{"nrhp_refnum":"00000585","name":"Silver Lake Dam","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Silver Lake Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Woodridge","county":"Sullivan County","state":"NY","lat":41.70171565900006,"lon":-74.55044008599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-06-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone dam on the Sandburg Creek near Silver Lake Road in Woodridge, Sullivan County, New York, built about 1847 to store water for the Delaware and Hudson Canal. It impounds a roughly 65-acre lake now called Silver Lake.","why_significant":"The dam is a surviving example of mid-nineteenth century water system and transportation engineering in Sullivan County. It was a key part of the water supply for the summit section of the Delaware and Hudson Canal during the canal's 1840s enlargement. It is attributed to the canal company's chief engineer, Rufus Lord, and retains substantial integrity despite damage.","narrative":"Silver Lake Dam crosses the Sandburg Creek in Woodridge, Sullivan County, New York, holding back a 65-acre lake. Built around 1847, it was one of the reservoirs created when the Delaware and Hudson Canal was enlarged to carry more coal. The creek fed an eight-mile summit section of the canal, and the dam stored water for it. The structure is 176 feet long, about 5 feet wide at the top and roughly 13 feet high. Mortared stone slabs encase a dry rubble interior, and two 15-inch cast-iron pipes with gate valves released water as needed. The design is credited to canal chief engineer Rufus Lord. After the canal closed, the lake became a recreational and resort amenity, and the dam was later raised and capped with concrete. A leak in 1999 led to a temporary break that drained much of the lake, with restoration planned. The dam is valued as a rare surviving piece of canal-era engineering that helps explain how the canal operated.","period_of_significance":"c1847-1898","architect_builder":"Rufus Lord, chief engineer","architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"A leak developed in 1999, and the village owner made a temporary break in the dam, which drained much of the lake. Plans were underway to restore the dam and lake.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.584085-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00000585.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000585/df4d9049af-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000585/df4d9049af-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silver_Lake_Dam,_Woodridge,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silver_Lake_Dam,_Woodridge,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322411","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake_Dam","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q571898"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/sullivan-county/silver-lake-dam-00000585/"}