Skip to main content

80135

Cheesman Dam
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: DamsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 190527633-27701 State Highway 211SedaliaState: COZip: 80135Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Cheesman-Dam/Creator: South Platte Canal and Reservoir Company, Allen, C.P.

The Cheesman Dam was the first major dam in the U.S. to incorporate the gravity arch, and upon completion it was the highest gravity arch stone masonry dam in the world. It is the key structure in Denver's water supply.

Three years into original construction, flooding swept away the partially completed rock-filled structure. A solid masonry replacement dam was completed in just five years - a major feat for such a remote and complex project. When it was finished, the dam rose higher than the tallest building in Denver. 

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public DomainImage Caption: Cheesman DamEra_date_from: 1905
Subscribe to 80135

Innovations

Cheesman Dam

The Cheesman Dam was the first major dam in the U.S. to incorporate the gravity arch, and upon completion it was the highest gravity arch stone masonry dam in the world. It is the key structure in Denver's water supply.

Three years into original construction, flooding swept away the…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.