Lake Solitude was constructed by the Taylor Iron and Steel Company in 1858 on the South Branch of the Raritan River to provide hydro-electric power for the adjacent Iron Works after the depletion of natural resources that had powered the works. About 20 acres in size, the lake was formed by a dam whose 500 foot earthen section is a gravity dam that was expanded and raised over time, while its original 175 foot spillway was a timber-framed crib dam locally known as Taylor Falls, named for Robert Taylor, the first of five generations of Taylors who lived at Solitude and managed the Union Iron Works through the Taylor Wharton Iron and Steel Company until the 1920's. From its construction onward, the lake served not only as a power source for the foundry but also as a popular recreation destination, with swim and recreation clubs, the nearby Camp Taylor, and activities including boating, fishing, swimming, beach recreation, train excursions, and extravagant Independence Day celebrations by the Iron Works. In 1909, the crib dam was replaced by the present 40 foot high spillway, a highly significant example of dam engineering known as the Butress Dam, designed and built by civil engineer Frank Stone Tainter, who also constructed other notable New Jersey dams including the Lake Carnegie Dam in Princeton and the Ravine Lake Dam in Far Hills. With a stone dam substructure of concrete-encased steel beams anchored into bedrock and reinforced by butress structures, it is the earliest example of this construction type and the last remaining example of a butress dam in New Jersey, and it is recognized by the state and nationally as a significant historic structure. Today the spillway is again called Taylor Falls in lasting recognition of the Taylor family, and Lake Solitude and Dam, listed on Preservation NJ's Most Endangered Sites in 2008, remain an important part of High Bridge's past and a possible part of its future through the proposed return of hydropower.