- Davis Island (Pennsylvania)
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A view of Davis Island, Pennsylvania, from the Fleming Park Bridge on September 25, 2010.
Davis Island is a small island located on the Ohio River in Stowe Township, just upstream of Neville Island near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
The island was home to the Davis Island Lock and Dam from 1878 to 1922, constructed by William Emery Merrill.The Davis Island Lock and Dam was the first dam that was constructed on the Ohio River. It officially openened on October 7, 1885 with a large dedication ceremony. The Davis Island Dam was the largest Chanoine dam built in the 19th century, and one of the first concrete structures built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Davis Island Dam was the first of 51 Chanoine type dams that were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1878 and 1929. The dam was dismantled in 1922 when it was replaced by the Emsworth Locks and Dam less than a mile downstream of the original site.
It is now owned by the West View Water Authority and is used primarily to pump water from the Ohio River, which then goes on to be purified and is used by the surrounding communities for drinking.
External links
- ASCE History and Heritage of Civil Engineering
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District
- The Davis Island Lock and Dam 1870-1922 Leland R. Johnson; U.S. Army Engineer District Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1985.
Categories:- Islands of Pennsylvania
- Islands of the Ohio River
- Locks of the United States
- Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
- Geography of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
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