Re-building Jennings Pond - 1988

Jennings Pond in Danby was originally created in 1895 as a reservoir for the City of Ithaca's water supply, (although it was never used for that function), and has been used for recreational purposes for many years. In the 1930s the New York State Park Commission created an earthen and flashboard dam on the pond to control the flow of water into Buttermilk Creek. In 1987 state engineers were doing repair work on the dam and spring rains created pressure on it, causing it to collapse, "sending a wall of water 25 to 30 feet high coursing through Danby, causing property damage and near loss of life," according to The Towns of Tompkins County.

IMAGE 1: Jennings Pond.

IMAGE 2: Ithaca Journal Clipping, June 9th 1988.

Images courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County, 2022.

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