Lake Temescal Dam

Chinese immigrants, who originally came to the US to build railroads, built Chabot Dam. Hundreds of workers lived for several years excavating dirt from downstream, loading it into mule-drawn carts, and with the help of mustang horses, packing it into the body of the dam. The horses trampled the dirt so tightly, it created a surface that was as hard as concrete in a process known as "Puddling." A number of Chinese were killed during the building of both dams.