Arcadia Dam

Arcadia Dam. Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site. , To ensure a constant source of water power and an area to store lumber awaiting processing, the firm of Forsyth and Simpson constructed a 1,200 ft. long earth and ironstone dam. Today four segments of the dam remain, one segment lies south of Pond Creek and three remnants occur north of the creek., During the American Civil War, the Arcadia community saw a number of small scale skirmishes between Northern and Southern troops. The large breach in the may have been purposely created during the war to destroy the sawmill operation. Although the side responsible is unclear, this breach would have certainly ended the potential of mill operation. , , The dam varied in width between 30 and 120 feet and stood 13 to 15 feet high. Constructed of earth covering and ironstone core, the dam was carefully designed to hold back the large amount of water needed to operate the complex. The ironstone core utilized rock dug from the Arcadia quarry and is still visible in places on the dam and in Pond Creek.