Potsdam Raquette River Walk - Hydro Site

In May 1871, news reached Potsdam on a Friday afternoon that a reservoir dam had broken near Tupper Lake, and Fall Island was evacuated. It took 36 hours for the water to reach Potsdam. On Saturday, the water rose rapidly, causing the entire sawmill from Hannawa Falls to float into town and lodge against the log booms. Two shops on the northern side of the island washed away, and 40,000 logs owned by Green and Sisson broke from their booms and floated to Norwood. The Sugar Island hydroelectric generating station was built in 1922 upstream from Ives Park. The village began producing hydroelectric power at its east dam on Fall Island in 1927 and added a generating station at the west dam in 2010. Today, electricity is generated by 11 dams upstream and six dams downstream from this point, making the Raquette River one of the most productive for its size in the U.S.

Potsdam, New York · United States