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| Online Tour of the Kinzua Dam and surroundings About 7 miles east of Warren, PA on Route 59 Fishing in the Kinzua Region |
All about the Kinzua Dam
Pronounced "kin-zoo," by local residents, and "kin-zew-uh"
in the Seneca language, the Kinzua Dam is one of the
largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi
River. Its construction in the 1960's was controversial
because it forced the departure of Pennsylvania's last
Native Americans, the Senecas, who now live nearby on
the northern shores of the flooded land near Salamanca,
New York. In addition to flood control and power
generation, it created Pennsylvania's deepest inland lake,
the Allegheny Reservoir, which is also known as Kinzua
Lake.
A lawsuit against breaking the U.S. treaty which guaranteed
perpetual Seneca ownership of the land had been argued
by the Society of Friends (Quakers) but it lost in the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1961.
The American country western singer, Johnny Cash, wrote
a song about the plight of the Seneca Indians, whose
leader, Chief Cornplanter, was a significant figure in the
French and Indian War and the American Revolution. This
was one of the first Native American rights songs and
pre-dated popular protest folk music of the later 1960s.
Visit this link to to listen to an MP3 recording of the Johnny
Cash song.
Authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1936, 1938, and
1941, actual construction was begun by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in 1960 and completed in 1965. The
main purpose of the dam is flood control on the Allegheny
and Ohio rivers. This dam controls drainage on a
watershed of 2180 square miles or an area twice the size of
the state of Rhode Island. Side benefits derived from the
dam include drought control, hydroelectric power
production and recreation.
The total cost of construction was approximately $108
million. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Kinzua more than paid for itself in 1972 when tropical storm
Agnes dumped continual heavy rains on the watershed,
brining the reservoir to within three feet of its maximum
storage capacity. Over $247 million in downstream
damages were prevented.
Engineering notes: Length of Dam 1,897 feet, Maximum
Height of Dam 179 feet Earthfill, in Cubic Yards 3,000,000
Concrete, in Cubic Yards 500,000 Penstocks, Diameter
(Pipes Through Dam) 19 feet
The nearest city to the dam is Warren, Pennsylvania.
Situated six miles east of the city on Route 59, it is open for
public tours. It is located within the half-million acre
Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania. A
boat marina and beach are located nearby. A proposal to
set aside some of the land as wilderness in the 1990s was
unsuccessful but did create the Allegheny National
Recreation Area, comprising 23,000 acres which
established the use of the area for camping, fishing,
boating, hiking, canoeing and kayaking and other outdoor
nature activities.
References:
see Literary Warren, Pennsylvania for information about
books on the Kinzua Dam.
Notes on pronunciation: Noted local radio host LeRoy
Schneck pronouced the dam's name as "Kin-zew-a" as did
legendary singer Johnny Cash.
article updated 6/13/06
Pronounced "kin-zoo," by local residents, and "kin-zew-uh"
in the Seneca language, the Kinzua Dam is one of the
largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi
River. Its construction in the 1960's was controversial
because it forced the departure of Pennsylvania's last
Native Americans, the Senecas, who now live nearby on
the northern shores of the flooded land near Salamanca,
New York. In addition to flood control and power
generation, it created Pennsylvania's deepest inland lake,
the Allegheny Reservoir, which is also known as Kinzua
Lake.
A lawsuit against breaking the U.S. treaty which guaranteed
perpetual Seneca ownership of the land had been argued
by the Society of Friends (Quakers) but it lost in the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1961.
The American country western singer, Johnny Cash, wrote
a song about the plight of the Seneca Indians, whose
leader, Chief Cornplanter, was a significant figure in the
French and Indian War and the American Revolution. This
was one of the first Native American rights songs and
pre-dated popular protest folk music of the later 1960s.
Visit this link to to listen to an MP3 recording of the Johnny
Cash song.
Authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1936, 1938, and
1941, actual construction was begun by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in 1960 and completed in 1965. The
main purpose of the dam is flood control on the Allegheny
and Ohio rivers. This dam controls drainage on a
watershed of 2180 square miles or an area twice the size of
the state of Rhode Island. Side benefits derived from the
dam include drought control, hydroelectric power
production and recreation.
The total cost of construction was approximately $108
million. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Kinzua more than paid for itself in 1972 when tropical storm
Agnes dumped continual heavy rains on the watershed,
brining the reservoir to within three feet of its maximum
storage capacity. Over $247 million in downstream
damages were prevented.
Engineering notes: Length of Dam 1,897 feet, Maximum
Height of Dam 179 feet Earthfill, in Cubic Yards 3,000,000
Concrete, in Cubic Yards 500,000 Penstocks, Diameter
(Pipes Through Dam) 19 feet
The nearest city to the dam is Warren, Pennsylvania.
Situated six miles east of the city on Route 59, it is open for
public tours. It is located within the half-million acre
Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania. A
boat marina and beach are located nearby. A proposal to
set aside some of the land as wilderness in the 1990s was
unsuccessful but did create the Allegheny National
Recreation Area, comprising 23,000 acres which
established the use of the area for camping, fishing,
boating, hiking, canoeing and kayaking and other outdoor
nature activities.
References:
see Literary Warren, Pennsylvania for information about
books on the Kinzua Dam.
Notes on pronunciation: Noted local radio host LeRoy
Schneck pronouced the dam's name as "Kin-zew-a" as did
legendary singer Johnny Cash.
article updated 6/13/06
Books about our
Seneca Heritage
arranged at
Amazon.com
Seneca Heritage
arranged at
Amazon.com
From