Walton Mill Pond Dam was built around the summer of 1765. It was the second water wheel power in the area as Benjamin Whittier had the first water wheel power that powered his vertical blade saw mill a few years earlier. This dam was built with a road bridge being at the beginning of what is now the Whittier Road leading to West Farmington.
The Walton Mill Pond Dam was built by two partners named Davis and Jacob Eaton using large work crews. They were issued a permit from the General Courts of England for construction. The dam was built using derricks and gin poles with manual chain reels lifting stone onto the dam wall that could have weighed as much as 20 tons.
For 251 years the dam has been basically the same construction with no fish ladders. It would be a shame to tamper with or permanently destroy the only dam construction in the township or area. The dam is also the main attraction of the park adding beauty to the park area.
Since the Town of Farmington accepted the old dam and mill site from the L.C. Andrews Company there has been four repairs from flood damages and upgrade improvements at what is now the park area. Work was done one time from the E.L. Vining Company, three times by R. Greenwood and also help from the Town of Farmington by the highway department. With all of the repairs and upgrades I would estimate there could have been a total cost of $300,000.
R. Greenwood
Temple
Thank you, Ron! I hope they listen to you. Some folks just can’t leave well enough alone!
The dam was worked on a few years ago with improvements made to structure and access. I’m quite sure there was a place created to eventually install a ladder. It is wasteful in the extreme to discuss tearing down what was done only a short time ago. While I applaud the desire to bring salmon back we need to expand our thoughts to include the Geese, Ducks, Loons, Blue Herons’, Snapping Turtles, Beavers, Muskrat and even a few moose, deer and bear that also depend on and use this waterway. Who will speak for these other “critters”.
I can’t believe they are even considering taking the dam down. It’s a beautiful spot with a lovely ecosystem in place. I’ve always wondered about its history. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Very peaceful place to sit and relax and listen to the water and enjoy the scenery. Leave it alone!
Just curious how many thousands of years Temple stream flowed without a man made structure blocking its natural path?
Leave the Walton damn alone if something needs to be done it is checking the small brooks coming into the pond. we need to keep the wildlife safe
Townie, you live in a house, drive a car, use electricity, grocery store? How many thousands of years did man live without these man made things? When you can do without the aforementioned you will no longer be a hypocrite.
Whether made by man or nature, once a habitat is created wildlife begin to depend on it. Sure they will adapt to change but not without loss.
Reintroducing species isn’t always the best thing. The tick population exploded when turkeys were reintroduced.
And Captain, direct hit.
Hey Captain Planet, just making an observation and comment about the article written that wants to use history as its defense to keep a dam that would hinder all fish from moving up stream. I am probably the last person that really is a hypocrite. So it’s the turkeys fault for all the ticks? That sounds logical?
What exactly would the harm be of having a small fish ladder to allow salmon to travel beyond the dam? It’s not like Boulder Dam, right? What’s wrong with keeping the dam AND allowing fish passage? Can’t see why the local wildlife would object.
The dam was first built by Reuben Coburn – same guy who built the bateaus for Benedict Arnold. That puts its age circa 1790. It was the first mill in the area. Sawed lumber for homes and barns up to about 1971, when LC Andrews burned it down. It’s been enjoyable to live across from it since we moved here in 1971 and we’ve canoed the pond/stream, watched the beavers, birds, and even otters slide down the ice. The pond supports all kinds of wild life, and is stopping off place for geese going north in the spring, and south in the fall. And it’s the only dam left in Farmington, and one of 3 in Franklin County. Yup….just tear it down and leave a big ole muck hole, all for some ill-fated theory of spawning salmon. I’m sure they’ll enjoying trying get up Temple Stream through what will be a mucky shallow waterway.