The Little Conemaugh river once fed the eventual creation of Lake Conemaugh, a dam meant to reserve water for the state's fledgling canal system in the 1840s. In the late 1870s, wealthy Pittsburgh men, including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and Philander Knox purchased the land, developed cottages and amenities and became responsible for the upkeep of Lake Conemaugh's dam, which had fallen into disrepair. Subsequent to the 1889 South Fork Dam failure the fishing and hunting club modified the dam, making it more vulnerable to failure or collapse.