Paper Mill Dam Removal Project/ Hays Park

Tent in Hays Park, At M-140 and Riverside Drive, on the Paw Paw River, Watervliet

Barrier-Free Accessibility (No Restrooms)

From 1:00 to 4:00pm only, a tent and table will be open in Hays Park near the ongoing Watervliet dams removal project on the Paw Paw River.  Visitors are encouraged to come by to view historic maps and images of the Watervliet Paper Mill and dams, and to talk with several past employees of the paper mill who will be present.  Paw Paw River Dams at Watervliet date back to 1849, when they provided power for sawmills, and paper manufacturing began in the early 1890s.  The Watervliet paper mill employed hundreds of workers and produced fine specialty papers for a century.  The paper mill itself was demolished nearly ten years ago, in early 2002, but the old dams are only now being removed through funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative along with federal, state, and local partners.  Read more about the goals of the Watervliet Dams Removal project, including improving fish habitat and water quality, at the website for the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission:  http://www.swmpc.org/watervlietdam.asp