Great documentary. I grew up in the Bronx, and we'd often drive up to the dam during the weekend. When I was in my early 20s I climbed up the bank to the right of the dam and took photos across the dam. When I find my portfolio case (was attending the Germain School of Photography) I'll find the slides I took of the dam. Now I'm quite old, very poor health, living in the midwest, the Michigan flatlands. Not too far from here is a "large" earthen dam project, that pumps water from Lake Michigan at night when electricity is plentiful, and then during high demand times the water flows back into Lake Michigan, the turbines driving generators to supply power back into the regional grid. Impressive, I guess, but honestly, it's boring to look at -- I went there exactly one time, took some photos "just because" but it was _nothing_ like the beautiful Kensico dam. Sad about all that history flooded underwater, though...
I was born in a home right across from the Dam (legally, North White Plains). I remember my mother driving over the top of the Dam in our 1952 Chevy....very bumpy since the road was made of bricks! I learned to ice skate there. I also remember water coming out of the mouths of the gargoyles...and the aerators, of course. We always opted to pass the aerators if possible when we drove anywhere. I am in Florida now; first time I have seen this footage. A lot of nostalgia for my Valhalla home. Thank you.
I loved watching this. I had done some reading about the village of Kensico, but this supplied so much more detail and cultural history. My grandfather, Huntington Choate Atwater was one of the engineers who worked on the design and construction of the present dam. We grew up in Chappaqua and my dad's office was in White Plains. We always asked to go to White Plains via Vahalla just so we could drive across the dam. Thanks to all for making this video.
I grew up in Valhalla and spent many hours at the Dam. My Great Grandmother lived on the Peninsula with her grand parents.. Edward and Louisa Riley. Love the history.
Heyyooooo! Mt. Pleasant native here. Excellent, excellent video. Thank you. So much interesting history in the lower Hudson Valley. Totally under appreciated. We appreciate you effort greatly!
My father's grandfather actually worked for the phone company at the time, he was one of the last ones out, he stayed back and took out all of the phone and telegraph lines.
My grandfather and Grandmother lived in the village of Kensico before the dam was built. His name was Ray Ferris and her name was Matilda Waterbury (Tillie) and mentioned in the video. Really a great video
My wife's grandfather, after coming over from Italy, was one of the stone workers that built the dam. I've taken my daughter there many times (Live and grew up in Yonkers) and now that's she's old enough to understand, I can tell her about her family's history. We lost my wife 3 1/2 years ago and things like this really help me illustrate where my wife's family came from and how her roots were planted.
I grew up now too far from there. We had friends in Mt Kisco we visited. I used to love going to the the Kensico Dam and that area. So peaceful. Thanks for the history which I never knew about! Great pictures and story telling!
My grandma used to take me and my brother to the dam to play and I always lingered by the information boards they had at the base with the history of the dam so its nice to get a better picture of its development
Well done! This has excellent detail on the history of the local area. The Pfister family, mentioned in the video, also had a major part in the beginning of the American Legion Adolph Pfister Post 1038 in Valhalla.
I lived in P'ville and Hawthorne for many years. I remember when they had to take the level of the water down to do repairs near the bottom of the dam. If you stood on top of the dam and looked down,you could actually see outlines of the buildings and homes where they used to be. Now of course, after 9/11 no one is allowed on the top ,or to cross the dam.
I grew up in Armonk. I remember driving across across in High School. 9-11 I was a senior at ByramHills. It’s funny how things that bored us as a kid are very interesting now. I found out years later my great grandfather was a worker on the dam project. Small world
Lucky me. My stomping ground as a young boy. Trout near the spillways. Can’t count how many times I was chased out. It’s always been restricted. Only during 911, when the police wanted us out and about the area for extra eyes . Pines dotted the lake with soft needles to make the softest beds I ever slept on. Maybe I’ll sneak back at seventy and bivouac for a night. You still won’t find me. They got you if you try to swim. I recognize so many of those vantage point pictures that you show. What a lucky boy I was. It’s a hop skip and jump from Meade lake which is stunning itself. Connecticut border, I think. Skinny dipping with the girls… you will be surprised how many people don’t know anything about the area. Still restricted, I assume. As well it should be.
Great video, I used to go fishing up there in the 60s n 70s beautiful area but there was hot dog guy working out of a station wagon I think on rte 22 fantastic chilli..
I grew up in Quarry Heights,....loved it and will Always consider it the Best place to have lived and grown up in. It was great to watch this video, just wished something was said about the Quarry and It's little community there......
My dad used to take me there as a kid in the 80s. been back maybe 3 times since. Last time was a date with a girl I really liked but she didnt like me . In retrospect I should have tossed her into the water ;)
This entire project and the people that lost their homes is reminiscent of the great Sacandaga Lake up here in Upstate New York built in 1939 to handle the Overflow from the Adirondack Mountains so Downtown Albany and Troy would not get flooded in the winter melting. Very sad that people that owned homes did not want to leave and people from the Utica and Upstate area came down and were hired to burn down the homes and make room for the now Sacandaga Reservoir. Many buildings still exist under the water, railroad tracks and an old amusement park are also down there, when the lake is drawn down at the end of the summer in the fall season some of these buildings can actually be seen through the water, Bittersweet just like the Kensico Dam Construction
I was impressed and surprised at the extent of the police presence in and around the reservoir and dam site in the early 1900s, with mounted patrols 24/7, etc. Then I saw the images of the laborers’ and stoneworkers’ housing in the vicinity and the narrator saying that the construction made Valhalla a little boom town - I’ll bet it was a bit of a Wild West atmosphere, with so many hardworking and thirsty men after payday, filling the saloons, etc. Also, that was an era when the newly arrived Italian immigrants were viewed with suspicion and mistrust by American authorities - and there was probably great fear of labor organizing, anarchists, Bolshevism, etc., in the immigrant population.
My grandfather, who helped build the damn, was a bootlegger during that time. We actually have a sealed up tunnel, which led to the firehouse, in the family home's basement.
That was beautiful ! Thank you for taking the time to create this. I have been trying to find out if there is any name or history to a small pond to the East of RT 22 just north of the Dam by 800 to 1000 FT. Anyone have any information about this by chance ? Curious if it was one of the many small quarries prior to the Dam's construction ... Thank you .
If you can send an email indicating where this pond you refer to is on a map to northcastlehistoricalsociety@gmail.com we’ll see if it can be identified.
Remember the aerators?Last time I remember them was about '67 in the morning with the sun rising behind.Now it's fluoride, barium,aluminum, other nasty stuff absolutely "great " for smooth muscle. Haven't been near there since ' last time, '80?
Those aerators were the classic sound of a summer evening ... with the windows open, no air conditioning... that distant white noise out there amid the sparkle of fireflies. We would chuckle at the sight of New Yorkers who would park their cars and set up lawn chairs right next to them to catch a bit of their cooling mist on a hot summer day.
People started migrating from India,Mongolia, se asia,Babylon etc etc about 20k yrs ago via Bering Strait on down to Tierra del Fuego stopping there 10 k yrs ago.So there are Indian native Americans along with all else.Wonder if Christopher, Amerigo,Ponce thou about all this trekking where no man had gone?
FYI Christopher Columbus never set foot on the American continent. Native Americans are not referred to as “Indians” because they aren’t Indian; they have their own heritage that has nothing to do with India. There’s about as much tie to India as white Europeans have to Africa. Shall we refer to your people as African because they migrated from there 20,000 years prior? I think not.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
Beautifully narrated. I lived in Valhalla for 14 years and spent many winters skating at the foot of Kensico Dam. Carolyn C Hall
Great documentary. I grew up in the Bronx, and we'd often drive up to the dam during the weekend. When I was in my early 20s I climbed up the bank to the right of the dam and took photos across the dam. When I find my portfolio case (was attending the Germain School of Photography) I'll find the slides I took of the dam.
Now I'm quite old, very poor health, living in the midwest, the Michigan flatlands. Not too far from here is a "large" earthen dam project, that pumps water from Lake Michigan at night when electricity is plentiful, and then during high demand times the water flows back into Lake Michigan, the turbines driving generators to supply power back into the regional grid.
Impressive, I guess, but honestly, it's boring to look at -- I went there exactly one time, took some photos "just because" but it was _nothing_ like the beautiful Kensico dam.
Sad about all that history flooded underwater, though...
Heyo Thornwood girl here! Great job on the narrative of Kensico!
I was born in a home right across from the Dam (legally, North White Plains). I remember my mother driving over the top of the Dam in our 1952 Chevy....very bumpy since the road was made of bricks! I learned to ice skate there. I also remember water coming out of the mouths of the gargoyles...and the aerators, of course. We always opted to pass the aerators if possible when we drove anywhere. I am in Florida now; first time I have seen this footage. A lot of nostalgia for my Valhalla home. Thank you.
I loved watching this. I had done some reading about the village of Kensico, but this supplied so much more detail and cultural history. My grandfather, Huntington Choate Atwater was one of the engineers who worked on the design and construction of the present dam. We grew up in Chappaqua and my dad's office was in White Plains. We always asked to go to White Plains via Vahalla just so we could drive across the dam.
Thanks to all for making this video.
I grew up in Valhalla and spent many hours at the Dam. My Great Grandmother lived on the Peninsula with her grand parents.. Edward and Louisa Riley. Love the history.
Heyyooooo! Mt. Pleasant native here. Excellent, excellent video. Thank you. So much interesting history in the lower Hudson Valley. Totally under appreciated. We appreciate you effort greatly!
My father's grandfather actually worked for the phone company at the time, he was one of the last ones out, he stayed back and took out all of the phone and telegraph lines.
My grandfather and Grandmother lived in the village of Kensico before the dam was built. His name was Ray Ferris and her name was Matilda Waterbury (Tillie) and mentioned in the video. Really a great video
That’s amazing
My wife's grandfather, after coming over from Italy, was one of the stone workers that built the dam. I've taken my daughter there many times (Live and grew up in Yonkers) and now that's she's old enough to understand, I can tell her about her family's history. We lost my wife 3 1/2 years ago and things like this really help me illustrate where my wife's family came from and how her roots were planted.
I love history, well done 👍
Excellent piece of local history Thanks
Thanks so much for sharing. I didn't know all the history!
moved there in 1953 and graduated from VHS 1965.
Thank you for this wonderful story - I grew up in White Plains and the dam and the foreground in Valhalla were part of that experience.
My grade school right next door. My dad grew up in Valhalla & I grew up in NWP. Will always love this area. Thank you for the history lesson!
What a beautiful tribute, thank you
I grew up now too far from there. We had friends in Mt Kisco we visited. I used to love going to the the Kensico Dam and that area. So peaceful. Thanks for the history which I never knew about! Great pictures and story telling!
My grandma used to take me and my brother to the dam to play and I always lingered by the information boards they had at the base with the history of the dam so its nice to get a better picture of its development
Nice job, Steve. Glad you got it made!
Well done! This has excellent detail on the history of the local area. The Pfister family, mentioned in the video, also had a major part in the beginning of the American Legion Adolph Pfister Post 1038 in Valhalla.
My gr gr grandparents owned a farm there. A real loss for our family
I lived in P'ville and Hawthorne for many years. I remember when they had to take the level of the water down to do repairs near the bottom of the dam. If you stood on top of the dam and looked down,you could actually see outlines of the buildings and homes where they used to be. Now of course, after 9/11 no one is allowed on the top ,or to cross the dam.
you're still allow walk across the top of the dam.
I grew up in Armonk. I remember driving across across in High School. 9-11 I was a senior at ByramHills. It’s funny how things that bored us as a kid are very interesting now. I found out years later my great grandfather was a worker on the dam project. Small world
Lucky me. My stomping ground as a young boy. Trout near the spillways. Can’t count how many times I was chased out. It’s always been restricted. Only during 911, when the police wanted us out and about the area for extra eyes . Pines dotted the lake with soft needles to make the softest beds I ever slept on. Maybe I’ll sneak back at seventy and bivouac for a night. You still won’t find me. They got you if you try to swim. I recognize so many of those vantage point pictures that you show. What a lucky boy I was. It’s a hop skip and jump from Meade lake which is stunning itself. Connecticut border, I think. Skinny dipping with the girls… you will be surprised how many people don’t know anything about the area. Still restricted, I assume. As well it should be.
Great video, I used to go fishing up there in the 60s n 70s beautiful area but there was hot dog guy working out of a station wagon I think on rte 22 fantastic chilli..
Wow, totally right. What was the name of that hotdog place on the other side. He was chased to the other side by them to sell from his car?
I grew up in Quarry Heights,....loved it and will Always consider it the Best place to have lived and grown up in. It was great to watch this video, just wished something was said about the Quarry and It's little community there......
Dale Eulitz Q
One great video!
My dad used to take me there as a kid in the 80s. been back maybe 3 times since. Last time was a date with a girl I really liked but she didnt like me . In retrospect I should have tossed her into the water ;)
Great video, thanks for posting
Wonderful video
that was very informative and was well put together
My great grand father Harry Pember worked on the Dam. His son Fred Pember was my grand father. Fred Pember was well known in Armonk for many years.
I knew Fred.
Well I’m seeing this two years later 😂
I came across this video again and just saw this.
Sorry for delay. I’m Debi’s son. Everett’s my middle name.
This entire project and the people that lost their homes is reminiscent of the great Sacandaga Lake up here in Upstate New York built in 1939 to handle the Overflow from the Adirondack Mountains so Downtown Albany and Troy would not get flooded in the winter melting. Very sad that people that owned homes did not want to leave and people from the Utica and Upstate area came down and were hired to burn down the homes and make room for the now Sacandaga Reservoir. Many buildings still exist under the water, railroad tracks and an old amusement park are also down there, when the lake is drawn down at the end of the summer in the fall season some of these buildings can actually be seen through the water, Bittersweet just like the Kensico Dam Construction
how come this dam does not have a spillway? never understood that
That's not a pumping station on Nannyhagen Rd. Just a gatehouse.....and the fountains are all gone now.
I was impressed and surprised at the extent of the police presence in and around the reservoir and dam site in the early 1900s, with mounted patrols 24/7, etc. Then I saw the images of the laborers’ and stoneworkers’ housing in the vicinity and the narrator saying that the construction made Valhalla a little boom town - I’ll bet it was a bit of a Wild West atmosphere, with so many hardworking and thirsty men after payday, filling the saloons, etc. Also, that was an era when the newly arrived Italian immigrants were viewed with suspicion and mistrust by American authorities - and there was probably great fear of labor organizing, anarchists, Bolshevism, etc., in the immigrant population.
My grandfather, who helped build the damn, was a bootlegger during that time. We actually have a sealed up tunnel, which led to the firehouse, in the family home's basement.
That was beautiful ! Thank you for taking the time to create this. I have been trying to find out if there is any name or history to a small pond to the East of RT 22 just north of the Dam by 800 to 1000 FT. Anyone have any information about this by chance ? Curious if it was one of the many small quarries prior to the Dam's construction ... Thank you .
If you can send an email indicating where this pond you refer to is on a map to northcastlehistoricalsociety@gmail.com we’ll see if it can be identified.
Great documentary but the music is way to loud
Remember the aerators?Last time I remember them was about '67 in the morning with the sun rising behind.Now it's fluoride, barium,aluminum, other nasty stuff absolutely "great " for smooth muscle. Haven't been near there since ' last time, '80?
Those aerators were the classic sound of a summer evening ... with the windows open, no air conditioning... that distant white noise out there amid the sparkle of fireflies. We would chuckle at the sight of New Yorkers who would park their cars and set up lawn chairs right next to them to catch a bit of their cooling mist on a hot summer day.
Yes! I grew up in Thornwood, and remember driving past the aerators in operation, catching a nice cooling on a hot summer day!
@@AldoCugnini lived on Virginia Lane off Nannyhagen!
*native Americans? I’m sorry, huge pet peeve. Indians live in India. Thank you so much for history though. So fascinating!
People started migrating from India,Mongolia, se asia,Babylon etc etc about 20k yrs ago via Bering Strait on down to Tierra del Fuego stopping there 10 k yrs ago.So there are Indian native Americans along with all else.Wonder if Christopher, Amerigo,Ponce thou about all this trekking where no man had gone?
FYI Christopher Columbus never set foot on the American continent.
Native Americans are not referred to as “Indians” because they aren’t Indian; they have their own heritage that has nothing to do with India. There’s about as much tie to India as white Europeans have to Africa. Shall we refer to your people as African because they migrated from there 20,000 years prior? I think not.
The Indians “sold” the land to the settlers? 😂😅🤣
Music is too dire!
huh?lol