Lake Garfield Dam 1970 to 1972

Several big news stories happened in 1970 to 1972. The first was the repair to the Lake Garfield dam, construction of new dam, the creation of Brewer Pond, and the relocation of Sylvan Road and Tyringham Road. In May of 1970 the Massachusetts House appropriated $350,000 for this construction project, with a completion date of July 1972. The selectmen spent many hours on trips to Boston, dam inspections, and reviewing plans. A condition of the state funding was construction of a public boat ramp to Lake Garfield (a state-owned lake). The town did several land takings for the new dam at Brewer Pond, the new twelve-acre pond, and the relocation of Tyringham Road.

The pond was dredged during the winter of 1972, so that construction could begin in the spring and be completed by November of 1972. Discussion ensued about the placement of the new public swimming beach and the placement of the public boat ramp. The town voted to have the new town beach on the north side of Brewer Pond with an emergency access by boat, as there was no room for a road access. The public boat ramp was to be situated at the location of the old beach area. (Author’s note: The new beach area was used for one year, with Linda Tryon as its lifeguard. The new beach area proved to be very unpopular with townspeople, and the beach was moved back to its old location on the main part of the lake. The town was then presented with the problem of where to locate the public access boat ramp, a problem that was to plague the town for many years. To date, the issue has never been formally resolved, although a workable compromise seems to be in effect now.) — from Monterey News, January 2020