A Pictorial History of Folsom Dam

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this week’s blog will look a little different so I can relax too! I still wanted to make sure that all of you had something to enjoy from the museum over the holiday, especially since Thanksgiving will also look a little different than usual for most of us!

I would like to introduce you to the history of the Folsom Dam through some of the many photos we have in our archive. So sit back and enjoy this little piece of history.

Old Dam Site, 1893

Old Dam Site During Flood

Dam Site Before Construction, October 1941

Water Levels Lowered by Diversion Tunnel

Blasting of Old Dam Begins 1948

Crowd Gathers October 15th, 1948 for Blasting

Mormon Island 1949, Before Flooding

Aerial View of Dam Site

First Bucket of Concrete October 29th, 1952

View of American River During Construction

November 1st, 1953 Construction

One of the First Crews in 1953

Bridge Across Dry American River to Dam Site

Concrete Batch House

View of Construction 1955

Workers in 1955

“Use Your Brains” Sign and Workers 1955 (not sure if they are holding beer cans or not!)

Concrete Work

Last Day of Concrete Pouring April 1955

Dam Saw Shop

Work on Dam and Power Plant

Completed Dam in 1956

Dam Dedication May 5th 1956