Damming the River

Damming the River. Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. , The First Felix Dam , To create the 108 mile Schuylkill Navigation system, a series of dams, locks, and canals were constructed along the River. Felix Dam (No. 16) and Rothermel's or Ritz's Lock (Lock No. 42) were built north of Reading past Leiz's Dam and Kelly's Lock. The Lock and locktender's house were begun in 1823 using native limestone trimmed with sandstone. The Dam also begun in 1823, was built on limestone bedrock to be 600 feet long and constructed of 8 to 9 foot tall wooden timbers fastened with barbed, 1 inch square iron pegs. These timbers were hand laid to form a crib that, once was filled with rods and capped with planks, formed the dam. The rock fill is now stabilizing the western riverbank., The shape of the dam was termed an Inclined Back Slope Dam. The first Felix Dam was in service until 1850, when two floods damaged its eastern quarter section. The loss of trade continued into the spring of 1851 when the 150 foot breach was finally reconstructed. These were temporarily efforts so that the canal could operate and remain profitable until the second Felix Dam was built., The Second Felix Dam , [Significantly unreadable]