The Great Crossing

Long before Yough Lake Marina existed, the ground it sits on was already one of the most important river crossings in early America. The spot where the Youghiogheny was wide and shallow had been used by Native Americans for generations and was already known as the “Great Crossing” before any European set foot there, named to distinguish it from the “Little Crossing” of the Casselman River to the east.

George Washington crossed the Yough at or near the marina location on five separate expeditions (in 1753, 1754, 1755, 1770, and 1784), several times traveling both ways. General Braddock crossed there in 1755 on what turned out to be a one-way ticket, marching his forces toward the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela. Washington used the names “Great Crossing” and “Little Crossing” in his own journals, but the names predated his travels by years.

The trail that funneled all this traffic followed along what is now called Braddock's Run, crossed the Yough where the water spread wide and shallow, then followed up along what locals know as Jockey Hollow. Over the centuries, this route has carried many names: the Nemacolin Trail, Braddock's Road, the National Road or Pike, and today, simply Route 40.

Beneath the surface of Youghiogheny River Lake lies the old town of Somerfield, submerged when the dam was completed in 1943. The town's most famous landmark, the Great Crossings Bridge built in 1818, still stands on the lake bottom. Envisioned by George Washington, financed by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, and dedicated by President James Monroe, the stone arch bridge carried the National Road across the Yough for over a century.

The old bridge runs from Somerfield north, crossing over toward Jockey Hollow. Its arches are not exposed until the lake level drops below elevation 1,389 feet, something that happens only in severe droughts. When it does, the bridge draws crowds. In 1991, visitors lined up to see the Great Crossings Bridge emerge from the receding water.

Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938, Youghiogheny River Lake is one of 16 flood control projects in the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project provides flood protection for the Youghiogheny and lower Monongahela River Valleys as well as for Pittsburgh and the upper Ohio River. Since its completion in 1943, the Youghiogheny project has prevented flood damages estimated to be in excess of $569 million. The lake has the capability to store the equivalent runoff of 11 inches of precipitation from its 434-square-mile drainage area.

The dam also serves a modern purpose beyond flood control. The D/R Hydro Company operates a hydroelectric plant at the dam with the capacity to generate up to 12 megawatts of electricity per hour, enough to service approximately 8,000 homes for a year. It's a reminder that this lake, born from the need to control devastating floods, continues to serve the region in ways its builders may not have imagined.