Farewell to Vincent Dam ... a.k.a. Yankee Dam

Do you remember the dam on the Schuylkill River near Linfield, Pa? We called it Yankee Dam but it's official name was Vincent Dam.  This picture is an old postcard that I purchased on EBay dated 1909.

Back then the Schuylkill River flowed over the entire dam breast with much gusto. During the 1960's a bunch of us Royersford boys would come there in the summer for a day of swimming and just general "messing around". A wall on the Montgomery County side had steps of various levels and provided platforms for jumping into the churning water.

No one ever told us of the dangers that the dam presented with the turbulence, rocks or other hazards that may be just under the surface. Chances are that none of our parents knew we were there. Anyway, Jumping in and swimming right to the waterfalls and then getting in the air space between the dam and the overflowing water was the triple-dog dare of the times. Coming face to face with a water snake was our only fear.

 Many years ago the dam started to deteriorate and slowly fall apart from the annual floods and ice jams. I often frequented the dam because the fishing was pretty good there. Water from the river had stopped flowing over the actual dam. The current carved a passage only on the Chester County side where a breach of about 20 feet let the mighty Schuylkill have it's way.

Walking out on the old dam structure was very  dangerous. These pictures show the state of demise around 2006 or so. You can also see the method of construction. Heavy timbers, then rotten and broken were embedded in large rocks and boulders. I' am sure it was an engineering wonder at the time it was built. When these pictures were taken O'l Yankee Dam was already scheduled for removal in the near future unless Mother Nature did it first. Each time I visited the dam to fish, I could recall the splashing and shouts of us boys on those summer days long ago. Swimming was the main event there when we were young but in later years it proved to be a great fishing spot for Musky, Walleye, Stripers, catfish and bass.

Here are two pictures of Yankee Dam as it was before it was taken out by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2009. Notice the massive timbers and large iron spikes. Let these pictures bid a farewell to not only the dam but some of my best summer memories.

 This first one is looking toward the Linfield (Montgomery County) side.

 This next one is looking toward the Chester County side. 

On November 9th, 2009 I took a walk back to Yankee Dam to view it's ghost.

The removal of the dam was completed just weeks prior to my visit. I expected that the change would have the flow of the river now smooth and with no sign of things that were. I was wrong. The dam abutments are still in place and the removal left signs of the old structure beneath the surface.




I can see now that it will still be a pretty good fishing area with lots of diverse current and underwater fish magnets. Still I miss the mighty structure that is no longer there. The remnants of the dam were piled in a nearby field at the time. Obviously taken apart with heavy machinery.

I took a few casts and sat on the wall in silence saying goodbye to this old friend. I really needed something more tangible to remember all of this. I decided to rummage through the piles of rubble that were left and dug out one of the rusty bent spikes used in the original construction. I thought for a moment, about the man that hammered this into the timbers many years ago. Also, I wondered, did the people that dismantle it take time to ponder the same? Well, I brought it home and cleaned it up with a wire brush to keep the memory with me for forever.

 Here is the huge eighteen inch spike.

At this time it sits on my workbench in the basement. It may just be the only thing saved from what was the beautiful Yankee Dam!

Thanks again for reading "One Cast ... One Fish !"

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