Upper Swepsonville Dam removed from Haw; second project stalls

The Upper Swepsonville Dam was recently removed from the Haw River in Alamance County, according to Peter Raabe, the North Carolina conservation director for American Rivers.

The old timber dam stretched across the river just downstream of the access at the Swepsonville River Park. The American Rivers project, which cost approximately $100,000, was completed in early October, he said.

The work was done by Wildlands Engineering Inc.While the dam was not very high and mostly submerged, it was a barrier to fish trying to swim upstream, he said.

Paddlers also will find navigating this section of the Haw a little easier since a small channel was added on the river right side of channel, Raabe said. This may save paddlers a portage that is mentioned in Paul Ferguson's guidebook "Paddling Eastern North Carolina."

Ferguson also warns boaters to avoid the wooden posts and metal bolts from the dam. Those have now been removed.

Two timber dams were built at Swepson Falls, as this part of the river was known, in the 19th century, according to "An Historical Atlas of the Haw River" by Mark Chilton. A 5.5-foot high dam was built in 1876. Just downstream, a 7-foot high dam was built in 1895 for a cotton mill.Plans to remove the Lower Swepsonville Dam, 1.2 miles downstream, are stalled, said John Hutton, vice president of Wildlands Engineering Inc.

The removal project is still under consideration as a mitigation project, but a recent study of the dam was not favorable enough to generate necessary credits. Mitigation credits can be sold when highway or building projects have an impact elsewhere on wetland or riparian environments in the Jordan Lake watershed.

The engineering company works with the NC Division of Water Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers.Also known as the Puryear Mill Dam, the structure's history goes back as far as the 18th century, according the Chilton's book. Henry E. McCullough was given permission to build a mill in 1763 at this location. It was sold in 1832 to Seymour Puryear, who built a grist mill. The dam was sold to Virginia Mills in 1881. 

A hydropower plant was built at the site in 1905 and ran until 1970.Exercise caution when approaching the 10-foot high dam. Ferguson notes in his guide book that portaging is not easy on either side. He covers this part of the river in section five of the Haw.

Bob Brueckner

CCC Conservation Chairman