Restoration of Lexington’s Old Mill Pond Dam Nearly Finished

Posted 11/9/22

Lexington’s Old Mill Pond dam will soon be fully replaced.

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Restoration of Lexington’s Old Mill Pond Dam Nearly Finished

Posted

Lexington’s Old Mill Pond dam will soon be fully replaced.

The dam, breached during the historic Midlands flood in October 2015, has been under construction since 2020, with completion now expected within the next two months, according to Laban Chappell, owner of the Old Mill mall and the dam beside it.

He told the Chronicle that the roughly $2 million restoration was originally supposed to be completed in the spring of this year, but issues with COVID-19 and weather delays caused setbacks in the construction.

According to Britt Poole, town administrator for Lexington, the dam is expected to look almost exactly the same as it did before. 

Chappell said despite looking the same, the dam will be very different from the previous one, getting entirely dug out and rebuilt with heavy, compacted dirt and vertical concrete matting that will be set as reinforcement.

Chappell said there will be routine checks on the functionality of the dam, though it has not been decided how often these will occur.

The Old Mill has agreed to let the Town of Lexington construct a public walking trail around the pond, which is set to begin construction in January 2023 and take around a year to complete.

The trail is a part of the town's Vision Plan, adopted in 2012, which contains projects to revitalize the downtown area of Lexington. The town is partnered with Lexington School District One and Lexington county on this project.

“Town Council wanted to make an investment in downtown Lexington because we feel that it's a special place, and it has seen some decline.” Poole said. “So between the two projects of the [Icehouse Amphitheater] and the dam, and the walking trail, we were bookending projects around the historic part of downtown to give people something to do.”

The amphitheater, which opened in 2017 near the corner of Church and Main, can seat 900 guests. The venue is often used to host a variety of events ranging from concerts to larger festivals to a weekly farmers market in the warmer months.

Poole told the Chronicle that in 2021 the Icehouse was ranked fourth among S.C. tourist attractions, bringing in more than 300,000 visitors.

“We're seeing the success of the investment that we made, and downtown, that investment continues,“ he said.

Across Church Street from the amphitheater, the town recently started work on a complete renovation of Virginia Hylton Park, which opened in 1991. The renovation will add 8.25 acres to the park and new amenities including exercise stations and a walking trail, a more inclusive playground for kids of all abilities, a mini-amphitheater, a large fountain, additional bathrooms, and spaces for public art.



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