The land on which the dam is built was originally owned by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, a vertically integrated company that mined, processed, and transported anthracite coal throughout Pennsylvania. LC&N originally purchased the land with the intention of building hydroelectric dams along the river, but the federal government later condemned the land and bought it from LC&N to build the Francis E. Walter Dam. Prior to construction of the dam, the Lehigh River was subject to regular massive flooding as a result of large ice dams breaking apart after heavy rain, abruptly releasing all the water built up behind them. The resulting wave would be as high as 30 feet, destroying anything caught in its path. The most famous flood occurring as a result of this phenomenon was in 1861, when ice and timber caught in the wave destroyed dams and locks on the river, flooding settlements several hundred feet from the river's normal bounds.
Authorization for recreation
In November 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, the Water Resources Development Act of 1988, which directed the Secretary of the Army to prepare to regulate the Francis E. Walter Reservoir, among other areas, for recreational purposes. Since the dam was originally constructed only for flood management purposes, the federal government lacked the authority to manage the reservoir as a recreational area, despite it already attracting visitors for that purpose. After authority was granted, the federal government was able to staff the area with rangers. In 2005, the Philadelphia District USACE, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Delaware River Basin Commission, and other stakeholders entered into a partnership to plan water releases so they would simultaneously serve the flood management purposes of the dam and facilitate popular activities like whitewater rafting and fishing. The partnership develops a flow management plan each year that regularly releases water in the summer for whitewater rafting and stores water in the fall and spring to benefit fish populations in the reservoir.
Fishing is a common activity at the dam, both in the reservoir and the Lehigh River it feeds. Species commonly caught include trout and smallmouth bass. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission regularly stocks the Lehigh River at the dam with brown and rainbow trout raised in hatcheries at the end of winter to shore up fish populations.
Other recreation
Multiple fields for baseball, soccer, a disc golf course, and other sports; they are located near the dam.
