Maurice K. Goddard State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Deer Creek, Mill Creek, New Vernon and Sandy Lake Townships, Mercer County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It features wildlife, waterways and public recreational facilities. Lake Wilhelm shares its shorelines with Maurice K. Goddard State Park and State Game Land No. 270. The dam, constructed in 1971, creates a lake providing a resource for people and wildlife. Many species of fish and amphibians make Lake Wilhelm their home. A variety of outdoor activities are available in and around the park vicinity. Special events and programs are held throughout the summer months. Maurice K. Goddard State Park is just off exit 130 of Interstate 79 on Pennsylvania Route 358. The park is 1 of 5 Pennsylvania State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with 59 seconds of totality. History Sandy Creek, the stream that was dammed to create Lake Wilhelm, was noted in reports made by George Washington during his 1753 trip to Fort LeBoeuf during the French and Indian War. Sandy Creek had a recurring history of flooding. This led to a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The study began in 1939. Plans were delayed by the start of World War II but the citizens of Mercer County could see the benefit of building a flood control dam on Sandy Creek. The state, county, township and municipal authorities of the surrounding area worked together to push forward the idea of building the dam and recreational facilities in Mercer County. The land was acquired in the late 1960s. Construction on the dam began soon after and was completed in 1971. Maurice K. Goddard State Park was opened to the public in 1972. Maurice K. Goddard State park is named for Maurice K. Goddard. Goddard was a graduate of the University of Maine and the University of California at Berkeley. After reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during World War II, Goddard came to Pennsylvania, where he took a job at Mont Alto Forestry School and later at Penn State Main Campus before he was appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forests and Waters, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Upon taking his position with the state, Goddard set about completing his goal of having a state park within of every resident of Pennsylvania. When