Please see: Ramseur Dam Removal Project page
Please see americanrivers.org for more videos and information

Dam removal is one of the most powerful, cost-effective, and efficient tools there is to restore the health of rivers. A free-flowing river supports biodiversity, clean water supplies for communities, and recreation. Sadly, more than half a million darns block our nation’s waterways. Before its removal, Ramseur dam was among 28,000 inventoried dams in the state of North Carolina, many of them obsolete.

The Ramseur dam was originally constructed in the early1900s to power a sawmill and later the Columbia Manufacturing Company. Built largely of over rock, time had long since taken its toll: the gates on the darn were broken, water seeped through the structure, and rebar jutted out in places. It no longer produced hydropower or supported manufacturing.

This is a story playing out across the country and likely in your community. Dams are aging, becoming unsafe, and adding liability to towns and even private owners. Nationally, experts estimate that 70 percent of dams have outlived their average design life.

“Ramseur’s next chapter is about reconnecting – to the river, to each other, and to a broader vision of a restored Deep and Cape Fear River system flowing forward together,” 
Lizzy Stokes-Cawley, Associate Director of Conservation For American Rivers

By: Mary Joan Pugh, Randolph County

American Rivers, an organization dedicated to improving rivers by removing barriers received funds from NOAA to remove four dams on Deep River which joins the Haw River to form the Cape Fear River near Moncure. The idea is to restore 70 miles of river to its natural state to improve water quality and habitat for aquatic species including fish and mussels. In turn, American Rivers contracted with RES, a stream restoration organization to remove the Ramseur Dam.

To provide some history, the Dam was built in 1850 to power mainly the Columbia Cotton Mill but also a grist mill. It ceased being used for power generation in the late 1960’s due to the construction of Brooklyn Ave where a culvert limited the flow. The dam was breached in the 1990s causing an estimated 40% of the reservoir to drain which caused upstream Harlan Creek and Sandy Creek to decrease in depth. It was no longer functional, posed a public safety hazard and obstructed recreational uses such as kayaking. See photos.

Benefits of removing the Dam include improving public safety, using the materials to construct a river access at Leonard Park {river right), stabilizing the banks and restoring the river to its natural state to improve water quality and habitat for fish, mussels and other significant aquatic species.
The Deep River State Trail extends 125 miles from High Point City Lake to Moncure with five miles of land trails in High Point, six miles of land trails and one river access in Randolph County – Randleman, Franklinville and Ramseur and six river accesses in Moore, Chatham and lee Counties. See attached brochure.

Removal of the Ramseur Dam benefits the DRST in several ways. It adds a DRST river access using the material from the dam at Leonard Park. At the same time, the Town of Ramseur is using a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant to extend the DRST Rail Trail section near the Dam on river left across Brooklyn Ave to Main Street, provide a crosswalk funded by NCDOT TAP funds and build a Trailhead/Parking area at the former Columbia Cotton Warehouse where the “Factory Branch” of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway turntable was located. See photo. In addition, Randolph County recently received a Great Trails State Program grant for the Design/Engineering of the Harlan Creek Bridge which will connect the two Ramseur Rail Trail sections for 1.5 miles, creating a four-mile DRST section from Downtown Ramseur to Downtown Franklinville. Eventually with the recently constructed Bush Creek Bridge, the DRST will extend from Franklinville to Cedar Falls/Sapona for six miles connect