dam was built with hand-laid stone by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co. in the 1830s. It created a 90-acre reservoir that fed the canal during dry summer months, according to Wayne County's website. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission later used the pond as part of the Pleasant Mount State Fish Hatchery.
The dam's path to parkland started with a threat. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection labeled it a high-hazard dam, citing the risk of water backing up during a major flood and endangering lives downstream. The Fish & Boat Commission was ordered to demolish a 150-foot section of the structure.
Wayne County pushed back hard. About 1,200 residents signed a petition that summer asking the commission to save the dam, according to county records. County commissioners enlisted State Sen. Lisa Baker and State Rep. Jonathan Fritz to press for alternatives.
In September 2018, with demolition days away, the commissioners went to court. Senior Judge Raymond Hamill granted a stay three days before work was set to begin, The Times-Tribune reported in October 2019.
Thirteen months of negotiation followed. The county and state reached a settlement: Wayne County would acquire the dam from the Fish & Boat Commission and open a smaller, 24-foot-wide breach to satisfy DEP's safety concerns.
Joe Adams, a county commissioner when the teardown was first proposed, attended the ribbon cutting. "We had to do some legal things to stop what was going to be a teardown, and then it was great cooperation from the Fish Commission, DEP, DCNR, and all of the legislators," Adams said, according to WNEP.
Bill Gibney, a commissioner with the Fish & Boat Commission, said the rehabilitation centered on making the dam safe. "The channels of the dam had to be opened so that water could flow through it and would not back up behind it and consequently present a hazard to the people downstream," Gibney said.
Wayne County will maintain the park. The Wayne County Courthouse posted on X that the park is open for visitors to enjoy its history, conservation, wildlife and scenery.
County commissioners said they hope to add features in the future to enhance the park's natural resources for visitors. No specific additions or timeline have been announced.
