Embrey Dam Lock - Rappahannock River
N 38° 19.303 W 077° 29.426
18S E 282289 N 4244446
The remnants of a lock and crib dam abutment remain from the old Embrey Dam in Fredericksburg, VA.
Waymark Code: WM76YM
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/11/2009
Views: 6
In 1854, the Fredericksburg Water Power Co. built a wood and stone crib dam across the Rappahannock River. A stone lock on the southern end controlled the water flow into the city canal and allowed passage for canal boats. The canal was used to provide water power to Fredericksburg.
In 1909, a bigger concrete dam was built to generate electricity and a power plant was established where the canal entered the Rappahannock. VEPCO (Virginia Electric and Power Co.) took over the plant's operation in the 1920s. They ran it until shutting it down in the 1960s. The canal was no longer used to supply power and the city eventually took over the dam.
By 1998, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries recommended the dam be removed to aid passage of migrating fish. In 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blew the dam up.
Today, the fish run free and only vestiges of the dam remain including the old lock and crib abutment. It can be accessed by the Rappahannock Canal Trail off Fall Hill Dr. in Fredericksburg.
References: