A Brief History of the Stillwater Reservoir
Possible log-driving dams: 1850 – 1885
The earliest dams on the Beaver River were probably log-driving dams intended to collect adequate water so logs could be floated downstream to market. Log-driving dams were relatively inexpensive to build since they were constructed out of local timber and earth. Logging along the Beaver River was widespread enough by 1853 that the state legislature declared the Beaver River a “public highway” for floating logs.
In 1864, the New York legislature appropriated $10,000 to improve the channel of the Beaver River. The channel was modified from the mouth of Sunday Creek, about six miles downstream from Stillwater, all the way upstream to the headwaters at Smith’s Lake [now called Lake Lila]. A channel sixteen to twenty feet wide was blasted out of the rock from Stillwater to Sunday Creek. Upstream above Stillwater an oxbow was cut through at a spot called Dutch Gap. A low logging dam was built at the outlet of Smith’s Lake. By 1865, the Beaver River was judged suitable for floating thirteen-foot softwood logs all the way to the Black River.
Although it's probable that log-driving dams existed at one or more locations along the Beaver River between 1850 and 1885, because they tended to be temporary, they do not appear on early maps. In fact, the first accurate map of the upper Beaver River drawn in 1878 by surveyor Frank Tweedy for the Colvin Adirondack survey shows no flooded land or other evidence of dams in the stretch of river between Beaver Lake and Albany Lake [now called Nehasane Lake].
The first wood & earth dam: 1885 – 87
Unfortunately, the early Moose and Black River reservoirs proved inadequate to keep both the Black River and the canal at acceptable levels. Therefore in 1881, the legislature authorized new dams on the Beaver and Independence Rivers as well as six new dams on the Moose and Black Rivers, including two new dams on the Fulton Chain. The state surveying team decided that the dam on the Beaver River should be built at Stillwater.
The first permanent dam at Stillwater was located at a shallow rapid in a narrow section of the river near the confluence of the Beaver River with Twitchell Creek. It was a simple timber and earth dam that rose only 9.5 feet above natural low water with a wide spillway to allow logs to be driven over the dam. When it was completed in 1887, it impounded about 328 million cubic feet of water at capacity. The first dam submerged portions of the Beaver River up to the edge of the forest for about five miles upstream. This first impoundment was called the “Beaver River Flow.”
The second wood and earth dam: 1893 – 94
It was soon obvious that the first Stillwater dam did not hold nearly enough water for the waterpower needs of the Black River. In response, the dam at Stillwater was enlarged to a height of 14.5 feet, five feet higher than the first dam. Construction began in 1893 and was completed in early 1894. The new dam was built at the same location as the first dam, most likely right on top of it.
The 1894 dam created a larger Beaver River Flow that extended 9.3 miles upstream and had a surface area of 2,688 acres. No trees were cut from the area flooded by the 1894 dam which resulted in a large shallow flowed land full of dead trees.
The higher 1894 dam flooded hundreds of acres of forest and made thousands of upstream acres inaccessible for logging. Dr. William Seward Webb, builder of the railroad that passed through the area, owned the land around the east end of the Beaver River. Dr. Webb sued New York State because the 1894 dam prevented him from floating logs down the river to market. In settlement, the state acquired 75,000 acres of Webb lands around the Flow to add to the Forest Preserve.
The first concrete dam: 1902 – 03
Although the 1894 dam served its intended purposes fairly well, like all wood and earth dams it leaked and required frequent repairs. Accordingly, in 1900 the legislature authorized a more substantial replacement dam. It was built a bit further downstream on the brink of the uppermost falls. The new dam consisted of two parts. On the north side, an earth dam blocked the natural channel of the river. On the south side, a curved all-concrete spillway dam was constructed equipped with flood gates at the base blasted out of solid rock. A gatehouse was built at the top of the spillway dam on the south bank. The new dam was completed in 1903. The 1903 dam did not alter the overall water level of the reservoir but its capacity was somewhat greater because about 105 additional acres were flooded between the new dam and the old dam.
The current concrete dam: 1922 – 24
The continued growth of waterpower industries along the Black River, especially in Watertown, eventually outstripped the capacity of the 1903 reservoir. Extensive lobbying by these businesses resulted in the creation of the Black River Regulating District that in 1920 announced plans to raise the Stillwater dam by an additional nineteen feet to its current height of 33.5 feet. Between 1922 and 1924, approximately 4000 acres of forest that would be flooded was cleared and old stumps were cut to within 12" of the ground whenever possible. Private land that would be flooded was purchased by the state and the camps and other buildings on that land were relocated, salvaged or destroyed. [see my 5/3/21 post on the Beaver River Club]
The 1924 dam was built at the same location as the 1903 dam. The concrete spillway dam and the earth dam were increased in height. The gatehouse of the 1903 dam was raised to the top of the new dam. On Feb. 11, 1925, the gates closed and the water rose creating the Stillwater Reservoir as it exists today.
Stillwater Reservoir, sometimes still called the Beaver River Flow or just “the Flow” by old-timers, is eleven miles long with about 120 miles of shoreline. The reservoir is one mile wide at the widest point and consists of 6,700 lake acres. It is 55 - 60 feet deep at its deepest point but the water depth varies greatly with the seasons and rainfall. The reservoir impounds about 35 billion gallons at capacity. Although some believe the dam was built to generate electricity, that was not the case. Modest electric generation equipment was not added to the dam until a much later date.
The 1924 Stillwater dam is still in service regulating the flow of the Beaver River. The dam was last completely renovated in 2001. In order to accomplish this work, the dam gates were opened and the reservoir drained for one summer. The original course of the Beaver River was revealed during the repairs and the remains of the 1894 dam reappeared.
This post is a greatly condensed version of the research spelled out in detail in my forthcoming book, Beaver River Country. The photographs are from the collections of Jim and Carol Fox and Frank Carey.
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