Where in the ADK? Old Forge Dam

May 10

Written By Do

This cute little obstruction holds back 6.9 billion gallons of water. Well, I’ll be dammed.

This week’s “Where in the ADK” is the Old Forge Dam in Old Forge, New York. It looks cute, doesn’t it?

Don’t let appearances fool you. The dam holds back nearly 6.8 billion US gallons of water to avoid flooding the Moose River. It’s also responsible for creating what’s now known as the Fulton Chain of Lakes in the Black River watershed.

Here’s the scoop on how the Dam came to be. Before white settlers came to the Adirondacks, what we now call the Fulton Chain of Lakes was a string of small lakes along the Middle Branch of the Moose River.

In 1799, John Brown, a noted developer from Rhode Island, built a dam below what is now the First Lake in the chain to power grist and saw mills, enlarging the Fulton Chain lakes and improving their navigability.

In the years that followed, White sportsmen and guides began to use the chain of lakes to venture further into the Adirondack wilderness by water, using a network of trails created by Native American hunters and trappers to portage between each lake.

Around 1880 the State of New York enlarged Brown’s dam at Old Forge. Today, the dam is considered the Western terminus of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, which begins on First Lake and ends in Fort Kent, Maine. It is the longest inland water trail in the nation. Paddlers of all stripes enjoy the endless opportunities the trail provides to see some of the most beautiful landscapes in America.

And it starts with this cute dam.

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