History of Lower Collinsville Dam discussed at mitigation meeting

Historian Bruce Harvey talks about the history of the Lower Collinsville Dam at the Avon Free Public Library.

AVON, July 2, 2024 – The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) plans to likely remove a dam on the Farmington River on the border of Avon and Burlington.

The dam is the second of two dams built by the Collins Company in the 1920s.e century to provide electricity. The dam is located about a mile downstream from Collinsville and is best known as the dam with the power plant that has been painted by many artists over the years.

In July, a meeting was held at the Avon Free Public Library on the topic of possible mitigation measures. DEEP officials and consultants explained the mitigation process and asked the general public for ideas.

Mitigation is part of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which directs the federal government to take into account the impact of their undertaking. Mitigation can include exhibiting dam and hydroelectric plant components, pamphlets in print and/or digital form.

An extensive documentation process of the existing dam and the dam buildings, known as the Lower Collinsville Dam, would be conducted under the supervision of the National Parks Service and submitted to the Library of Congress.

Historical consultant Bruce Harvey of Harvey Research and Consulting explained the documentation process and provided a history of the Lower Collinsville Dam and the Collins Company hydroelectric plant.

The current 300-foot dam near the Collins Company complex was built in 1867. The idea for the Lower Collinsville dam and facility originated around 1907, Harvey said. Construction began in 1912 and was completed in 1914.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, several feasibility studies were conducted to restore power generation at the Lower Collinsville Dam. However, this idea was not economically viable, especially given the deteriorating condition of the buildings.

DEEP officials held a meeting in September 2023 on the reasons for demolishing the Lower Collinsville Dam.

At the July meeting, DEEP officials did not provide estimates of the cost of removing the dam or a timeline for when it might happen. The meeting was also livestreamed by Nutmeg Television.