Rough River Report - 1930 - Part III

Source: House Documents, 71^st Congress, 3^rd Session (Dec 1,1930 – March 4, 1931); Examinations of Rivers and Harbors, Vol. 1

Rough River Report - 1930 - Part II

Rough River Report - 1930 - Part I

Part 1 of 3

DAM AT HARTFORD

CONSTRUCTION OF DAM AT HARTFORD – 1890 to 1898

Source: Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, 1899

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This was the first river lock constructed of monolithic concrete in the United States. Plans for the Rough River lock called for the use of common stone masonry in construction, but bids for furnishing cut-stone were excessive because of limited access to the project site, and Hall (Assistant Engineer William M. Hall) recommended the substitution of concrete of "imported Portland cement." The Chief of Engineers approved in 1895, and construction of the concrete lock, with chamber dimensions of 27 feet width, 123 feet length, and 9 feet lift, was completed in 1896, at a cost of about $85,000.  In 1899, three steamboats and a number of small vessels were plying the Rough River to Hartford; they transported 10,883 tons of freight in that year. But 1899 was just about the peak for traffic on the Rough River. The project, except for its precedent-setting construction method, was a signal failure.

Rough River Lock at Hartford 1896

Source: The Falls City Engineers: A history of the Louisville District, Corps of Engineers United States Army Page 146. Written by Leland R. Johnson, 1974. Published by United States Army Engineer District, Louisville, Kentucky.