The Dams
Crowell Hilaka's lakes are formed by dams.
There are a total of five known dams, and one that exists only in the historical record.
Lower Dam
The lower lake was created by Kirby c.1920 for fishing and swimming. It was designed with two intake filter dams which would divert sediment-laden storm water under the the lake bed. (See Lower Lake to view the patent for the clearwater filtration system.) The intake dams are no longer functional, but they are still very visible! One is under the bridge just below Garfield Hall. The other is under the wooden footbridge near Cattail Point on the Lower Lake Trail.
Besides forming the lower lake, the large retaining dam provided a vertical drop of water (or "head") to turn the millwheel to produce electricity. It is best viewed from the swinging bridge that is suspended over it!
The current controversy
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is responsible for overseeing the safe operation of all dams in the state.
The Lower Dam is currently out of compliance. Violations include excessive vegetation in the emergency spillway, lack of an emergency plan, and human habitation (the Oviatt Farmhouse) immediately in the path of potential catastrophic flood should the dam fail. These are all easily remedied. The big problem is that current regulations require that the dam needs to have the potential to handle a larger capacity in the event of region-wide flooding.
The solutions presented thus far are all expensive, and the council is considering solving the problem by removing the dam.
The once and future question: Did Kirby's clearwater system work? if so .... Would it be worth re-installing to create a lake for swimming?
The best indication of whether or not the system worked would be whether or not he used it again.
Upper Dam
The upper dam was also built by Kirby, probably in the late 1920's, in order to form a lake which would support larger fish. The most dramatic view is from the "catwalk" over the spillway near the boathouse. This dam was completely overhauled by the Lake Erie Girl Scout Council. It IS in compliance with ODNR regulations.
However, because of the overhaul, we can't tell if the dam had a storm water diversion conduit. But, if Kirby built the lake with the clearwater system, it would have an intake filter dam. It just so happens that in the Kirby file of the Richfield Historical Society are photographs of a dam being repaired. The dam being repaired is the one upstream of the lower lake, behind North House, best viewed from the mesh bridge positioned across the overflow spillway. It had been made of cobblestone, but was fitted with a concrete sheath. If it were simply a matter of repairing a crack in the dam, why did they take the photos? I wonder if the cobblestone dam was retrofitted with a Kirby filter. If so, it is no longer functional. But it would show that Kirby thought the clearwater system worked well enough to install on the upper lake.
The dam of historical record: The Mason Oviatt Dam
Here is a tantalizing mention from the "History of Hinckley" by Judge RA Webber, published in 1933, page 10: "Rocky River was rightfully named as the bed for the same for many miles is solid rock, the most conspicuous of which can be seen not far from its source in Berea, where the stream passes through the sandstone quarries, then forms the rapids in the north edge of the city. The stream has been dammed for various purposes, since the advent of the white man. As many as nine structures have been built from the river's source to Lake Erie, for either driving machinery or for pleasure. The first one after leaving its source for a sawmill was north of the Center road known as the "Mason Oviatt Dam". Not many years ago a gentleman enlarged the same for park purposes in connection with his summer residence. The next was east of the "Whipp Ledges" known as the "Ward's Mill" where lumber was produced and grain ground. .............."
I was wondering if Mason had been hired to build a dam somewhere in Hinkley or Berea. But the second part of the citation - that a gentleman had enlarged the dam for his summer residence - makes me think that maybe the gentleman might have been James Kirby, even though he lived there year-round, not just in summer. We know from the tax records that Mason had a sawmill on his farm. A mill can be sited on a running stream. It doesn't need to have a dam. But a mill using a mill pond with the water falling onto the top of a wheel ("overshot") is much more reliable and efficient than one with a wheel that dips into a stream. If Mason Oviatt had built a dam where the Kirby dam is, then Kirby didn't create the lower lake - as had been previously thought. It may be that there has been a lake there for over 170 years.