[1] The hydroelectric plant is named for Elmer West, a builder of the Spier Falls Dam located downstream on the Hudson.

In 1913 the "most disastrous [flood] in history" caused major damage to towns on the Hudson River below the Sacandaga: Albany, Green Island, Rensselaer, Troy, and Watervliet.

In addition to lawsuits there is a story that a group of witches put a curse on the dam in an attempt to get it to fail.

[5] More prosaically, the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad instituted a protracted lawsuit over the flooding of its tracks and finally won a judgement to $1.6 million.

The Great Sacandaga Lake supports boating, fishing, swimming, and water sports.