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Chicopee Falls Dam

Coordinates: 42°09′36″N 72°34′51.5″W / 42.16000°N 72.580972°W / 42.16000; -72.580972
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Chicopee Falls Dam
Chicopee Falls Dam
Official nameChicopee Falls Dam
LocationChicopee, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°09′36″N 72°34′51.5″W / 42.16000°N 72.580972°W / 42.16000; -72.580972
Construction beganlate 1800
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsChicopee River
Height10 ft (3.05 m)
Length300 ft (91.44 m)
Reservoir
CreatesChicopee Reservoir

The Chicopee Falls Dam is a masonry stone dam that parallels Route 33 (Bridge Street) in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It is part of the Chicopee River Watershed. The dam was constructed in the late 19th century,[citation needed] and is owned by the City of Chicopee. It impounds the waters of the Chicopee River at Chicopee Falls, to form the Chicopee Reservoir.

This is the third-to-last dam on the Chicopee River before it empties into the Connecticut River just north of Springfield.[citation needed]

Flash-boards have been installed to raise the level of the impoundment above the original height of the dam. Therefore, the dam's effective height is greater than the 10 feet (3.0 m) shown in its specifications.

History

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In 1823, Jonathan Dwight purchased the water privilege at Skenungonuck Falls in Chicopee. He built a textile mill and five years later it became second-largest operation in the state. By 1831, settlers had developed two giant dams, two waterpower canals, and two manufacturing communities along on the Chicopee River.

View from below Chicopee Falls

References

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