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Snap: What's left of Woolen Mills Dam

By Hawes Spencer |
Published online 6:40pm Saturday Aug 6th, 2011
and in print issue #1032 dated Thursday Aug 11th, 2011

Nearly four years after most of it was removed, the stone block remnants of the Woolen Mills Dam still stand along the Rivanna River in the Woolen Mills neighborhood.

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3 comments

NancyDrew August 7th, 2011 | 2:07pm

So could someone tell me, has removing the dam allowed the shad to return and thrive ? I never understood this. How could removing only this dam make a difference, when there is a much larger dam so close by at the South Fork of the Rivanna which must surely pose difficulties for the fish. Was this truly an ecological boon or a recreational convenience ?

Does Mr. Halbert and the Rivanna Conservation Society have an agenda to also remove the dam at South Fork, and is this tied into their current vision of piping water from the Rivanna River uphill to Ragged Mt. ?

Is that why Mr. Halbert along with the RCS is so vehemently fighting dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, and instead favors destroying 60,000 trees and the magnificent forest habitat at Ragged Mt. Natural Area ?

Mr. Walker* August 10th, 2011 | 8:31am

Does anyone wish the dam were still in place? I know there was fussing when it was removed, primarily from those whose property abutted the river, but now? Still? Really? Good riddance to the dam!

saywha? August 10th, 2011 | 9:29pm

Sad really. Seems like every day we have more signs touting Charlottesville's history and fewer things left of it.

It is a real tragedy that we have a city government that doesn't seem to value any of our existing assets whether they be historic structures, infrastructure like the mall or the Belmont Bridge, or places like McIntire Park and Ragged Mountain.

The mill pond formed by the dam was a treasure. An amazing opportunity to turn the Rivanna Park into a truly great park celebrating the city's industrial heritage and founding was squandered when the dam was destroyed.

Preserving history and attracting visitors is important to the economic health of the region. Pity our current city councilors just haven't seemed to be able to grasp that for quite a while. The dam was destroyed ruining the pond and now they want to put a sewage treatment plant there. Hell of a thing to do to a place that a real world class city might have made a show piece.