Souhegan River Flood Control Dam 19
New Ipswich Historical Society
The Souhegan River Site 19 Dam (also known as the Ashburnham Road Dam or the South Branch Dam) is located on the South Branch of the Souhegan River in New Ipswich, New Hampshire and east of Ashburnham Road. This dam is owned by the NH Water Division. The dam is active and its use is for flood control. Water released from the dam flows north in the South Branch of the Souhegan River. It then flows under Ashby Road and then joins with the West Branch of the Souhegan River and an unnamed tributary to form the Souhegan River, approximately 3,300 feet downstream of the dam. This point also represents the beginning of the Souhegan Designated River. Shortly downstream from this point the river then flows into Waterloom Pond, the impoundment formed by Waterloom Dam.
The dam was built in 1962 and reconstructed in 1980. It is constructed of earth materials, while its outlet structure is a concrete drop inlet.
Dedication Ceremony (1962)
Breaking Ground
Construction
On this day - Jun 7, 1908
James Roger diary entry
7th (Sunday)
Warm and sunny. Mr. Burnet of Brookline preached from Joshua 4-23. S.S. after Mr. B. leader. C.E. Mrs. D. Blood leader topic True Penitence. A fair attendance. David took heifer to Russell Pasture in morning.
On this day - June 7, 1897
William Jurian Kaula diary
Yesterday was a church holiday but the real holiday that the people enjoy and actually celebrate is to-day. The inhabitants of Paris like to observe a holiday by going into the country. If there were as many people in all the suburbs of Paris as we saw at Villiers, Crécy, and Voulangis the whole country must have had the appearance of one gigantic picnic. They came in carriages, on bicycles, and in swarms on foot, travelling the highways, the side roads, the fields, trampling down more grass in the meadows while gathering wild flowers, and doing more damage than we two could do in a whole year if we possessed the most ferocious energy. They belong in the more common classes as their appearance suggested. The women and girls were arrayed in clothing of flashy types and the men in absurd bicycling costumes. The French people may laugh at the ridiculous apparel of the English traveller but out of this multitude of hundreds that visited this region to-day I saw but little that would advance the claim of the French that their people dressed with more taste and harmonious effect than any nation in this world.
We met an American to-day and the first person who spoke English since we left Paris a month ago. It was a Mr. Clark who said that he was unfortunate enough not to be an artist.
We used to boat on the Sacandage Reservoir in Upstate NY. One had to be very careful of old silo and structural foundations...especially if they lowered the water to feed the Hudson River.
I watched the dam being built. It creates a nice scenic body of water. I only know of one instance between 1945 and 1962 when River Rd was flooded with knee deep water where River Rd meets Water Loom Pond. I lived on River Rd in the 50s.