From collection Jake Gillison Collection
LB2016.15.728
Flood damage at Main & Water Streets, Ellsworth, Maine. Graham Lake in Hancock County, Maine is a eutrophic reservoir formed by the construction of a hydro-electric power dam in 1922 four miles upstream from Ellsworth, Maine. The first dam was a hastily-built earthen dam built by the Bangor Hydro Electric Company. It failed on May 3, 1923, causing the Union River to overflow its banks, flooding downtown Ellsworth, doing almost $8 million in property damage. The flood followed heavy rain that caused the Brimmer Bridge Reservoir Dam, completed the week before at a cost of $250,000, to wash away. The dam was rebuilt and operated by Bangor Hydro until its sale in 1999.
