Union Village Dam is located on the Ompompanoosuc River in Thetford, Vermont. Sometimes visitors here are confused by the lack of a large body of water behind Union Village Dam. After all, isn't a dam supposed to hold back lots of water? But, as the dam here is part of a flood control network, any "lake" behind it is only temporary.
Union
Village Dam is part of the system of reservoirs and local protection projects designed for the control of flood waters on the Connecticut River and local tributaries. Construction on the dam began in 1946 and was finished four years later, at a cost of four million dollars.
It was the 17th of 129 major flood control projects in New England constructed by the Corps.
Thus far, the Union Village Dam has reduced millions of dollars in flood damages to communities along the Ompompanoosuc and Connecticut Rivers.
(Truck photo, shown during the Flood of 1927, is courtesy of Dartmouth College.)
