What: After two days of heavy rain, the Castlewood Canyon Dam began to show signs of failure at about 1:30 am on the morning of August 3rd, 1933. The first break occurred on the East end of the dam. By 7:00 am the 15 to 20 foot wall of water reached Denver. More than 1 billion gallons of water were released down stream. Bridges on Champa, Colorado Boulevard and Stout Street were swept away. While only two people died, property damage was extensive.
When: August 3rd, 1933
Who: The Castlewood Dam was built in 1889. It had stood for 43 years prior to its demise. The Dam served to irrigate the desert like landscape of typically dry Douglas County. The Dam was started by the Denver Water Storage Company. a group comprised of eastern investors and local land owners. The reservoir, or lake, had a capacity of 5,300 acre feet of water. The Lake was fed by Cherry Creek and the numerous springs that fed into the Creek. Construction took about 11 months. 85 men worked at building the dam, some 250 more (and 180 teams of horses) dug the Arapahoe ditch running down the canyon to smaller storage reservoirs and irrigation canals. In 1901, the Denver Water Storage Company went bankrupt. The dam went to the largest creditor ($185,000) the Knickerbocker Investment Company of New York, which soon sold it for $8,000 to Seth H. Butler of Middletown, Connecticut. Nettie Driskall was the telephone operator who alerted Denver of the impending doom. Often called Lake Louisa. Louisa Roracher Engel, wife of homesteader George Engel, cooked, sewed, and mended for the dam workers.
Where: The Dam is located in, the now, Castlewood Canyon State Park. The State Park can be found just off S Highway 83 in Franktown, CO. Thirty-two miles southeast of Denver.
Significance: The Dam was constructed as an early attempt to commercialize Cherry Creek. Construction was typical of the time. Built out of the materials available in the area, it consisted of a rock rubble core faced with quarried stone set in cement. Built on a type of brittle sandstone formation, the additional pressure of the water caused constant shifting of the substrata. This is what caused the early cracks. Communication of the disaster reminds us of how technology has changed. Word did not reach Denver until 2:38 am. The care taker traveled to Castle Rock and called the Parker telephone exchange, who contacted Denver.
When: August 3rd, 1933
Who: The Castlewood Dam was built in 1889. It had stood for 43 years prior to its demise. The Dam served to irrigate the desert like landscape of typically dry Douglas County. The Dam was started by the Denver Water Storage Company. a group comprised of eastern investors and local land owners. The reservoir, or lake, had a capacity of 5,300 acre feet of water. The Lake was fed by Cherry Creek and the numerous springs that fed into the Creek. Construction took about 11 months. 85 men worked at building the dam, some 250 more (and 180 teams of horses) dug the Arapahoe ditch running down the canyon to smaller storage reservoirs and irrigation canals. In 1901, the Denver Water Storage Company went bankrupt. The dam went to the largest creditor ($185,000) the Knickerbocker Investment Company of New York, which soon sold it for $8,000 to Seth H. Butler of Middletown, Connecticut. Nettie Driskall was the telephone operator who alerted Denver of the impending doom. Often called Lake Louisa. Louisa Roracher Engel, wife of homesteader George Engel, cooked, sewed, and mended for the dam workers.
Where: The Dam is located in, the now, Castlewood Canyon State Park. The State Park can be found just off S Highway 83 in Franktown, CO. Thirty-two miles southeast of Denver.
Significance: The Dam was constructed as an early attempt to commercialize Cherry Creek. Construction was typical of the time. Built out of the materials available in the area, it consisted of a rock rubble core faced with quarried stone set in cement. Built on a type of brittle sandstone formation, the additional pressure of the water caused constant shifting of the substrata. This is what caused the early cracks. Communication of the disaster reminds us of how technology has changed. Word did not reach Denver until 2:38 am. The care taker traveled to Castle Rock and called the Parker telephone exchange, who contacted Denver.
