Asked on 10-8-2021: What did Waterford look like before the dams?

 Waterford was a town of several villages, with farmland and forests connecting them, as well as the Connecticut River. The most fascinating "before the dam" photos are of Upper Waterford -- the village that was taken away, in order to create the Moore Dam reservoir.

Gordon E. Hopper's book Upper Waterford—A Village Lost to Progress includes many photos of the village from those days. Here are a few:







And here is the Upper Waterford "district schoolhouse":

Now, to put all this in perspective, here's a 1932 map! The village marked "Waterford" here was Upper Waterford-- you can see the houses marked with small squares. Can you figure out which line shows where the river would spread to?




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Which Connecticut River dam came first near Waterford?

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Comerford Dam The Connecticut River dams that affect Waterford were planned as three units working together, to tame the tumultuous 15 Mile Falls and generate electric power. The planners were based in Connecticut and the process began around 1910.  First of the three to be built was the one in McIndoe Falls, a village of Barnet. It might not look as important, but it helps control the water levels behind the other two dams. Comerford Dam affected Waterford the most, because it brought about 2,000 workers into the area. The Waterford Historical Society members have photographs from its construction, which took place in 1930 and 1931. Click here to see articles with images . You can read a good overall article on it by clicking here . Construction of Moore Dam, which forms the reservoir in which many Waterford residents have gone swimming or boating and fishing, was delayed by an economic failure in the nation, but was completed in 1954. Color postcards of Moore Dam are common, and ...
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