Last summer in my hometown of Cuyahoga Falls, the city removed two 100 year old dams from the the Cuyahoga River in the name of a healthier, cleaner river and recreation. When the dams were removed the water level dropped by several feet and interestingly to me, revealed evidence of the city's industrial past. Among heaps of garbage, soot and muck, were tons of discarded pieces of rubber, remnants of a pre-1913 dam, old carts and lots and lots of old bottles.
Remains of old dam pylons
Debris pulled from the river
It has been fun poking around the river bank documenting the changes with my camera and collecting some of the bottles and rusty cans I have come across. It has been particularly fascinating to find old milk bottles from several local milk plants and creameries, and old pop bottles of beverages I've never heard of. Many of these bottles have held up well considering being submerged and tumbled in the river for decades!
Milk Bottles
Almost a year since the dam removal started, the river has a swift current and does appear to be much improved. There is still a lot of cleanup being done to remove debris that continues to reveal itself and can make the river unsafe for kayakers and other recreation. I think it's great that the city has taken this step to take the river back to it's natural state and reveal once again the falls and rapids that Cuyahoga Falls is named after. Now... there's been talk, and hopefully soon, we can get rid of the old Ohio Edison Dam in the Gorge and really open up the river!
Here is a gallery of many of the bottles I found.
