Crooks' Hollow Dam
Encyclopedia
Crooks' Hollow Dam is a buttressed gravity dam, built of concrete
in 1916 on Spencer Creek in Greensville
, Ontario
, Canada
. About 100 yards upstream from the ruins of the much earlier Cockburn sawmill and dam, it replaced that dam in supplying water by pipe to Dundas for all uses. It also provided much greater flood control
, and, more than the Cockburn dam, supplied a managed flow for water power users in the industries downstream. The Dundas Star commented on its completion: "... an excellent piece of work. It is now hoped there will be no further difficulty about securing an adequate water supply for many years to come."
for the existing pipe to Dundas; and for impure, warmed water to be sent over the spillway
s for industrial use downstream. The dam was created with reservoir expansion in mind, from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 gallons, by the simple addition of another 3 feet of stoplogs.
Local professionals built the dam. The consulting engineer was E.H. Darling (of McPhee, Kelly and Darling, Bank of Hamilton Building, Hamilton, Ont.). The general contractor was McAllister and Taylor (#37, Sun Life Building, Hamilton). They completed the project without overrunning its budget of $6,300. Expropriation of the south-bank Hunt and west-end Morden properties was extra.
The entire Crooks' Hollow, which was named after James Crooks
and was Upper Canada
's first industrial park
in the 19th century, is noteworthy for offering nature in an unmanaged state (only dangerous dead trees are cut down), with a wide variety of avian, animal, amphibian and piscine life. The Hollow is also noteworthy for its freedom from noise (excepting the steady roar of the spillways), from commercialization and from litter. Ruins of past water-power industries are plentiful, and have sometimes been used for educational purposes. The dam itself has that potential.
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
in 1916 on Spencer Creek in Greensville
Greensville, Ontario
Greensville is a community in Flamborough, Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario.Hamilton Conservation Authority attractions Webster's Falls and Tew's Falls are in Greensville....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. About 100 yards upstream from the ruins of the much earlier Cockburn sawmill and dam, it replaced that dam in supplying water by pipe to Dundas for all uses. It also provided much greater flood control
Flood control
In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...
, and, more than the Cockburn dam, supplied a managed flow for water power users in the industries downstream. The Dundas Star commented on its completion: "... an excellent piece of work. It is now hoped there will be no further difficulty about securing an adequate water supply for many years to come."
Design and construction
The dam was built in such a way that pure, cool water was drawn from the bottom of the reservoirReservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
for the existing pipe to Dundas; and for impure, warmed water to be sent over the spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
s for industrial use downstream. The dam was created with reservoir expansion in mind, from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 gallons, by the simple addition of another 3 feet of stoplogs.
Local professionals built the dam. The consulting engineer was E.H. Darling (of McPhee, Kelly and Darling, Bank of Hamilton Building, Hamilton, Ont.). The general contractor was McAllister and Taylor (#37, Sun Life Building, Hamilton). They completed the project without overrunning its budget of $6,300. Expropriation of the south-bank Hunt and west-end Morden properties was extra.
Features
Features of the dam include, or included in 1916:- 100 feet long and 17½ feet high with 3 more feet of height possible
- "a massive monolithic concrete construction"
- incorporated "0.8 m thick base/key under the dam which provides sliding resistance on the d/s [downstream] key face and increases the weight of the dam"
- 1-foot-thick stoplogsStoplogsStoplogs are a hydraulic engineering control element that are used in floodgates to adjust the water level or flow rate in a river, canal, or reservoir. Stoplogs are sometimes confused with flashboards, as both elements are used in bulkhead or crest gates...
could be inserted to raise the level of any or all of 4 spillways in many configurations - a fifth route to ease overtopping water levels, along the left wing wall, which is no higher than the original design operating level
- much earlier Morden dam pond, with its berm and ruins, usually has the same water level as the reservoir and, therefore, is continuous with it
- on top of the spillway columns, a bridge connecting "downtown" Greensville to a path to Kirby Avenue and a branch of Hamilton Public Library (bridge replaced about 1995) provides greater vistas upstream and downstream
- large reservoir to supply Dundas and "power users below [dam]" throughout dry summers
- flood prevention (floods had plagued Dundas over the previous century)
- reservoir formed "a splendid natural settling basinSettling basinA settling basin, settling pond or decant pond are devices used to treat turbidity in industrial wastewater. The basins are used to control water pollution in diverse industries such as agriculture, aquaculture, and mining....
", saving on filtration - Dundas was to save the cost of the dam in pumping alone every year
- "To protect the water as much as possible", a wire fence was built on the south side of the reservoir and a tight board fence on the north. The wire fence is still in evidence.
The dam today
The dam's impoundment, or reservoir, has been the subject of much photographic interest for its tranquil, picturesque beauty, especially in the autumn. Recreational activities at the dam that have occupied at least three Greensville generations include fishing, birding, walking the trails, picnicking, boating and swimming (historically).The entire Crooks' Hollow, which was named after James Crooks
James Crooks
James Crooks was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.He was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1778 and came to Fort Niagara in 1791 where his half-brother, Francis, was operating as a merchant. In 1795, Francis, James and his brother William moved to Newark...
and was Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
's first industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...
in the 19th century, is noteworthy for offering nature in an unmanaged state (only dangerous dead trees are cut down), with a wide variety of avian, animal, amphibian and piscine life. The Hollow is also noteworthy for its freedom from noise (excepting the steady roar of the spillways), from commercialization and from litter. Ruins of past water-power industries are plentiful, and have sometimes been used for educational purposes. The dam itself has that potential.