Jon Crispin's Notebook

It rained really hard last night, and I thought it would be a good time to start to document the old dam on Amethyst Brook in Pelham.  There is some talk about removing it to allow the river to revert to its original course.  It was built almost 200 years ago, and the small lake above the dam used to be a popular swimming spot for the locals.  When we first moved to the area, it seemed sad that it no longer filled this purpose.  Years ago the state declared it unsafe, and in 2008, the state Office of Dam Safety declared it “structurally deficient”, and the current owners were forced to either repair or remove it.  Lots of dough involved here, and several local and national pro rivers organizations are trying to raise the money needed to start the demolition.  I hated the idea at first (destruction of a cool old structure), but after reading an article in the Amherst Bulletin, it seems to make a sense in terms of restoring the river to its original state.  It’ll be fun to watch what happens.