There are more pictures of the dam in the bridge posting.
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| Rockford Rewind posted
The Rockford dam:
Fordham was first constructed in the 1840s as the Rockford Water Power Co. - first used for hydroelectric in 1896 by Rockford Electric Company.
In the 1930s the Rockford Electric Co. became part of the Central Illinois Electric and Gas Company. ComEd acquired the company in 1966. The power plant was closed in 1971-demolished in '75
Lon E. Walker The photo was taken by Lance Wales, Feb. 6, 2011.
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| Brian Keith Landis posted Fast moving water on the Rock River [During the 2017 heavy rains.] |
According to some comments, this control structure was added in the 1970s.
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| Satellite |
According to some comments, Rockford Electric Co. installed the hydroelectric plant in 1896. It was on the east side of the dam, and it had 6 turbine-generators. Hydroelectric power was terminated in 1938 because of "extreme poor efficiency." Judging by the smokestacks in this historical photo, the hydroelectric plant was replaced by a coal-fired power plant.
But what really caught my eye was the millrace on the west side of the river. Note the L-shape on the south side of the headrace. Evidently the plants at the south side used Kent Creek as their tailrace.
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
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| Screenshot Huge Flood! - Rockford, IL (July 22, 2017) Rock River Flood Waters! [This view was taken from the former Milwaukee + CB&Q Bridge] |
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| Screenshot [It looks like two of the gates are still closed, one is open most of the way, and one is partially open.] |
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| Screenshot [This explains why they let a lot of the water go over the stationary part of the dam. The strong current and higher water level in the middle caused by the open gates creates whirlpools downstream where the flow merges with the slower and lower side currents.] |
The dam does have control gates. The power house was located on the east side of the river. The foundation was open during construction of the new park there (old ComEd property), and you can currently see it on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B015'53.5%22N+89%C2%B005'39.3%22W/@42.264869,-89.0948092,211m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d42.2648691!4d-89.0942618
ReplyDeletewhy did com-ed fence-off east side of fordom dam ? that has been open to the public for years. thanks for nothing rockford!
ReplyDeleteFordham Power plant was owned and operated by CIE&G (Central Illinois Electric & Gas) long before ComEd expanded into the Rockford, IL area.
ReplyDeleteThe flow gates and concrete structures of the Fordham Dam never were used for hydro electricity---a bad guess. The concrete structure etc. was built in the early 1970's based on a friend of mine who worked on this concrete addition. The first Hydroelectric was in 1896 by the Rockford Eloectric Company
DeleteIi has been a mistake for years about hydroelectric production by the concrete dam structure, because I have a personal friend who years ago was employed in the building of this flow gate structure and he never was aware of any hydroelectric production built into this structure in the mid 1970's when he was working there. Furthermore hydroelectric production was by the Rockford Electric Plant with 6 turbines-generators and ceased in 1938 due to extreme poor efficiency.
ReplyDeleteI had added an update based on JM's comment that it was a control structure and that the hydroelectric plant was on the east side. But I just did a stronger edit that should remove all confusion. Thanks for the additional information.
DeleteI'm the admin. for the Fordham University Class of 1980 Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/537184563628982
ReplyDeleteAlong with stories about homecoming, reunions and school history, I like to occasionally do a segment called "All Things Named Fordham." Can anyone tell me how this dam got the name Fordham? Perhaps an intrepid young engineer from The Bronx came out there in the 19th Century .... I can only hope.
Most unlikely. This community is named Rockford. The community took its name from a natural ford there that had been used for crossing the Rock River long before Fordham University existed, and long before Europeans explored Illinois. The ford is a flat stone plane that crosses the entire river width just at a point where the river depth is only about 2 feet across its entire width. Other parts of the river, both upstream and downstream are deeper with dangerous currents. What does the natural ford have to do with Fordham Dam? The dam was built directly over the ford as it was no longer needed for active fording since bridge and ferries followed the 19th century movement of settlers to this area. The strong stone ford proved a perfect natural base for the dam construction. In English "ham" is often used in a placename, hence "Fordham Dam" a dam at the well known historical place for fording the Rock River. Nothing to do with wandering Jesuit engineers.
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