CALAIS – Calais Select Board member, and a driving force behind the effort to rebuild the Curtis Pond Dam, Jamie Moorby, said construction of the dam was essentially completed in 2024.
An early July article in The Bridge reported on the July 2 ribbon cutting to initiate the construction that was decades in the planning.

courtesy photo
The 2024 year in review for Calais made note of a $525k earmark from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office for the project. Those funds were not accepted. Moorby said there had been just a $200k funding gap to fill between other grants and local fundraising the $1.2M project budget, which a bank loan had been secured to fill. Federal requirements for the FEMA funding would have delayed the shovel-ready project another year, which was a concern given the dam was already Vermont’s “most endangered” according to a state agency noted in the The Bridge article.
The dam has been classified as in poor condition and a “significant hazard” for nearly 20 years. As early as 2001, the state declared that “the overall condition of the dam is poor and requires repairs.”
By the time of the September 23 select board meeting, Kari Bradley reported 18 concrete truck loads with 188 cubic yards of concrete had been poured the prior week and about half of the budgeted amount had been spent. The town had requested an extension from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources on the date to be out of the water from October 15 to November 22. Some work like replacing topsoil and planting will be completed in the spring. A $100k donation from the Curtis Pond Association to be put toward expenses for the dam renovation project was accepted by the select board. The association expected to make another donation later.
Moorby reported the year’s work on the dam was drawing to a close at the November 11 select board meeting, with staining of the concrete postponed to next year. The bank had been graded and masons were relining the spillway. Site cleanup was in progress and the contractor was expected to be out of the water very soon, with the bulk of the dam reconstruction substantially complete. A final $100,000 of the loan was in the process of being transferred to the town and additional fundraising was underway to help close the funding gap.
At the November 25 select board meeting Jamie Moorby was able to report that an inspection with state dam safety staff, Engineers Dubois & King (D&K), and Contractor Larry Herbert had determined that dam reconstruction was substantially complete. The pond level was low and no water was flowing over the new dam. Landscaping and final site clean up was happening. The rip-rap has been removed and placed behind the old stone dam.
The old stone dam is now vertical and looks better than it has in 100 years, Moorby reported. Hebert planned to remove the coffer dam December 2 and go home, wrapping up his work.
Two days before Christmas, at the December 23 select board meeting, minutes show the last payment to D&K had been made and “it appears the Curtis Pond Dam Project came in under budget!”
Water was coming over the dam and the road crew had put a lock and chain on the outlet valve. Moorby spoke about the unknowns of how ice will form near the new dam, but skaters had returned to enjoy the pond, he said.
Moorby had been informed by UVM historic preservation staff that they will put up a historic plaque at the dam. He will work with them on a design over the winter.
A dam has existed at the site since around 1813, when it was built on a tributary of Pekin Brook to help power a grain mill in the village. The current version of the dam, built in 1900, merged two smaller ponds and, despite its simple structure, proved remarkably resilient, having lasted over 100 years.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.