NEWTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY VISITS STEVENSON DAM

The Stevenson Dam has been in place longer than most of us who drive over its bridge can remember. On May 10, at 7.30 PM, in the community room of the Booth Library, 25 Main Street (route 25), the Newtown Historical Society will offer a program on the History of the Stevenson Dam, presented by John Babina.

The dam is one of a series of five on the Housatonic River, all constructed by CL&P to provide hydro-electric power. It was two years in the making, utilizing steam machinery and ox carts, and was finished on November 24, 1919, at a cost of four million dollars. At its peak it can generate 28,750 kilowatts. Compared to western dams it is on the smallish side, but for us in the east it seems quite large at 1213 feet in length, 122 feet high at crest elevation, and 81 feet thick at its base. It is one of the few existing dams with a road built across its top, supported by 24 arches rising from the spillway, and the source of much current controversy regarding its condition and need for replacement to accommodate modern traffic needs.

As with all dams, the impoundment lake, Lake Zoar in this case, provides great benefits as well. Lake Zoar covers over 1,000 acres at crest, and provides much opportunity for recreational boating, fishing and swimming as well as prime real estate for housing. Though less intrusive than it sister, Lake Candlewood, on communities established before the dam was built, there are still opportunities for divers to explore the earlier landscape and human environment.

John Babina is an engineer, retiring from Sikorsky Aircraft to establishing his own systems engineering consultancy. He was a founder of WMNR, a classical music public radio station in Monroe. He is a member of both the Monroe and Huntington Historical Societies, and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. He has also worked extensively on oral history projects in Monroe, and has been a frequent local speaker on various historical topics.

All Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. There will be a brief business meeting prior to the program to elect the Society’s officers for the year. Refreshments will be served following the presentation. For further information, please call the Society at 203-426-5937.