Nomination for Great Stone Dam

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Form No. 10-30 (Rev. 10-741 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DATA SHEET FOR NPS USE ONLY NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM RECEIVE NOV 1 1976 DATE ENTERED APR 1 3 1977 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS 1 NAME 2 3 4 5 6 HISTORIC Great Stone Dam AND/OR COMMON Essex Company Dam LOCATION STREET & NUMBER Merrimack River, just west of the Mass.

Route 28 crossing _NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Lawrence STATE - VICINITY OF CODE 5th Massachusetts COUNTY Massachusetts 025 Essex CODE 009 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY _DISTRICT _BUILDING(S) X STRUCTURE _SITE _OBJECT OWNERSHIP _PUBLIC XPRIVATE _BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION _IN PROCESS _BEING CONSIDERED STATUS XOCCUPIED -UNOCCUPIED _WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE - YES: RESTRICTED - YES: UNRESTRICTED 12/12NO PRESENT USE AGRICULTURE _MUSEUM _COMMERCIAL _PARK _EDUCATIONAL -PRIVATE RESIDENCE _ENTERTAINMENT _RELIGIOUS _GOVERNMENT _SCIENTIFIC XINDUSTRIAL -TRANSPORTATION LMILITARY *: _OTHER: OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Essex Company STREET & NUMBER 6 Essex street CITY, TOWN Lawrence OF LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION STATE Massachusetts 01840 COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC.

Essex Company STREET & NUMBER 6 Essex Street CITY, TOWN STATE Lawrence Massachusetts REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS Historic American Engineering Record Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth DATE 1975, 1976 XFEDERAL XSTATE _COUNTY LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Library of Congress, Massachusetts Historical Commission CITY. TOWN STATE Washington, Boston D.C., Mass. 71DESCRIPTION CONDITION XEXCELLENT _GOOD FAIR _DETERIORATED RUINS _UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE - UNALTERED X ALTERED CHECK ONE -ORIGINAL SITE _MOVED DATE DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The Great Stone Dam crosses the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It is located west of the center of the city at the point where State Highway 28 crosses the Merrimack River. The Essex Company Dam is an overflow weir the purpose of which is to impound the flow of the Merrimack River and to raise its water to a head sufficient for the generation of power. The dam is 900 feet in length and is gently curved upstream, with a center or- dinate of 14.97 feet. The dam is skewed across the river, its southern end being about 200 feet further upstream than the northern end. The dam is anchored to the north and south mill islands by wing walls of random coursed, rough cut granite blocks, bricks and large pieces of granite rubble. The northern wing wall is 405 feet long and the southern hnebbleine Thus the entire length of the dam is 1,629 feet.

The overflow section of the dam varies in height from thirty to forty feet, with its average height The dam is trapezoidal in profile, with a base of thirty-five feet and a top width of twelve and a half feet. The accompanying sketch provides addi- tional information. The downstream side of the dam slopes at a rate of one foot in twelve, thus allowing the water to fall freely onto the blue quartzite ledge of the river bottom. The downstream face of the dam is of ashlar construction, consisting of quarry faced hammered granite headers and stretchers, set in hydraulic cement. The bottom row of headers was doweled to the bed of the river and set in a trench, eight feet wide and four feet deep, which was blasted for the entire overflow length of the weir.

The crest stones of the dam are hammered granite blocks, all headers, which slope upstream at a grade of one foot in three for twelve feet. The upstream face of the dam slopes at a rate of forty-five degrees for twenty-two and a half feet, at which point the face drops vertically for ten feet to the bed of the river. All of the dam except for the crest stones and downstream face is constructed of large blocks of granite rubble, set in con- crete and hydraulic cement. The entire upstream side of the dam is covered with a five foot layer of gravel and an earthen embankment, which slopes at a rate of one foot in six for one hundred and sixty feet upstream of the crest of the weir. The crest stones were initially drilled to accommodate about 250 wrought iron bars upon which flash boards were secured. Around 1865 the number of holes was doubled.

The dam has no wasteways beyond the two canals which it supplies and its own spillway. The wing walls of the dam, on either side of the river, are fifteen feet higher than the crest. To comply with state law, the Essex Company originally constructed a wooden fishway at the south end of the dam. This fishway washed out periodically and was replaced with a concrete fishway in 1918. This fishway is still in place. Around 1914 the crest stones were reinforced by almost five hundred additional dowels as a precaution aginst the loss of crest stones which had occurred at the Pawtucket Dam in Lowell, a structure with a similar profile to the Essex Dam. At this time two crest stones were found to be cracked, and the cracks were spanned with steel plates. The dam has not been modified in any other way. The dam was begun in August of 1845 and the structure was completed in September of 1848.

Its designer was Charles S. Storrow, the Treasurer and Chief Engineer of the Essex Company. The Construc- tion Engineer was Charles Bigelow of the Essex Company.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD -PREHISTORIC -1400-1499 -1500-1599 _1600-1699 _1700-1799 *1800-1899 -1900- ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC AGRICULTURE ARCHITECTURE ART -COMMERCE _COMMUNICATIONS AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW _COMMUNITY PLANNING - LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE _CONSERVATION -LAW - ECONOMICS -LITERATURE *EDUCATION -MILITARY -ENGINEERING -MUSIC -EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT _PHILOSOPHY LINDUSTRY -POLITICS/GOVERNMENT -INVENTION -RELIGION SCIENCE SCULPTURE -SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN -THEATER -TRANSPORTATION -OTHER (SPECIFY) SPECIFIC DATES 1845-48 BUILDER

Statement of significance

/ARCHITECT Charles S. Storrow STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Essex Company Dam was the first weir to cross a large American river with a height that exceeded ten feet. Since the overturning movement exerted upon a dam increases as the cube of its height, it required great engineering skill to design and construct such a structure. Moreoever, the dam had to be constructed to resist the huge freshets which periodically occurred on the Merrimack River. The average flow of the Merrimack is less than six thousand cubic feet per second. In the freshet of 1936 over two hundred thousand cubic feet per second were flowing over the dam's crest.

Charles Storrow, a graduate of Harvard (number one in the Class of 1829) and the Ecole Nationale de Ponts et Chaussees (1833), had studied in the offices of Loammi Baldwin, Jr., and had toured the major engineering sites of France and Great Britian during the years 1830-1834. Storrow was the author of the first American treatise on hydraulic engineering (1835), and was a prominent railroad engineer (Boston and Lowell Railroad), and hydraulic engineer (Proprietors of Locks and Canals at Lowell). Storrow employed design principles which were followed by other dam builders for the remainder of the nineteenth century. Such renowned engineers as James Francis, Ezra Worthen, and Joseph Freeman modeled their own dams upon that of Storrow. Dam designers of more recent years have employed dif- ferent techniques based upon the empirical data accumulated in the years since 1845.

this day the design of overflow weirs is largely a matter of good judgment upon the To part of the engineer rather than such hard and fast rules as apply to the design of reservoir dams. The Essex Company Dam is of great significance because it embodies every known principle of weir design that was followed in the early nineteenth century in a state that has remained virtually unchanged since 1848. These design principles are its skewed, slightly curved form (to minimize overflow and to concentrate eddies in the center of the dam), its crest design (to facilitate the flow of chunks of ice), the massive earthern embankment (to prevent undermining of the dam), and the flush, uncurved spillway (to avoid the very considerable expense of building a curved spillway with ashlar masonry).

A resultant force diagram of the dam shows that in every case from an empty mill pond to a water level of over 25 feet, the resultant force falls within the middle third of the profile, thus accounting for the dam's survival of floods and ice without the need for repair over the past 130 years. The use of hydraulic cement and concrete, each barrel of which was tested by an Essex Company Engineer, is also noteworthy. Only two other overflow weirs in the United States are older. The oldest is the Ascutney Dam at Windsor, Vermont (1836), which spans a very small stream, and which has been significantly modi- fied. The second is the Old Croton Dam (1844), which was submerged in 1890 by the reservoir of its replacement, the New Croton River Dam.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Tenth Census of the United States, 1880, Vol. XVI, p.25. Frizell, Joseph; Water Power, New York: 1890. Wegmann, J.; Design of Dams, New York: 1908. MSS.; Essex Company Records, Archives of the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum. Essex Company: Plans and Drawings. 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY 2 acres UTM REFERENCES A[1,91 ZONE 13'2,215,4,0 EASTING 14,712,916,6,01 NORTHING C VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION EASTING NORTHING LLILLL LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE 11 FORM PREPARED BY NAME/ TITLE Peter M. Molloy Merrimack Valley Textile Museum & Joseph R.

Orfant, National Register ORGANIZATION Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET & NUMBER 294 Washington Street CITY OR TOWN Boston 25 October 1976 TELEPHONE 617-727-8470 STATE Massachusetts 12 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: STATE LOCAL _ NATIONAL - As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665). I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

STATE HISTORIC, PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE ahuck hue Amadon TITLE Executive Director, Massachusett 6 Historical CommissionATE 10/26/76 FOR NPS USE ONLY 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT TAIS PROPERTY IS INCIUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER CHIET PRESERVATION ATTEST 413/27 3.18.37 KEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER GPO 892-453 APR 1 3 1977 Great River Dam Lawrence, Massachusetts Sketch of Section RECEIVED 0 6 1976 NATIONAL REGISTER Elastiboaris afe fitg 6 to- Slore Top of Farth. Bactifilling. Stope, I tol Baltle Blue Quartzit - Ledge. - 35' Fig. 5. SECTION OF DAM AT LAWRENCE, MASS: FROM IFEO CENSUS,"WATER POWIKA , veL XVI. Property State TECHNICAL Photos- Maps Great Stone Dam Mass. Working Number 11.1.76.4417 What accompanying sketch? Ksöd 6D 76 ARCHITECTURAL Essex CONTROL OK 11.1.26 HISTORIAN ASCEPT WEngoak 26076 HISTORIAN Accept 129.70 ARCHEOLOGIST OTHER HAER Well woiltew q reiearched noviration!

Inventorydmb Moxh.7h Review Aceept Eud REVIEW UNIT CHIEF aatu 2/21/29 BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER for Musto 3:18.75 APR 13 1977 INT:2106-74 National Register Write-up Federal Register Entry 5-3-27 Send-back Re-submit Entered United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7 Great Stone Dam Lawrence, MA. 1975 Peter M. Molloy Merrimack Valley Textile Museum North Andover, Massachusetts DOE APR 1 3 1977 Photograph #1 Looking south across the Merrimack River showing the front of the dam and flash- boards. NOV sr ESSRX cer DAM O'cRANT BriDGe. E- SOMLOR TOR BANS.

- TH FLOW dE TAT MOLCÓY EN AVEVST 19.75 -CERY JRETICR NUSRVA PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL FEGISTER PAUL GUZZI Socrolary of the Commonwealth The Commonvealth of Massachusetts Ofice of the Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission 291 Mashington Street Boston, Massachussetts 02108 (617)727-8470 November 30, 1976 RECEIVED DEC 0 6 1976 NATIONAL REGISTER The National Register of Historic Places Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 Attn: Stephen Livengood Dear Steve: Enclosed please find a copy of the sketch that is referred to in the nomination form for the Great River Dam in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It is a section through the dam and is from the 1880 U.S. Census. Its exclusion was an oversight on my part. Sincerely Aoe Otent Joseph R.

Orfant National Register Editor Massachusetts Historical Conmission JRO/edh enc. ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSETTS Date Entered APR 1 3 1977 Name Location /Great Stone Dam Holy Trinity Greek Orthodos Chureh Chandler, General Sanuel, House Lavrence vieinity Essex County Love11 Middlesex County Lexington Middlesex County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Hon. Edward W. Brooke Hon. Paul Tsongas Regional Director, North Atlantic Region 880 Mott/ej 4-18-77 State Historie Preservation Officer Mes. Elizabeth R. Anadon Executive Director, Massachusetts Histosical Connission 294 Washington Street Boston, Maesachusetts 02108 NR Data Sheet DATE, 26 A76 Reviewer INITIALS: NR DOE APR 1 3. 1977 NAME AS IT APPEARS IN FEDERAL REGISTER: Great Stone Dam OTHER NANES: Essex Company Dam LOCATION: STREET & NUMBER Merrimack River at MA 28 CITY.

TOWN Lawrence CONGRESSIUNAL DISTRICT 5th STATE Massachusetts -COUNTY Essex - code 009 OWNER OF PROPERTY: (Circle) PRIVATE STATE LOCAL GOV'T MUNICIPAL COUNTY OTHER ADMINISTRATOR(underline) FEDERAL (AGENCY NAME) : NPS REGION: (CIRCLE) N.ATLANTIE MID ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST MIDWEST SOUTHWEST ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEST PACIFIC NORTHWEST FEATURES: INTERIOR - Substantially intact-1 unknown - 4 Znot applicable - 7 CONDITION - LEXCELLENT _GOOD -FAIR EXTERIOR ENVIRONS _ Substantially intact-2 Substantially intact-3 inknown.- - unknown-6 not applicable- _ Nct applicable-9 -Interior, exterior, environs not intact-o _DETERIORATED -UNALTERE -RUINS LALTEREI _UNEXPOSED -Reconstructed YORIGINAL SITE _MOVED _Unkncwn _Unexcavater _Excavated ACCESS - Yes-restricted Yes-urrestricted No access Unknown historic district? YES NO WITHIN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT?

IF YES, NAME: YES NO WITHIN NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK? IF YES, NAME: YES NO ADAPTIVE USE: YES Saved? YES NO FUNCTION (S): (use vocabulary words) then- dam now- dam SIGNIFICANCE: -ARCHEULUGY-PREHISTORIC -ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC -AGRICULTURE ARCHITECTURE ART -COMMERCE -_COMMUNICATIONS Claims "first" YES _CONSERVATION _ECONOMICS IEDUCATIOI LENGINEERINC _EXPLORATION -INDUSTRY _INVENTION NO _LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE -_RELIGION -LAW/Gov't/politics _SCIENCE -LITERATURE _MILITARY - _SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN _MUSIC _PHILOSOPHY _POLITICS/GOVEMENT -TRANSPORTATION _OTHER (SPECIFY) "oldest' YES NO . _entertainment -health _recreation -settlement _socio/cultural _urban & commun planning "only" YES NO ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: architect/m.builder: landscape/garden designer: interior decorator: ETHNIC GROUP: NAMES: (label role appropriate date) personal engineer: Charlss S.

Storrow artist/artisan: builder/contractor: Chalso Bigslow Construcion angeneer events institutional DATES: DATE OF CONSTRUCTION (specifie date ox 1/4 of century): 1845-48 DATE (S) OF "MAJOR" ALTERATIONS: HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATE (S) : SOURCE: (OF NOMINATION) PRIVATE STATE LOCAL GOV"T MUNICIPAL OTHER FEDERAL 'AGENCY: ACREAGE: (to nearest tenth of an acre) COUNTY COMMENTS: (include architectural information here) HAER Dam ot qante rullle set in concrete and hydraulic concrete, 900'tmg dam with sid wings af 405' and 394", 30'-40' ouerfen section, concrete fuhway: ereot stnes reenfnced, 1914.. First weis to cross a large American sacies wuch a reight oue 10' SIGNIFICANCE: (maximum two sentences) Dve of thi hdsst ousklow weers m Amzriea, the Esssr Compam is an sperllent sxampla e dan desigh withh mid 1ath cantery tschnology?