History of the Blackwells Mills Dam - The Stony Brook-Millstone ...

Restore Your Millstoneenew Your ‘Shedeturn the ShadMap of Dams on theMillstone RiverThe Stony Brook MillstoneWatershed AssociationBenefits of removing the BlackwellsMills DamThe two most downstream dams, theCalco (yellow) and the Island FarmWeir (green) have a notch or fishladder to allow the fish to pass thedam. The Weston Causeway (red) andthe Blackwells Mills Dam (maroon)completely block migratory fish fromswimming upstream. By removingboth dams, 14 more miles of riverwill be opened for migratory fish, aswell as allowing for restoration ofstream corridors and wetlands.The Stony Brook MillstoneWatershed Association is the firstenvironmental group in CentralJersey. Founded in 1949, we workto protect and preserve your waterthrough conservation, advocacy,science and education. We protectand restore clean water and naturalhabitats.Through support from AmericanRivers, NOAA, the NJDEP, CRI, andthe Dodge Foundation we plan toremove the Blackwells Mills Damand the Weston Causeway Dam tohelp reestablish the migratory fishpopulation within your Millstone.

The Benefits ofremoving theBlackwells Mills Dam:14 miles of river areopened to migratory fish.A public safety hazardis eliminated.An obstacle forrecreational groupsincluding Kayakers andCanoers is removed.Fish populations andopportunities to fish areimproved.History of the Blackwells Mills DamBlackwells Mills, originally known asSchenk’s Mill, was built in 1747 by PeterSchenck. Ownership had transferred tothe Blackwell Family by 1828.Blackwells Mills was a flour and feedmill.The Blackwells Village grew around theMill and consisted of mills, a store andseveral dwellings; it expanded to includeland near the Delaware and Raritan Canalwhen the canal was built in 1833-1834.In 1870 Blackwells Mills changed ownership to Augustus Van Zandt. It later switchedhands to John Oakley, finally ending with E.B. Cook. The Mill burned in 1905 with arecorded loss of $12,000 (around $307,000 in today’s dollars.)The original dam was a stone and timber dam,likely built at the time of the Mill’sconstruction. Remains of this dam were foundin the river and reported by the NJ Dept. ofConservation and Development in 1921.The existing dam, composed of cast-in-placeconcrete, was built in 1933.Healthy habitats forstreamside animals andnative plants arerestored.American ShadOne of the migratory fish that will benefit from theremoval of the dam is the American Shad. These fish livein salt water but spawn in freshwater. In 1783, JohannSchoepf wrote of the large number of schools of shad thatswam up the Millstone River until “dams of which mayhave been built in recent years keep back the shad.” Dueto dams blocking their migratory paths to ancestralspawning grounds and over fishing, the Shad populationhas significantly declined. Efforts are now focused onrestoring the Shad to your ‘Shed.