Historical Society to host program on Middle Creek Lake
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MIDDLEBURG -- Middle Creek Lake in Snyder County certainly held a lot of memories for a lot of people over the years. Back in the day, outdoor enthusiasts often picnicked in the area, and there was a hydropower dam.
Now, those memories are almost all that remain.
"For locals, it was something special," said Esther Klinger, president of the Snyder County Historical Society. "People who lived in this area knew about it. They talked about building cottages there and making it like a mini resort, but that never came to fruition."
The dam was removed in 1992 and Middle Creek Lake is a shell of what it once was. Today, the lake environment has changed with the gradual infilling of the lake with sediment.
It still holds many memories, which is why the Snyder County Historical Society, located at 30 E. Market St., Middleburg, is presenting a special program at 2 p.m. Sunday, "The Hidden Legacy of Middle Creek Lake." Dr. Jennifer Elick, a geologist at Susquehanna University who specializes in paleo environmental reconstruction and sedimentary rock and environment, will speak about her work this summer on anthropogenic sediment and their implications.
"In 2014, I worked on Middle Creek Lake, where the hydropower dam was located in the past," Elick said in a release about the event. "It was built in 1833, then rebuilt in 1906 and 1936 ... and then removed in 1992."
Elick studied the history of deposition of sediment in the lake and its chemistry. "It's interesting to see how the environment changed with the gradual infilling of the lake with sediment," said Dr. Elick. "I was looking for (heavy metals) Pb, As and a few other metals and didn't find any...not a bad thing! At the same time, I reconstructed the evolving lake environment."
Her latest publication, "A Geologic View from Shikellamy Overlook" included an interpretation on ancient environments, recent glacial history and landscape evolution at this local state park.
Elick teaches geology and environmental oceanography, Earth system history, sedimentology and stratigraphy and the Susquehanna River.
She also teaches the earth and environmental sciences senior capstone class and is a co-director of the Global Opportunities program in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Admission to the program is free. Light refreshments will be served.
The museum is open the first and third Sundays of the month from noon to 3 pm. Other times are available by appointment by calling 570-837-6191 or 570-412-6458, or email schs@snydercounty.org. They also have a Facebook page and post events on Snyder County Alerts.