The following is taken from a pamphlet that is available at Castlewood Canyon State Park. The park lies a few miles east and south of Castle Rock, Colorado. The booklet describes events leading up to and the flood that followed a break in the Castlewood Dam through the memories of eye witnesses.
The Night the Dam Gave Way
A Diary of Personal Accounts
Castlewood Dam was built in 1890. It took 335 men and 180 teams of horses and mules, and 11 months to construct the Dam in a manner which was typical of the time. The reservoir had a capacity of 5,300 acre feet of water from damming Cherry Creek. The Dam was 600 feet long and 70 feet tall, 50 feet wide at it's base and 8 feet wide at the top. The reservoir safety was controversial from the beginning. There were early cracks caused by shifts in the floor at the base of the dam from the pressure and the weight of the water.
W.F. Alexander, of the Denver Water Storage Company, called the allegations "spite work"" and said that even if the dam gave way there would be no flood because the water would spread out over the 45 miles it would take to get to Denver. On the other hand, assistant city engineer Andrew Ryan said, "I do not want to say anything that will hurt the company and I do not want to frighten the people along the creek, but everything is not as I should like to see it." So the arguments went on for years until 1933.
The summer of 1933 brought heavy rains. On August 2 it rained on ground that was already soaked from previous rains storms. Hugh Paine, the caretaker and his wife who lived on the site said, "I could tell the dam was breaking up because of the wall of water that pouring over the top. I tried to telephone but the lines were out. My neighbor Ed Hall and I knew the residents in the valley and in Denver had to be warned before the main body of the dam went out.
"We started for Castle Rock (the nearest town). The 12 miles seemed many times that far, but we made it and reached the telephone exchange and that was all that mattered."
At Castle Rock, Paine called the Denver police and Mr. and Mrs. August Deepe and Nettle Driskill telephone operators at Parker, Colorado.
Anna Ruehle Sinton wrote, "The phone rang while it was still dark in the early morning. It was the telephone operators warning that everyone should go to high ground as the Castlewood Dam had collapsed. My parents got us dressed and we drove to the top of the hill near Forest and Alameda. By that time it was getting light and we were able to see the first signs of the flood coming down Cherry Creek.. It carried debris of all types, as well as uprooted trees."
All of the lower parts of Denver were flooded and two people were killed along with some farm animals that couldn't escape.
It is a short hike to the remnants of the washed out dam. If you can't go, you can call the Castlewood Canyon State Park to get the booklet of witnesses' memories of the event for $3.00.
Go to: Franktown, CO or
Call: 303-688-5242 or
email: castlewood.canyon@state.co.us

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