The first dam of Ashely brook was built around 1896 built out of stone and can still be seen today just below this area.
Work on a new and higher dam at Ashley Lake began in February 1901. The original contractor’s abandoned the undertaking during the next September, and its completion was therefore delayed, but the water was finally turned into the new basin on December twenty-third, 1902. The dam had added twenty acres to the area of the lake and increased its capacity to about 400,000,000 gallons.
The next dam and the current one at this location was built of reinforced concrete. It is about 400 ft. in length, 40 ft. in height at the brook, and cost the city about $70,000. It was built under contract with the Ambursen Hydraulic Construction Co. Work was started in September 1907, and completed during the following spring. The purpose for which the dam was built was to create a distributing reservoir with a capacity of 23,000,000 gals on Ashley brook.
The reservoir was not filled until the beginning of the beginning of 1909. On Jan. 7, 1909, the water, having risen to the crest of the overflow, made its way under the base of the dam at a point nearly midway between the spillway and the side hill at the southwesterly end of the dam. In a short time the materials filling a space about 50 ft. in length and 20 ft. in-depth were washed out from under the structure and after the reservoir was empty the dam spanned the excavation, sagging nearly a foot and was later supported on wooden cribs.
Enjoy the view from above but also venture down below for some more amazing views.