Dams Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the dam at the south end of Green Fall Pond in Voluntown, Connecticut.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted several projects at the "U.S. Naval Storage Area," now known as Naval Support Activity, Crane, outside Burns City, Indiana. Projects included work at the dam impounding Greenwood Lake: Improve conservation dam and surrounding banks. Cost: $56,190. Sponsor: Commandant, 9th Naval District, U.S. Navy. WPA Project No. 265‐2‐52‐21

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration reinforced the Guajataca Dam in Isabela, between 1933 and 1935.

"Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River... one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal-era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel on the entire length of the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Guntersville Lake of 67,900 acres, and its tailwaters feed into Wheeler Lake." (Wikipedia)

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) developed what is now the Hackensack Meadowlands Conservation and Wildlife Area in Carlstadt, New Jersey. NYTimes: "The Federal Government is cooperating in the important mosquito extermination program in the Hackensack meadows where a grant of $93,000 is giving work to 600 men. By the construction of dikes and tide gates large swamp areas are being drained and a considerable portion of land is being reclaimed."

Hanging Rock State Park was developed as a federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project during the 1930s. "Many facilities in the park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1935 and 1942. A concrete and earthen dam completed in 1938 impounded a 12-acre lake, and a stone bathhouse, diving tower and sandy beach also were built. Other facilities constructed by the CCC include a park road and parking area, a picnic area and shelter, and hiking trails. In 1991, the bathhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is also cited in some...

The land that makes up Harold Parker State Forest was formed by the action of glaciers thousands of years ago, and the area has undergone numerous man-made changes since then. The Pentacook Indians were the first people to reside on the land and they called this place home for a few thousand years before it was settled by colonial English farmers in the 1650s. By the mid-nineteenth century many people abandoned the land for agricultural purposes, and moved closer to the towns of North Andover, Andover, North Reading, and Middleton, and the forest area reverted to a more wild character....

Collins Pond Dam is the most important of all the dams constructed by the CCC in Harold Parker State Forest. This dam is connected to a large retaining wall that surrounds the pond and it impounds a large quantity of water. The dam is currently is poor condition and it is not clear who is in charge of monitoring or repairing the dam. Many people were contacted in an effort to get information on the dam (North Andover Directory, North Andover Conservation Management, Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety and Removal, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation). However, it was difficult...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a major increase in the height of the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which creates Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  The dam had been completed by the city of San Francisco in 1923, after years of controversy over flooding the magnificent Hetch Hetchy Valley, the smaller twin of Yosemite Valley.  This was the height of the dam-building era in America. When San Francisco sought to expand the reservoir's capacity, the PWA provide funding for the project, which was completed in 1937-38. The dam was raised by 86 feet and the width of the dam enlarged at the same time.   "In...

"In 1935, the National Park Service purchased Hickory Run to create a national recreation demonstration area. These areas were placed near large urban centers to provide fresh air recreation for lower class urban dwellers. In 1936, Works Progress Administration workers arrived and began building roads, trails, fire roads, water lines and the group camps. In 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp NP-6. The CCC camp was adjacent to the current campground by the CCC Dam. A playground and open field now occupy the site where 200 young men had their camp. In 1945, the Hickory Run National Recreation Demonstration...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) drastically impacted New Jersey's High Point State Park. In 1933, when "the CCC boys first arrived at High Point Park, they found a relatively undeveloped 11,000-acre parcel of land. ... By the time the CCC boys were done working eight years later, they had built 25 miles of roads, two lakes, repaired the badly damaged forest, fought forest fires, cleared trails, built campgrounds and shelters, and partially completed an athletic complex. The park, as visitors enjoy it today, is largely the fruition of their efforts."

"Hiwassee Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s to bring flood control and electricity to the region. The dam impounds the Hiwassee Lake of 6,000 acres, and its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Lake. At 307 feet, Hiwassee Dam is the third highest dam in the TVA system, behind only Fontana and Watauga." (Wikipedia)

Hoover Dam, originally called "Boulder Dam", is the anchor of the entire Colorado River water storage and management system.  It lies in Black Canyon (not Boulder Canyon) at the southern tip of Nevada, on the Arizona border, and creates the massive Lake Meade reservoir, the largest in the United States.  It was the first high-arch concrete dam in history, becoming the model for thousands of dams built round the world.  It was constructed under the US Bureau of Reclamation by a joint venture of 8 construction companies (called "The Six Companies"), led by Henry Kaiser and including Bechtel Corporation, Utah...

In the early 1930s, at a meeting of the Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce, it was suggested that a park be built around Huntsville. The Chamber of Commerce took the proposal to the Texas State Parks Board. The board required that the community provide the land for the park. Twenty thousand dollars in bonds would have to be sold by Walker County to pay for the land needed. In early 1936, the bond issue passed with more than four to one in favor of selling the bonds. From 1937 to 1942, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1823(CV), an experienced company of...

A small dam in Hurd Park, Dover, New Jersey, was built by the Civil Works Administration.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built or improved a power dam in the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Judging from the photograph on the WPA record card in the National Archives, the dam is the one across the Snake River just above the Idaho Falls, which diverts part of the river into the hydroelectric power station run by Idaho Power Company. (The card gives the location as Briggs, Bonneville County, but there is no such place) The diversion from the falls to the power plant is obscured by a highway bridge and park in the middle of the river below the...

Imperial Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation during the New Deal as a feature of the Boulder Canyon Project, along with Hoover Dam and Parker Dam, on the lower Colorado River.  It lies 17 miles above Yuma, Arizona. It is the diversion structure for the All-American Canal, which serves the Imperial Valley and Coachella Valley in Southern California and for the Gila Project in Arizona. The dam is 3500 feet along the crest and 41 feet high at overflow point. The All American Canal headworks has a maximum diversion capacity of 15,000 cfs. The length of the All American canal – so-named because it did not...

Just before the phase-out of the CWA began in January 1934, the City of Independence applied successfully for CWA funds to build a trio of small dams across the Wapsipinicon at Independence downstream from the city’s mill dam. On further investigation by the county engineer, the number of dams was reduced to two, and later to one. This dam, now known as the Independence Low Dam, spans the river at the northwest corner of Oak Grove Cemetery. The original plans called for multiple three-foot dams constructed of rock and other materials, but eventually a single four-foot dam was constructed of...

"The Iron Springs Dam was constructed circa 1933 by members of the 3767th Company of the Arkansas CCC District stationed at the Hollis and Jessieville Camps, both of which were also located on State Highway 7, to the north and south of the Iron Springs Roadside Park, respectively.  It was constructed as part of a small, public recreational complex within the Ouachita National Forest (ONF) as a result of the CCC's emphasis upon recreational construction.  The extant historic structures within this complex include only this dam and two shelters (nominated separately), all of which allowed the area to function purely...

Starting in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a 44-foot dam, comprised of “40,000 cubic yards of fill” and “topped with stepping-stones, across the headwaters of the Mississippi River.”  It is not clear exactly when the job was completed. The dam did not create Itasca Lake but did stabilize the lake level and better define the outfall, which had previously made its way through dense riparian vegetation.  The CCC men also built the first wooden sign at the site, since replaced by a vertical sign. Over the years, foot traffic and shifting stream flow eroded the stepping stones and banks, so...

"Jefferson Lake State Park was developed on 962 acres in the valley of the Town Fork of Yellow Creek. Land acquisition began in 1928. The lake and other facilities were constructed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the old Ohio Division of Conservation as a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. The dam was constructed in 1934 and the 17-acre lake was filled in 1946. In 1950, the area was turned over to the newly created Division of Parks and Recreation."

With establishment of the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) program in 1933, better know as the Civilian Conservation Corp. (CCC) resources became available to develop facilities for the park. Civilian Conservation Corp. Co. 553 SP-16 arrived at John Bryan in June 1935 to begin six years of work.  The men laid out roads and blazed miles of trails (including the Pittsburgh–Cincinnati Stagecoach Trail preserving portions of a 19th century wagon-road). Also, enrollees built two foot-bridges across the Little Miami River.  One bridge featured a dam that, when closed, created a “swimming hole.” The workers also erected the park office, two picnic...

The WPA built the current Johnson’s Pond Dam after the previous dam washed out. Today (three quarters of a century later) the dam provides an area for recreational boating and bass management. And, in addition to bass, anglers can fish for “black crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish, yellow perch, white perch, chain pickerel, brown bullhead catfish and common carp" (see Department of Natural Resources source below).

“BUTLER – Work is expected to start soon on the erecting of a dam for the proposed Kakeout reservoir. Engineering details have been completed under the direction of Cornelius C. Vermeule, engineer of the Butler Borough Water works. Three hundred and fifty men will be employed for about six months, when the building starts, and will be done under a WPA project. Clearing and grading of the site in addition to constructing the dam will also be done. The cost to this borough will be about $35,000. The total estimated cost is $245,484… The water from the proposed reservoir would...

Kellyville Dam was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project ca. 1935-6.

Kendall State Park, plus park land from the cities of Cleveland & Akron, were formed into a National Recreation Area in 1974 and then Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The story of its establishment highlights the impact local citizens and political leaders can have when they work together with passion and common purpose to protect aspects of America's heritage. This story is rooted in the environmental and social movements of the 20th century. It is about the desire to have scenic open spaces near to home, especially for recreation. It is about not only saving significant features but restoring a landscape to...

"Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s and early 1940s to improve navigation on the lower part of the river and reduce flooding on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was a major project initiated during the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, to invest in infrastructure to benefit the country."   (wikipedia)

Kooser State Park in Western Pennsylvania is surrounded by the Forbes State Forest. "The park’s original design character was stamped by the Civilian Conservation Corps projects of the 1930s that established the existing lake and most of its use areas, its architecture and site details."   (https://www.dcnr.state.pa.us) "The CCC established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression built a camp on the western edge of Kooser State Park. The young men of the CCC built the dam on Kooser Run creating Kooser Lake. They also built roads, outdoor fireplaces and cabins. Much of their work can still be seen today...

The park contains 12 rustic style park structures built in the 1930s, “including a unique observation/water tower and a dam engineered over quicksand."   (Wikipedia)

The works Progress Administration created Lake Clark by building an 1800-foot compacted earth filled dam on Little Mustang Creek west of Ennis, Texas. The project number was 65-1-66-165.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Main Street Dam at the head of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake NY between 1937 and 1938. The WPA allocated funds for a number of proposed improvements in and around Ogdensburg, including “the construction of a new dam…and the development of a picturesque bathing float, beach, park site and addition of buildings to Saranac Lake Craft and Study Guild” (Parks & Recreation). According to a contemporary news report, the dam was “placed…on the site upon which Capt. Pliny Miller once built a sawmill. Later it was taken over by Alonzo Blood…who organized Saranac Lake’s...

The Works Progress Administration rebuilt the dam impounding Lake Halbert, near Corsicana, Texas, in a project completed in 1936. The work involved "extensive rock riprapping."

Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1939 by Executive Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (which wikipedia incorrectly calls an act of Congress in 1938).  The land was purchased and administered by the Bureau of Biological Survey (which morphed into the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940). The region was one of the last parts of the country to be settled by farmers and before long the area suffered from drought and dust storms like much of the rest of the Great Plains in the 1930s. In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) help the locals realize their plan to...

"This nomination seeks to recognize the entire property comprising Lake Leatherwood Park as a National Register Historic District.  Previously, Lake Leatherwood Dam and Recreational Facilities, consisting of the bathhouse and the picnic shelter, were listed individually in the National Register on August 12, 1992.  Since that time, additional AHPP survey efforts through the initiation of the Eureka Springs Parks Commission have revealed a large number of additional buildings, structures, and sites within the park that were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps as well as resources dating before and after the CCC period.  It is being nominated under Criteria A,...

The eight-mile-long dam impounding Lake Marion was constructed as part of the massive Santee Cooper Project enabled by a $31 million grant-loan by the Public Works Administration (PWA).

The dam impounding Lake Moultrie was constructed as part of the massive Santee Cooper Project enabled by a $31 million grant-loan by the Public Works Administration (PWA). South Carolina Encyclopedia: "In 1941 President Roosevelt declared the Santee Cooper a defense project, and one year later the power plant in Pinopolis began generating power. Within two decades it was providing electricity to the majority of the state’s farms as well as industries in surrounding counties."

This water retention dam and lake was constructed by the WPA in 1937. It was was justified as being for potential needs in a drought, but which primarily served as a place for water recreation for African American families in the Kansas City area. At the time, there was very limited opportunity for outdoor recreation for blacks in Kansas City, essentially being a small section of Swope Park nicknamed "watermelon hill." The surrounding land was privately owned by some of the wealthier black families in the Kansas City area.

In 1934 the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Lake Administration (FERA) constructed a dam to impound a recreational lake: Lake Tomahawk, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, as well as a community building and boathouse at its shore. The lake "was officially opened on Labor Day weekend in 1934." The community building featured shingle siding and a large room for social gatherings and boating and bathing facilities. The building is still in use today and the lake continues as a gathering spot. "The community house, built at Black Mountain, in Buncombe County, under project No. 11A-B11-2, is situated on the shore...

Constructed in 1940 by the Army Corps of Engineers, this dam created the 45,000-acre Lake Wappapello reservoir on the St. Francis River. Constructed with the primary intention of flood control, Lake Wappapello continues to offer recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, and camping to the public.

In 1933, the Lampasas Chamber of Commerce raised $2,500 to buy 154 acres of land along Sulphur Creek and presented the land to the State of Texas as a site for a state park. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 896 arrived the same year, set up Camp Miriam (in honor of Miriam "Ma" Ferguson, the Governor of Texas) and began development of the park. The CCC cleared brush and cactus, built gravel roads, a native stone entrance, a concession house, a low water dam, native stone picnic tables, barbecue pits, native stone cabins, a baseball field, and a polo field....