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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This stereoscope picture of the Turners Falls Dam was taken in the late 1860s. The dam was built across the Connecticut River between Greenfield and Turners Falls, Massachusetts. It was first built in 1794 as a part of a canal project that was completed on the east side of the river in 1798 (to the right of this picture; the canal is not visible). The dam allowed water power to be diverted to the factories on the Greenfield side of the river, and a number of major manufacturers operated plants there, including the John Russell Cutlery company. In 1869, a consortium led by John Alvah Crocker decided to built a new manufacturing city on the east side of the river. They refurbished the canal on that bank and built the town of Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The canal became the heart of the new town, providing water power for a number of factories.

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