To Build a Dam

To Build a Dam (HM1CZZ)

Location: Castro Valley, CA 94546 Alameda County
Buy California State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 43.804', W 122° 7.231'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 487 views
Inscription
Underneath the lake lies evidence of the dams construction. The steps on this panel and the next one show how hands and hooves toiled to complete this engineering feat in 1892.


The rest of this marker consists of three illustration accompanied by captions. They captions are presented here, left to right. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Clearing the area:
Workers "grubbed" (removed) 333 acres of brush and trees from the area to be flooded, to ensure rotting vegetation would not affect the quality of the reservoir's water.

Tunnel No. 1:
In 1874, laborers dug a spillway tunnel through the rocky hillside to divert San Leandro Creek while constructing the dam. Tunnel No. 1 was originally 30 feet above the canyon floor and later delivered water to homes.

Digging the dam:
To prevent leakage and the creeks' return, laborers dug three trenches nesting one inside the other. The largest ditch was 900 feet by 150 feet; the second ditch or "puddlepit" was 90 feet from bank to bank and about 140 feet long creek-wise. In the third ditch, laborers constructed three concrete walls and then sealed the trench with concrete grout.

Puddling and compacting:
Laborers spread clay and choice materials obtained from adjacent areas to fill the two larger trenches. Water from a stream pump kept the clay wet and workable, and would form puddles giving the second ditch, puddle-pit, its name. Laborers drove gangs of horses across the puddle-pit to compact the layers and create a water resistant surface.

"Historians say Chabot was watching some cattle trample across a muddy creek bottom when he got the idea for the primordial impacting plan."
Oakland Tribune June 9, 1968.
Details
HM NumberHM1CZZ
Tags
Year Placed2012
Placed ByEast Bay Regional Park District
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 8:07pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10S E 577499 N 4176230
Decimal Degrees37.73006667, -122.12051667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 43.804', W 122° 7.231'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 43' 48.24" N, 122° 7' 13.86" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)510, 925
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 201-209 West Shore Trail, Castro Valley CA 94546, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?