From the 'Turnback Tuesday' archives: Housatonic River Dam

This week's "Turnback Tuesday" features the Housatonic River Dam.

The Housatonic Water Co. was organized in 1866 for the purpose of erecting a dam across the river. The dam was built in 1870 near the present-day Yale Boathouse.

A short canal was built on the Derby side while a much longer canal was built on the Huntington side that later became Shelton.

On Jan. 21, 1891, the dam burst from damage wrought by freshets and ice blocks. Even after it was rebuilt, ice and heavy water flows continued to damage the Housatonic River Dam until the Stevenson Dam was built upriver in Monroe in 1918.

[First published on this date in 2017.]

Thanks goes to Derby Public Library staff for sharing interesing local history each week.