Edinburgh resident Ken Neville looks onward at the recently breached Thompson Mill dam. The dam failed at some point last weekend.
Waylon O’Donnell | Daily Journal
By Waylon O’Donnell | Daily Journal
For The Republic
EDINBURGH — Edinburgh’s 19th-century dam has finally burst after a historic run as one of the town’s most prominent landmarks.
Originally built in 1884, the Thompson Mill Dam, nestled on the Big Blue River in the town of Edinburgh, failed over the weekend.
“The dam is the Thompson Mill Dam, a low-head dam in the channel of the Big Blue River in Edinburgh. It is owned and maintained by the town of Edinburgh. A low-head dam is a dam designed for the water to flow over it,” said Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesman Marty Benson.
On Saturday, long-term foundation seepage and associated erosion increased, resulting in a complete breach under and through the dam, with a complete loss of the small impoundment behind the dam, Benson said.
As of Sunday, a complete structural collapse at the breach in the dam had not occurred, he said. “A complete structural collapse would not increase downstream water levels,” Benson said.
The 10-foot limestone structure was initially built by John Thompson, who ran the former Thompson Mill. It has been a long time since the mill operated, but in the years since it has become a popular swimming and fishing spot for community members.
The fate of the dam is unclear as of now. The town of Edinburgh owns the dam and whatever happens to the dam will be decided by the town council, said Kevin McGinnis, town manager. Town officials are still investigating potential options moving forward, he said.
The dam was not built for flood control, but instead for Thompson Mill, McGinnis said. So the dam failing poses no threat to the public.
Prior to the failure, the town had no information that suggested the dam was in danger of failing, he said.
“The town has no information or reports that the dam is going to fail or is failing,” McGinnis said. “The Town Council authorized the town’s administration to look into possible options regarding the dam. The town has no insight at this time on the future of the situation.”
According to the National Inventory of Dams, Thompson Mill Dam was last inspected in 2017 and was deemed to be in “fair” condition. The barrier is supposed to be inspected every five years, but there is no record of a 2022 assessment, as the page has not been updated since April 2021.
The Daily Journal has reached out to determine if there was an inspection in 2022, but had not heard back by press time.
Town residents are largely sad to see the dam break, as they have fond memories of fishing and swimming in the nearby river. Some have also brought up the dam’s tragic past, as multiple people have died while swimming there in flood conditions.
Tim Critney, who has lived in Edinburgh for 73 years, said it was one of the most viewed places in the town.
“It is one of the most significant places in the state of Indiana,” Critney said. “It is probably the fifth most photographed place in Indiana. If kids grew up here, this was the place to be. They’d fish down here. Of course, the water was a lot higher then.”
It also isn’t the first time for the dam to break, Critney said. The last breach struck around five years ago on the northwestern side of the dam, which is still evident by a dark, concave bulge on the stones, he said.
“We’ve had a breach before,” Critney said. “I knew that eventually [the dam] was probably going to go and unfortunately would probably not be repaired.”
People gathered at the dam over the weekend and Monday afternoon to see the damage and reminisce about the site.
“A lot of people travel from I-65 to 31, and somehow they seem to always slow down and stop to take pictures of it,” said Ken Neville, a lifelong Edinburgh resident.
Residents love the dam so much, that multiple people in a local Facebook group have begun to talk about raising money to help the town build it back
— Republic reporter Andy East contributed to this story.
