Sherwood Dam, known also as Lake Sherwood Dam, Alturas Dam, and Potrero Dam, is a concrete

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...

in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

near

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Completed in 1904, its construction led to the creation of the Potrero Lake (since renamed Lake Sherwood) over the following winter. It was the first

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

of its size in the area, and remains one of the oldest standing dams in California.

History

Construction was led by W. H. Matthiessen, a rancher who owned what is today Hidden Valley, Lake Sherwood, and

. Originally called the Alturas Dam, it was built to contain the water from four main streams draining into a sixteen-mile catchment basin. Potrero Lake was formed that winter, its sudden existence attracting photographers and filmmakers alike to the newly created shores. Sherwood Dam & Lake Sherwood

The reservoir also directly inspired

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

s such as

William Mulholland William Mulholland (September 11, 1855 – July 22, 1935) was an Irish Americans, Irish American self-taught civil engineer who was responsible for building the infrastructure to provide a water supply that allowed Los Angeles to grow into the la ...

, who began designing the

Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

in 1905. The Malibou Lake Mountain Club built a similar dam nearby in 1922, forming Malibou Lake not long after. Matthiessen's son Christy allowed

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

to shoot his film ''Robin Hood'' around his lake in 1921. As a result, the ranch became better known as “

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...

”; Potrero Lake since being known as Lake Sherwood. Much of Matthiessen's Ranch, including the dam and lake, was deeded to his son's ex-wife, Elsie Canterbury, in 1923. That same year, the area southwest of Lake Sherwood was subdivided as Lake Sherwood (community) into 2,500 plots by Elsie and her new husband. "The idea was to offer a

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...

setting, lake privileges, bridle paths and the

Sherwood Country Club Sherwood Country Club is a private, member owned golf and country club in Lake Sherwood, California set at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains just south of city of Thousand Oaks. Sherwood is home to a championship 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signatur ...

clubhouse for the affluent people of the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...

. "Sherwood Country Club - Southern California Wedding Location, Tennis, Spa, Championship Golf (Official Website)
However, construction of the

private community A private community is a residential community that can be an association or a proprietary organization. Associations can include condominiums, homeowner associations or cooperatives. Whereas governmental communities are financed with taxation, ...

was halted by the

stock market crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

, and Elsie Canterbury was forced to sell the land west of the lake to

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

. Hearst appreciated the area’s geographic beauty, which continued to occasionally appear in the films of the Golden Era of Hollywood. It is claimed a single scene from

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

’ 1938 ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' was shot there. After Hearst's death in 1951, the lakeside began to be developed into private homes and the community of Lake Sherwood. Elsie Canterbury stubbornly fought for her legal right to the entire lake until she sold her property in anticipation of her death in 1967. The area has since become a picturesque, private community and world-famous golf course. Amidst safety concerns in 1984, Lake Sherwood was drained so that the dam could be inspected. To the disruption of nearby boaters, it was reinforced to remedy previously unseen structural safety problems. Even after its reinforcement in the 1980s, the Sherwood Dam remains susceptible to

100-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...

s and high-magnitude earthquakes.

References

{{reflist Dams in California Gravity dams Buildings and structures in Ventura County, California Santa Monica Mountains Dams completed in 1904 United States privately owned dams 1904 establishments in California

History

See also

References