A circa-1863 map of Surry County archived in the Library of Congress shows a stream flowing into the James River near the town of Claremont.

Sometime between the end of the Civil War and the early 1900s, someone built a dam to turn the network of four freshwater springs into what’s now Sunken Meadow Pond. It may have been an early source of drinking water for the town. Residents of Sunken Meadow Road, which borders the pond, aren’t certain of its original purpose, and are more concerned about its future.

They’ve banded together with town officials to oppose plans to demolish the dam.

Public notices the Army Corps of Engineers sent to area residents last fall say The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization, is proposing to reestablish direct passage between the James and over 21 miles of stream habitat to benefit fish that migrate between freshwater and saltwater habitats. 

“If the dam is removed, the site will return to freshwater stream channels flanked by wetland areas that will swell seasonally and with the tides,” said Karen Johnson, director of wetland and stream mitigation for The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia chapter. “Native plants will recolonize the banks and establish in the wetland areas, creating a wonderful habitat for songbirds, waterfowl, fish and more.” 

But residents worry it will come at the expense of otters, bald eagles and other wildlife that have made Sunken Meadow Pond their home, and the picturesque view that led many of the area’s human inhabitants to build their houses on the narrow strip of land between the pond and the James.

“It’s just a beautiful place and you don’t trade one ecosystem for another,” said Roberta Hammel, who since 2011 has owned more than 30 acres along Sunken Meadow Road and has been gradually subdividing the land. She built her own home in 2019.

“It’s a different salinity. … Different animals live there,” said Paul Miller, who’s owned his home fronting the pond since 2017.

Claremont Town Council members say they too are against removing the dam.

“Records show the pond has been in existence prior to 1880” and “has served as an established natural resource to the local community for over 150 years,” a letter in opposition from Claremont Mayor Daryl Graham states.

“One of the main reasons we bought the property was because of the pond,” said Rae Thompson, who moved to Sunken Meadow Road in December with her husband, Chris, after purchasing their half-acre lot several years ago.

When the pond’s current owner, Davey Resource Group Inc., had it drained in 2023 to perform a topographic study on the lakebed, “there was a noticeable impact on the red-eared slider turtle population,” Hammel said.

The Nature Conservancy, which is in talks with Davey to acquire more than 600 acres, disagrees that there’s any cause for concern.

“There will be much greater variety throughout the system, and most of the species currently using the pond will continue to use and benefit from the reconnected wetlands,” said Chelsea Bowers, a TNC spokeswoman.

TNC says the dam is in poor condition and out of compliance with the federal Dam Safety Act. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality further lists the pond’s water quality as “impaired” due to low levels of dissolved oxygen.

“If the dam were to fail, it could cause significant problems downstream and leave the area filled with debris and downed trees,” Bowers said.

The Nature Conservancy undertook a similar initiative in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010 to demolish the dam separating the formerly 70-acre Lake Charles from the James and restore wetlands along what had been Kimages Creek in Charles City County.

According to the Corps of Engineers notice, TNC, as sponsor of the Sunken Meadow Pond project, would generate 176 non-tidal wetland credits. When developers are unable to avoid wetlands impacts in the area they’re developing, they’re allowed under Virginia law to compensate for the impact by purchasing credits sold by an environmental organization doing restoration work in another area.

While the primary goal of the project is conservation, not the creation of wetlands credits, “TNC has successfully used this funding mechanism here in Virginia, where more than 20,000 acres have been conserved – nearly half of which are now protected public lands,” Bowers said.

Bowers said the project “cannot succeed without” support from the community.

“We are planning an initial public information session to begin that process, so we can ensure that community needs and values are reflected in the plan for the property,” Bowers said.

If TNC acquires the property, land surveying would begin in the next few months. Detailed plans and permitting would take several more months and actual dam removal wouldn’t occur until 2026 at the earliest.