The Other Side of the Fence
Have you ever wondered what’s on the other side of the fence? Here are a few pictures to satisfy your curiosity, and perhaps stimulate your interest in the history of Greenwood Park-Bell’s Lake. If you haven’t already, you should check out our history on this website.
If you were standing on the dam (or berm), this is what you would see looking towards the Club .
When you turn around and look downstream you see where all the water goes when it leaves the lake.
Look down into the spill box. This is how the overflow leaves the lake and gets to the other side. The dam (or berm) is actually part of a bridge and roadway.
The bridge was built in 1928.
When the water leaves the spill box it flows thru a culvert .
Looking into the culvert you can see the other side of the spill box. There are removable boards in the spill box that are used to control the depth of the lake. In these pictures several boards have been removed. We lower the depth of the lake every winter for vegetation control.
If you are adventurous, you can climb down the slope into the woods and follow the stream to Greentree Road. Remains of the old grist mill are still on the grounds. You have to climb down the slope to see them.
The sluice gate is how they got water to the mill for power.
The metal plate was raised to allow water to flow to power the mill on the other side . You can see the plate in this picture because the lake has been lowered. Normally, it would be under water.
The outlet on the other side of the sluice gate is a small culvert made of sand stone . The small stream from the sluice gate and the larger stream from the spill box converge down stream and become one. They flow under Greentree Road, past the old firehouse on Hurfville Road, and eventually into Grenloch Lake.
Parts of the wheel are still visible.
And the footprint of the mill can be traced following the walls that are still standing.
When the mill caught fire, it actually burned out a section of a tree that was standing close by, and this tree is still growing today .
Looking west and east this was the original Greentree Road.
West
East
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
Patti
PS:
We have an abundance of wildlife at the lake. I was somewhat disappointed the day I took these shots. I thought for sure I would see a few deer or wild turkeys in the woods. With all the leaves, they must have heard me coming. But, when I was heading back home something in the sky caught my eye. And I watched in awe as an American Bald Eagle soared over my head for several minutes before disappearing into the clouds.