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• • • - - - • • •. White Clay Creek Symposium Sep 25, 2012 Gerald J. Kauffman University of Delaware Water Resources Agency. America’s Founding Fish. Dam No. 1 White Clay Creek at Delaware Park. First dam removal for fish passage in Delaware. Relatively low dam, 6 to 8 ft high
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• • • - - - • • • White Clay Creek Symposium Sep 25, 2012 Gerald J. Kauffman University of Delaware Water Resources Agency
Dam No. 1White Clay Creek at Delaware Park • First dam removal for fish passage in Delaware. • Relatively low dam, 6 to 8 ft high • Stone/timber crib, breached in 2 places at right bank. • Deposited sediment scoured over dam during floods • Owned by Delaware Racing Association • Dam constructed circa 1750 • Diverted water to Hale Byrnes House mill • Raceway a mile long
Removal of Dam No. 1 will: • Reopen 3.5 miles of White Clay Creek for anadromous fish passage. • Restore 42 acres of the White Clay Creek substrate for anadromous fish spawning.
Figure 8. White Clay Creek HECRAS cross section existing station 0+00 (Dam No. 1 in place)
Figure 9. White Clay Creek HECRAS cross section proposed station 0+00 (Dam No. 1 removed)
Chronology 1773 - Daniel Byrnes acquires deed with mill seat and race for Dam No. 1. Sep 6, 1777 – Gen. Washington holds war council at Hale-Byrnes House w/ Lafayette, Gen. Wayne and General Greene. 1844 – Mill burns. Owned by A. Gray, Democratic Party leader. 1868 – Beer’s Atlas depicts mill race flowing east from White Clay Creek under the P.W. & B. railroad to Independence Mill. 1906 – USGS map shows mill race flows east along White Clay Creek, under B. & W. Railroad to Hale Byrnes House. 1954 - Mill race flows east through wooded land along south bank of White Clay Cr. under railroad to Hale Byrnes House.
Chronology 1961 – State Highway Department files plans to improve Route 7 and demolish Hale-Byrnes House. 1962 – Delaware Society for the Preservation of Antiquities preserves Hale-Byrnes House, saving it from demolition. 1972 – Application filed for Hale-Byrnes House on National Register of Historic Places. 2002 - Aerial photo shows Dam No. 1 and mill race through new golf course near White Clay Creek south of horse track. 2007 – LIDAR imagery (2 ft contour) delineates path of mill race in 2 segments.