Location Of The Original Boysen Dam
The dark amphibolites and schists belong to an metamorphic-igneous complex of Archean age, that is exposed in Wind River Canyon north of Shoshone, Wyoming. These metamorphic rocks lie on the foot wall of the Boysen Fault (a normal fault) whose trace runs along the foot of the cliff in the foreground of the photo,
This location was the sight of the original Boysen Dam. Built in 1908 by a Dutch immigrant, Asmus Boysen, the dam supplied water and power to his copper and gold mines up on nearby Copper Mountain. Boysen was wealthy, a miner, prospector, businessman, entrepreneur, and most of all a visionary ( some say dreamer). But in this case things didn’t go as Boysen planned. The railroad planned to pass through the canyon by the dam, The rising water behind the small dam threatened to flood their tracks. In 1908 as the dam was completed, the railroad filed suit in court that same year. In 1911 the CB&O railroad was built through the canyon. In that same year the power plant started providing electricity to Boysen’s mines as well as the towns of Shoshoni and Riverton to the south. But that didn’t last very long. in 1915, The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the dam’s super structure had to be removed. That made the dam smaller and power generation much less profitable. Then in 1923 a major flood filled the plant with silt and all operations ceased. Mining declined, law suits continued, and finally Mr. Boysen lost his fortune in the venture. He died in 1938. Following all the legal wrangling the dam was finally removed in 1948 as part of a new dam project. In the 40s a new dam was built upstream 2 miles. Authorized in 1944, construction started in 1947, water storage started in 1951, power generation in 1952 and the Federal Government declared the project completed in 1953. The new Dam and Reservoir was named Boysen in honor of the dreamer who built the first dam in the Canyon. The silty bottom of the reservoir formed by Mr. Boysen’s dam is now populated with cottonwood trees and provides area for two of the campgrounds in Boysen State Park
For years The Dam Bar and Cafe by the south end of tunnel #3 just to the left of the photo. It was torn down before I can remember about the time the new dam was finished. For even a longer period, a swinging bridge crossed the river at the old dam site supported by the cables shown in the photo. My Dad would stop there and let us kids cross the rickety old bridge . It too is gone and only childhood memories remain…
Location Of The Original Boysen Dam
The dark amphibolites and schists belong to an metamorphic-igneous complex of Archean age, that is exposed in Wind River Canyon north of Shoshone, Wyoming. These metamorphic rocks lie on the foot wall of the Boysen Fault (a normal fault) whose trace runs along the foot of the cliff in the foreground of the photo,
This location was the sight of the original Boysen Dam. Built in 1908 by a Dutch immigrant, Asmus Boysen, the dam supplied water and power to his copper and gold mines up on nearby Copper Mountain. Boysen was wealthy, a miner, prospector, businessman, entrepreneur, and most of all a visionary ( some say dreamer). But in this case things didn’t go as Boysen planned. The railroad planned to pass through the canyon by the dam, The rising water behind the small dam threatened to flood their tracks. In 1908 as the dam was completed, the railroad filed suit in court that same year. In 1911 the CB&O railroad was built through the canyon. In that same year the power plant started providing electricity to Boysen’s mines as well as the towns of Shoshoni and Riverton to the south. But that didn’t last very long. in 1915, The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the dam’s super structure had to be removed. That made the dam smaller and power generation much less profitable. Then in 1923 a major flood filled the plant with silt and all operations ceased. Mining declined, law suits continued, and finally Mr. Boysen lost his fortune in the venture. He died in 1938. Following all the legal wrangling the dam was finally removed in 1948 as part of a new dam project. In the 40s a new dam was built upstream 2 miles. Authorized in 1944, construction started in 1947, water storage started in 1951, power generation in 1952 and the Federal Government declared the project completed in 1953. The new Dam and Reservoir was named Boysen in honor of the dreamer who built the first dam in the Canyon. The silty bottom of the reservoir formed by Mr. Boysen’s dam is now populated with cottonwood trees and provides area for two of the campgrounds in Boysen State Park
For years The Dam Bar and Cafe by the south end of tunnel #3 just to the left of the photo. It was torn down before I can remember about the time the new dam was finished. For even a longer period, a swinging bridge crossed the river at the old dam site supported by the cables shown in the photo. My Dad would stop there and let us kids cross the rickety old bridge . It too is gone and only childhood memories remain…