Sherman's Dam

The remains of the stone abutments can still be seen and accessed from the walking trail at Stephens Lake Park just upstream of the East Broadway bridge.

On December 20, 1892, William Anderson signed a contract with S. D. Gordon to construct the dam and associated steam powered pump and electrical generation plant at the site on Hinkson Creek.

In 1903 in Ithaca, New York, a typhoid epidemic occurred, the source of which was traced to the city water reservoir which was very similar in arrangement to the Columbia facility.

This raised awareness of the importance of public water supply for human health and prompted the Columbia City Council to conduct a study of the Hinkson Creek watershed.

This evidence was used by a citizen activist group called "The Municipal Ownership League" in their political efforts to set up a publicly owned utility which would provide safe drinking water from deep groundwater wells.