From Kayuta Dam to Forestport

I've always wanted to explore that part of the Black River between the Kayuta Dam and Forestport. The riverbed by the dam was just too rocky for me to risk damaging my kayak. Our canoe was too heavy to carry across the boat launch. That is, until we got an awesome canoe carrier.


And so, my husband and I were able to paddle down the river. It was just so peaceful over there, away from the motor boats of Kayuta.






Forestport was a major center of the logging industry during the heyday of the Erie Canal. Sawmills used to line the banks of this 150 acre pond, filling it with softwood logs. Canal boats would ferry the lumber through the 10 mile feeder canal to the Black River Canal in Boonville.











On the other side of the bridge,
the start of the feeder canal can be seen towards the right side of the canoe. When the logging industry started to slow down in the late 1800's, repairs on breaks in this feeder's levees provided jobs and boosted the businesses around town. The breaks turned out to be part of a widespread conspiracy which is chronicled in the
Forestport Breaks: A Nineteenth Century Conspiracy Along the Black River Canal


The Forestport Dam was completed in 1848, and was designed to raise the Black River 12 feet. Washed out in the flood of 1869, this was rebuilt in 1903, now a concrete gravity dam, 27 feet high and 455 ft long.



On the way back to Kayuta, we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife. We did not see the bald eagle that reportedly lives here but the blue herons were fascinating to watch. One even accompanied us all the way to our dam.

The Kayuta Lake Dam

One of my favorite spots on Kayuta is by the dam.


The Kayuta Lake Dam was built along the Black River creating our beautiful lake. Completed in 1894, it is a masonry, stone and gravity dam 26 feet in height and 240 feet long. It was used as a hydroelectric generating facility by Algonquin Power from January 1988. Although the agreement was for 40 years, it has recently stopped its operations in the last year or so. Why it should do so when everyone else is looking for alternative energy sources, I can't fathom.



Right now, it's a great place to hang out, to savor the view, listen to the cascading waters and just enjoy the peace and quiet. One can also go fishing or take a canoe down river to Forestport. If you do, watch out for the bald eagle that has been spotted there before.