What Became of the First Bullard's Bar Dam?

The construction of the original Bullard's Bar dam was well underway when I arrived in Camptonville on July 4th, 1920. I came from Hobart Mills to accept the fire guard position with the U.S. Forest Service. Ranger Charlie Whittum was the District Forest Ranger of the Camptonville District of the Tahoe National Forest. Our headquarters office was above the saloon across from the two-story Meek Mercantile store. Yep, fire tools, pot-bellied stove and all.

A new road was being built from the top of the hill from the Kessler-Klenzendorf side. Mr. Mellon, residing in Challenge, was our county supervisor at the time and later accepted the two new roads leading to the dam for Yuba County.

The concrete arch dam was 185 feet high - incidentally, as high as Niagara Falls - that's how I remembered its height. The spillway clear across the dam had an opening of about 15 feet to the roadway above. From an engineering standpoint, the complete overfall was a mistake because the weight of the falling water had a tendency to wash and undermine the foundation, though not seriously. These repairs were taken care of by the PG&E. The Forest Service annual report was always favorable. There never was any question about its strength or safety.

Many's the time, in summer with no overflow, it was enticing to go about midway and drop a stone and watch the pebble hit the very bottom of the dam. Talk about exactness and perfection, and as Cousin Jack would say "A beauty her was." The two-story concrete powerhouse below, on the water's edge on the far side some 250 feet downstream, had two windows in the upper story facing the stream.

Now, this was all fine for several years until the flood in the winter of 1955 came along. Our placid North Yuba River went on a rampage, and that's when the trouble started. This 15-foot wall of water going thru over the dam its full length and, mind you, falling abruptly 185 feet, caused waves in this rather confined area between the banks, causing the waves to shoot over the powerhosue, breaking the upstream windows and flooding the building. I was told the two operators were rescued and taken out with the use of ropes. Needless to say, the machinery was shut down for at least two months, since a complete overhaul was necessary, and taking no chances, the windows were replaced with concrete.

Soon after we entered WWII, guards, local men with rifles, were hired to patrol and guard the dam. Incidentally, no attempt was made to harm the structures.

Now to answer the question, the first Bullard's Bar Dam is still there. It, however, is no longer visible, being flooded with about 200 feet of water, backed up by the new 600-foot-high Bullard's Bar Dam, completed in 1969 and located about one-half mile downstream. It is an imposing dam and well worth the time to come and see.

While I miss the old structures I shall always be happy to think I had the privilege of dropping pebbles from the top of the first Bullard's Bar Dam.