Historic Architectural Resource Investigation, Brindle Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project, Fort Dix Military Reservation, Township of Plumsted, Ocean County, New Jersey

Summary

Tetra Tech EC, Inc., (TtEC) under contract to Fort Dix, has conducted an architectural resource survey and study of Brindle Lake Dam (Dam). The Dam is located in the Township of Plumsted, Ocean County, New Jersey, at Fort Dix. Fort Dix has proposed repair and rehabilitation of the Dam.

Brindle Lake Dam (Dam) is a 1928 earth dam, with a wooden spillway, which was constructed to replace a nineteenth century dam on the same site. The Dam impounds a pond, Brindle Lake, with a surface area of approximately 15 hectares. Created as a millpond for a sawmill that once stood just downstream of the Dam, the pond, along with the surrounding area, is now used for military training and recreation. The Dam retains some features, such as an earthen embankment, which were similar to those of its nineteenth century predecessor’s design. Other features, including the reconstructed spillway, are clearly distinguished from earlier design. The once-present historic buildings immediately surrounding the Dam, including a nineteenth century sawmill and vacation resort, have long since been demolished (most likely during the property’s 1940 federal acquisition). A previous cultural resource survey concluded that the Dam and surrounding areas have no archeological resources eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Dam is owned by and under the jurisdiction of Fort Dix.

The 1928 replacement Dam structure was constructed near the end of Brindle Lake’s association with the former Brindletown (a small town that was abandoned by the 1930s). Accordingly, the Dam is not related to important historic trends, as little cultural activity occurred at the site following the Dam’s construction. However, the Dam may be generally identified as representing a construction technique indicative of Pinelands area dams. Despite this identification, the lack of surrounding structures, as well as a contemporary alteration to the Dam spillway, impair the Dam’s physical integrity and diminish the Dam’s ability to visually convey historic association to the observer. Utilizing National Park Service technical guidance, this report analyzes in detail the Dam’s physical integrity and recommends that it is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Accordingly, the report concludes that no significant, i.e. NRHP-eligible, above-ground properties will be affected by the proposed undertaking.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fort Dix Archaeology and Cultural Resources Archive

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Air Force Base

Prepared By(s): Tetra Tech, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Fort Dix

Record Identifiers

Task Order No.(s): 0009

Modification No.(s): 005

Contract No.(s): DACA61-01-D-0002

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