I was wondering the same thing. We have a lot in the eastern part of the
state. Many of those dams could be re-used. A typical plan consisted of a
pair of coffers with a group of planks placed between the coffers. The
planks held back the water until a trigger on the top of the dam was struck,
releasing the planks, the water, and the logs (the 'splashing' of the dam).
The planks were then re-assembled (most were held to the trigger by a rope
that ideally allowed them to stay with the dam), and the whole process
repeated again. There is an excellent article titled "Splash Dam
Construction in Eastern Kentucky's Red River Drainage Area" in Volume 36,
No. 4 of "Forest and Conservation History" (October 1992) and another titled
"Splash Dams used to Move Timber in Eastern Kentucky with Special References
to the Red River Gorge" in the Tennessee Anthropologist (Vol. XVI, No. 2,
Fall 1991). Three different types of dams are described in this second
article. 

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Jane
Brown
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 1:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Rock Roller dams


Might these also be what we in western North Carolina call splash dams?
The ones here were constructed of logs to dam a river, making a pond.
Logs to be sent downstream to the mills were collected in these ponds.
Then, the dams were broken, and the backed up water helped to speed the
logs downstream.

Just a thought~

Jane

Jane L. Brown
Anthropology/Sociology
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee NC 28723-9646
 
Phone:  828-227-2444
FAX:  828-227-7061

> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Sean Dunham
> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 10:16 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Rock Roller dams
> 
> The images of the dams in question are now posted on our website -
> http://www.ccrginc.com/#news .  We have seen them referred to as
> Roller Dams as well as Check Dams.
> 
> 
> 
> Sean B. Dunham, RPA
> Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc.
> Phone:  517-788-3550 / FAX:  517-788-6594
> e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> http://www.ccrginc.com
> 
> 
> >>> [log in to unmask] 02/11/06 12:16PM >>>
> This doesn't sound familiar to me but while researching crib dams, I
> found a
> lot of dams documented at the NPS HABS_HAER site.
> 
> Tim T.