Seven feet seven and a half inches. That’s how high Plymouth Dam once stood. A giant on the Schuylkill River. We stand here now where a piece of Philadelphia’s industrial past once held sway.
Plymouth Dam wasn’t just a dam. It was a vital part of the Schuylkill Navigation system. Imagine the bustling activity. Boats carrying goods up and down the river. This dam provided the water for the Oaks Canal. Named for Thomas Oakes one of the engineers who built the Schuylkill Navigation. The original dam and lock were built in 1822. They were replaced in 1840. Later in the 1960s Philadelphia Electric Company over-capped and sheet-piled the structure. They were the dam’s owners.
Plymouth Dam also powered the Reading Traction Company’s hydroelectric generating station. This station provided electricity for the Norristown to Reading trolley line. Think about that. A dam providing power for a trolley line over a century ago. This is a remarkable feat of engineering for its time.
The dam wasn’t always a quiet guardian of the river. There was a social club built on its abutment. The Alexis Club. It was abandoned in the 1930s. It was dismantled sometime between 1945 and 1950. This was when the river was dredged. A lively scene it must have been. People enjoying the river’s edge. The club stood as a testament to a bygone era.
Plymouth Dam is gone now. Almost completely gone. But its story lives on. A story of industry ingenuity. A story of a river tamed and harnessed. A story of a past that shaped the Philadelphia we know today. A reminder of how Plymouth Dam impacted the Schuylkill River. A part of Philadelphia’s rich and often overlooked history.