Medina Dam
Encyclopedia
The Medina Dam is a hollow-masonry type dam
built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas
. Medina Lake
extends north of it in northeastern Medina County, Texas. The dam and irrigation project was designed and financed by Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson
, an American engineer, with extensive British financial backing. The construction took over 1500 men two years to build the dam while working 24 hours a day. They were mostly skilled Mexican
workers with experience building other dams for Dr Pearson. They received two dollars for a day's work. Pearson's Medina Irrigation Company (MICO) built a camp to house the workers and their families; the company town was first called MICO after its acronym. The community is now known as Mico, Texas
.
When the dam was completed in 1913, it was the largest hydraulic engineering
project west of the Mississippi River
and the fourth-largest dam in the US. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
for its significance as an infrastructure project and its contributions to economic development of the county.
The dam contains over 292,000 cubic yards (223,000 m³) of concrete
, and the dam measures 164 feet high by 128 feet (39 m) wide at the base by 1,580 feet (482 m) long. It is 25 feet (8 m) wide at the top, which is 1084 feet (330 m) above sea level. The spillway
is 1,072 feet (327 m) above sea level. The dam provides irrigation to over 34,000 acres (138 km²) to Blackland Prairie farmlands below the Balcones Escarpment around Castroville, Texas
.
The reservoir behind the dam is called Medina Lake
and serves as a major recreation area. It discharges into the Medina River
, which also contains a diversion dam
four miles downstream.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas
Mico, Texas
Mico, founded in 1911, is an unincorporated community in northeastern Medina County, Texas, United States, approximately west of San Antonio. The community is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Medina Lake
Medina Lake
Medina Lake is a reservoir on the Medina River in the Texas Hill Country of the United States. It is operated by the Bexar/Medina/Atascosa County Agricultural District. Medina Dam was completed in 1913 in a privately financed project, creating the lake to supply irrigation water for local...
extends north of it in northeastern Medina County, Texas. The dam and irrigation project was designed and financed by Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson
Frederick Stark Pearson
Frederick Stark Pearson was an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur.-Biography:Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson was the son of Ambrose and Hannah Pearson. He graduated from Tufts University in 1883 with an A.M.B. and received an A.M.M. degree one year later...
, an American engineer, with extensive British financial backing. The construction took over 1500 men two years to build the dam while working 24 hours a day. They were mostly skilled Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
workers with experience building other dams for Dr Pearson. They received two dollars for a day's work. Pearson's Medina Irrigation Company (MICO) built a camp to house the workers and their families; the company town was first called MICO after its acronym. The community is now known as Mico, Texas
Mico, Texas
Mico, founded in 1911, is an unincorporated community in northeastern Medina County, Texas, United States, approximately west of San Antonio. The community is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
When the dam was completed in 1913, it was the largest hydraulic engineering
Hydraulic engineering
This article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...
project west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and the fourth-largest dam in the US. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
for its significance as an infrastructure project and its contributions to economic development of the county.
The dam contains over 292,000 cubic yards (223,000 m³) of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, and the dam measures 164 feet high by 128 feet (39 m) wide at the base by 1,580 feet (482 m) long. It is 25 feet (8 m) wide at the top, which is 1084 feet (330 m) above sea level. The spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
is 1,072 feet (327 m) above sea level. The dam provides irrigation to over 34,000 acres (138 km²) to Blackland Prairie farmlands below the Balcones Escarpment around Castroville, Texas
Castroville, Texas
Castroville is a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,664 at the 2000 census. Prior to 1893, Castroville was the first county seat of Medina County....
.
The reservoir behind the dam is called Medina Lake
Medina Lake
Medina Lake is a reservoir on the Medina River in the Texas Hill Country of the United States. It is operated by the Bexar/Medina/Atascosa County Agricultural District. Medina Dam was completed in 1913 in a privately financed project, creating the lake to supply irrigation water for local...
and serves as a major recreation area. It discharges into the Medina River
Medina River
The Medina River is located in south central Texas, USA, in the Medina Valley. Named after Pedro Medina, a Spanish engineer, by Alonso de León, Spanish governor of Coahuila, New Spain in 1689. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres...
, which also contains a diversion dam
Diversion dam
A diversion dam is the term for a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir...
four miles downstream.
See also
- Medina ValleyMedina ValleyMedina Valley, also known as the Medina River Valley, is an area in south central Texas containing the Medina River, Lake Medina and the Medina Dam. It serves to drain the Balcones Escarpment of the Texas Hill Country and irrigate the farms contained therein...
- Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Water District
- Edwards PlateauEdwards PlateauThe Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area...
- Texas Hill CountryTexas Hill CountryThe Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
Further reading
- Cyril Matthew Kuehne, S.M., Ripples from Medina Lake, San Antonio, TX: Naylor, 1966.