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Nepaug Dam and Reservoir, end of Torrington Avenue

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Nepaug Dam and Reservoir, end of Torrington Avenue
  

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Built between 1914 and 1916 and dedicated in 1917, the Nepaug Dam is 110 feet tall and 650 feet across via the roadway that traverses it.  The road was originally open to the motoring public and is now accessible for non-motorized recreation.   Arched upstream, the dam is built of cyclopean masonry, meaning large rocks are embedded in the 81,000 cubic yards of poured concrete.  With its five arched gates and stepped spillway, the dam is an architectural marvel.  Combined with two earthen dams, the Nepaug Dam created a 951 acre reservoir about 35 feet deep.  Forty-two farms were purchased in the vicinity of the reservoir and 372 bodies disinterred from two cemeteries.