The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-29
NEWS OF THE STATE.
ARE THE ROCKAWAY RIVER DAMS
A STANDING MENACE TO DOVERs

State Fair Grounds-Lehigh valley
New Route to New York-News In
Notes.
The Dover index has made asystematic
Inspection of all the dams on the Rocka'
way River and obtained some startling
results. The river flows through a deer
valley, with green hills and high noun
tains on either side nearly all the way
from Dover to Milton, Assistance of fifteen
miles.
At Lower Longwood, about six miles
abover Dover, is the first dam. 1t is
about one hundred feet long and eight
feet high, built of hemlock logs, stones,
cinder and dirt. 1t was built for water
power to run a forge nearly a century
ago. 1t has broken out by the high water
two or three times; once about 1orUy-
eight years ago and again peIWeen
twenty-five and thirty years ago. IL pc
longs to what is known as the Charles
McFarlan estate, and is now owned by q
wealthy water syndicate. This dam,
which holds back about fifty acres OF
water, was found to be in a very BAD CON
dition. The timbers are rotten and are
liable to give way at any time during a
heavy storm and high water. In fact a
representative of the syndicate acknowl-
edges that the dam is in a bad cond1tlon,
and said they intended, at some time in
the near future, to have the dam fixed.
He told Richard Christie who now oc-
cupies the place, that if the dam got any
worse to let him know and they would nix
it up.
At upper Longwood Pond the
dam is about seventy-five feet
long and eighteen feet high. 1t dams the
water back for a mile and three-quarters,
covering an area of seventy acres. 1t was
also builtto drive aforge nearly a century
ago. 1t went out about forty-eight years
ago and took the Lower Longwood dam
with it, when, we believe, the Dover dam
also went out. At this time the north
side of Dover was completely
the water being from three TO eight feet
deep. The dam was rebuilt with logs,
stone and earth. The site is a splendid
one-between two lodges of solid shale
rock, and the flume is cut through one OF
these lodges. The face of this dam is
braced to q certain extent by an apron"
OF timber, but at the west end this" apron"
has been partially torn away by high
water, and at the top of the dam on the
same end one or two of the large logs
which serve to keep the earth
and stone in place. and which
projection of the ledge, have rotted
off and moved a foot or more out Of po-
sition. Here they remain, only waiting
for an extra overflow of water to carry
them out, when the rest of the dam will
surely follow. The dam III pond is
owned by the heirs of John Keene, of
Elizabeth.
The next on the line of inspection was
the Woodstock dam, located a mile or so
further up the river, and is owned Gopher
O. Talmadge. There is but a small pond
behind this dam, probably two-thirds of
a mile in length, but very narrow. The
dam is sixty-five feet long and six feet
high, and proved to be in a much better
condition than any previously seen. 1t
went out fourteen years ago, and was re-
built, and, as Mr.. Talmadge says, "was
built to stay 1t would undoubtedly
stand any amount of rain and high water
unless the Petersburg dam should break.
The Petersburg dam was found to have
been built-well, twas undoubtedly built
since Noah's ark. In regard TO this struc-
ture but little was learned except what
was seen, which was a very convincing
argument against its remaining any
length of time in it's present condition. 1t
is q long, heavily built structure, proba-
bly, two hundred feet in length, over all,
and sixteen or eighteen feet high, built of
cinder, stone and earth; it keeps in sub
lection q beautiful bodyof water covering
about sixty acres. At one point the dam
is principally constructed of earth, and in
case of a heavy overflow this earth is LA
BILE to be washed away and cause
Serves 8 orea & h ns S keep f Il ia pla %e'G IS
badly decayed. A few feet farther the
face of the dan is perpendicular, about
16 feet high, laid up with cinder and
stone backed in with earth. No water
flows over the top of this dam except in
a freshet. One could see where the water
had IL over and made a hole in the earth
nearly IS inches deep behind the facing,
which seems to be but Il thickness of
cinder and stone-probably Is to IS inches.
In front of this depression several pieces
OF the cinder are somewhat bulged out OF
place and would hardly be considered
safe in an ordinary stone wall, much less
in a dam of this character. Should one
of these small pieces OF c1nder or stone
give way during a time OF high water,
nothing could be done that would save
the dam from utter destruction.
The Tumble" dam came next. This
is a structure built in zigzag shape, two
hundred feet long, or more, OF timber and
cobble stone, and is also badly in need of
something to strengthen it. 1t is a weak
affair to say the least. These dams and
pond beloning to the Chamberlain estate,
and are leased by a club of wealthy fisherl
men from South Orange and Newark.
In summing up the IndeT says:-"We
are of the opinion that if the Lower
Longwood dam should break alone it
would make but very little difference in
the height of the water here. If the
Upper Longwood dam goes out, of course
it will carry the one below it, and our
property owners would sustain more or
less damage. But suppose, and it isliableto
occur at any time of high water, the sixty
acres of water at Petersburg-and in time
of % freshet the water would cover an
area nearer q hundred acres-should be
let loose. There is not a dam i'll the river
which could stand the pressure, and they
would all "have to CO." even the Dover
dam, which is a model of strength COM
pared with the rest. Some claim that as
the dams are a long distance from Dover,
n that there are large tracts of meadow
land for this water to spread out in before
it reaches us, there would be but little
water, or force of water, by the time it
reached here. This IS very true as far as
the large tract of meadow land is con
cerned, but it all lies in a narrow valley
with high mountains and hills on either
side, and there is no other way for the
water to escape except by passing
through Dover. 1t is also we'll to bear in
mind, that while the water is getting high
enough to break out the dams the meadow
lands have already been flooded. In years
past we have seen the said meadows COW
cred with water to q depth of from one to
ten feet, and the water up to and running
over the bridges in Dover, and no dams
broke either. If these seven dams should
go out and let loose their two hundred
and fifty or three hundred acres of water
into the already overlooked river and
meadows nothing would prevent an mum
dation OF the most populated portion Of