The Neversink-Hackledam project is a little-known and long-forgotten proposal to build a hydroelectric dam on the Neversink River in Forestburgh. Proposed in 1913, it would have changed the face of Sullivan County, with a 9-mile-long reservoir stretching upstream from Forestburgh across the Town of Thompson into the Town of Fallsburg, with a 60-foot depth at Bridgeville!
Building this massive project would have included a 2 ½-mile train line, a 5 ½-mile tunnel through the Shawangunk Mountains, as well as relocating the hamlet of Bridgeville and three cemeteries. The project was abandoned when funding was diverted to the World War I effort, but the survey for this reservoir, which included property belonging to major landowner Benjamin Wechsler, would snarl the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in a protracted and expensive lawsuit in 1986 as they acquired land for the current Neversink Gorge Unique Area State Park.
The proposed Dam would have inundated the Neversink Gorge. Join Gordon MacAdam as he explains the plans for this Dam and its impact. His historical knowledge will fascinate you!
This program will be presented in the Robert B. Norris Community Room. Masking and social distancing are strongly encouraged and registration is required.