ADMA determined

Members of the Austin Dam Memorial Assn. (ADMA) are determined to make their park a more attractive destination for everyone from history buffs and curiosity-seekers to picnickers, community groups and outdoor enthusiasts.

The tall columns of concrete surrounding the ruins of what was once the Bayless Pulp & Paper Company Dam, just north of Austin Borough, have vast potential as a tourist draw.

Over the years, ADMA has tackled the major challenges of land acquisition, brush-clearing, road-building and construction of a pavilion and picnic facilities. Now, the challenge is to improve visitors' experiences.

The park is a peaceful setting, where visitors can picnic, walk among the dam ruins, fish for trout or wade in Freeman Run. An access road has been built on the west side of the dam. ADMA has been addressing many challenges, one by one, with the goal of having the park in tiptop shape in time for the 100-year anniversary of the flood of 1911.

Over the past two years, the park has benefited from projects by the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps (PCC) workers. Recently, electricity has come to the pavilion - an important step in the park's continuing development. Additionally, ADMA has added a quarter-mile-long road to the campground area near the park's entrance off Rt. 872.

Other park improvements include:improved picnic areas with charcoal grills; development and marking of new trails; a new kiosk near the dam ruins; and partitioning of a kitchen area at the pavilion.

ADMA leaders are also pursuing several collaborative projects. They're working with the Pa. Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources to develop a park development plan and teaming with E. O. Austin Historical Society to schedule a winter festival.

They're also talking with Austin Borough about possible projects at the abandoned paper mill property, south of the park, and collaborating with the Pa. Lumber Heritage Region and U.S. Rt. 6 organizations to explore mutual projects. ADMA has also been working with local schools to coordinate educational programs and field trips.

One item on the ADMA wish list is the development of water service to the pavilion.

Austin was one of the boom towns of the region's 1890-1910 lumber era. As the old growth trees were vanishing, the Freeman Run valley still had immense tracts of pulpwood. Industrialist George Bayless arrived from Binghamton, N.Y., to build a paper mill.

Freeman Run couldn't supply the steady flow of water needed to power the mill, so Bayless in 1909 contracted for the construction of a huge concrete dam. It stretched nearly 550 feet across the valley, stood 50 feet high, and held approximately 250 million gallons of water at a depth of 40 feet.

While some townspeople worried that the dam might break, most saw it as a symbol of continued employment and prosperity. They speculated that, even if the dam failed, Austin was far enough downstream that the water's depth would probably be no more than a few inches.

The dam gave way on the afternoon of Sept. 30, 1911, releasing a torrent that claimed upwards of 80 lives and nearly wiped out the town. After the flood, many families moved out. Others persevered and rebuilt the community.