By KEN WYATT
Contributing Writer
June 20, 2025
It was a festive finale after the wasting of the Concord Mill Pond. Days earlier, breaks in the dam were slowly draining it down to its original river bed. But then a small group of people who love Concord’s history saved the day. They commissioned one of their own as project manager. With the help of volunteers, the dam repair project was a wrap just after 5 p.m. Monday.
That was when Todd Holton, leader of the volunteer crew, dropped the final stop log into place with co-worker Anthony McCabe. There was a round of triumphant cries of “Yeah!” and some handclaps. It was history in the making.
Minutes later, Todd and Anthony placed a pair of white-oak logs as vertical braces between the dam and an iron beam above. With that, the final team of workers posed for climactic photos at the newly completed Concord Mill Pond dam.
They were truly a dream team. Men who expressed their love of community by repairing a dam and keeping alive the Concord Mill Pond for decades to come.
A small crowd of witnesses, myself among them, enjoyed the role. Most of us were beyond the level of labor by which that team of mostly young men had spent themselves for the day.
It was good to watch. It was even better to take the long view: The dam repair project was a smalltown victory and a lesson in how a few people can make a big difference in a community.
The failure of the Concord dam was not entirely a surprise. Several years ago Michigan suffered a pair of catastrophic dam failures elsewhere in the state. That focused attention on all dams – including Concord’s. A flurry of inspections and reports both locally and by the state highlighted some problems that needed attention.
But there was a tricky problem to resolve. The village of Concord owns Main Street and the bridge that passes over the dam. But the Joers family owns the dam.
Jeremy Bush, village president, issued a statement last week itemizing past village efforts to help. Here’s part of his statement: “For over two decades, including under previous administrations, the Village has consistently offered to take over maintenance if the private owners would deed the dam to the Village. Unfortunately, the Village Council cannot legally spend funds on private property. Ownership is critical for us to allocate resources and secure grants for the dam’s repair and maintenance.”
That was written amid growing concerns of the dam’s deterioration. People had been noticing a drop in the pond level. Some said it was due to a lack of rain. But as the days passed, it became obvious that the integrity of the dam had been compromised, and the pond was slowly draining.
At some point, a third party offered a solution to the dam repair issue. The board members of Concord’s Heritage House and Hubbard Museum gave Todd Holton the role of working with the Joers family to fund the repair of the dam. And, as Dave Joers described it, it was a handshake agreement – nothing formal or legal.
By Thursday, June 12, the breach in the dam had drained the pond. All that remained was what amounted to the original river flowing through great masses of exposed vegetation. Plans were quickly made for a team of volunteers, led by Todd Holton, to begin the repairs on Saturday morning.
Most of the expense was having a Rives Junction sawmill cut up 3-inch-thick planks of white oak to be used in replacing the aging stop logs that make up the dam.
On Saturday morning, dozens of volunteers showed up to help in what amounted to a community workforce. They were watched, photographed, and encouraged by many who stopped to watch the work being done.
As for the state officials who had over the years inspected the dam and bridge – they were well aware of what was happening. There had been concerns that, due to the state’s policy of replacing many dams in favor of a wild rivers philosophy, might not allow the repairs. But several officials from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and state dam inspectors showed up over the weekend. The concerns were laid to rest.
When Darius Udrys, Fox47 reporter, asked one of the officials, she told him on camera that “The first priority is to get the water back up in the short term.” She confirmed on the record that the state was supportive of the repairs.
Jack Ripstra, village engineer and also advising those doing the repairs, said the basic structure of the dam and the bridge above it are still sound.
The work ended up being done over the course of two days – Saturday and Monday. Heavy equipment was used Saturday to do some of the work – notably removal of heavy steel plates that had been placed to minimize the leakage of water through the dam.
But most of the work involved cutting stacks of white oak lumber into lengths about 48 inches long. They were fitted by workers into double channels in six separate bays to hold back the water and restore the mill pond.
Throughout the entire project, social media was abuzz with comments – mostly expressing the delight of residents and others with what had been occurring a Concord.
One of many was written Tuesday by a resident of the mill pond, Michelle Baker Poling, who wrote, “This is wonderful! I cannot seem to find the right words to adequately express our gratitude for all of the care, concern and hard work from these awesome volunteers. The pond is already looking so promising this morning!!”
But it wasn’t only Concord residents who watched what was happening.
Allen Miracle wrote this: “Even though I don’t live in Concord, for the last 10 years my wife and I have driven by the mill pond almost every week as we drive to Countryside Bible Church. And for the last two school years, I have driven by there three days a week as I go to Spring Branch Academy, our Christian school. I have often thought I would love to live in one of those beautiful houses adjacent to the pond, on the drive that takes us out to Falling Waters trail. Such a beautiful area! Glad to see the pond returning to its fullness!”
Todd Holton was told some were asking whether financial help was need-ed. he said that the Hubbard Memorial Museum was covering the expense, then added this: “But future mill pond clean up via barge and pumps in the future would need fundraising. We have to apply for that to be done. But that’s great that people wish to help. A great community coming together.”
Perhaps with the restoration of the dam, there is hope for a long-term solution. Clearly, that would serve the interest of the community.
This story is reprinted with permission from The Recorder.
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