Wittman Dam
Quick Bits
Main Activities - Hike
Distance - 1+ miles of trails, ~ 90 acres
Quiet - road noise from highways
Surface - easy grass or stone surfaces
Elevation - a mixture flat & moderately steep
Pets - on leash
Address - Dickinson, NY
Click for details on Alltrails
In a Nutshell
Wittman Dam was created for flood control and offers a stretch of pretty gorge and small falls as well as hiking trails to views over the Binghamton area of the valley. There is also the reservoir created by the dam and wildlife around that.
Location and Parking
Please park responsibly. There is no parking at the entrance or the road leading to it, Wittman Lane. Those that ignore that are often confronted by one of the residents of Wittman Lane.
I suggest parking off Old State Road on one of the side streets such as Fuller. Or I often drive up the dead end Old-Old State Road to the Water Tower area and park there (this road is about 500 feet east of where Wittman Lane comes off Old State Road).
More details
Wittman Dam area is known to some as the Brickyards because the area to the south-southwest was once involved with brick making and you'll see leftover pieces on sections of the trails. As mentioned in the parking section, the most important thing to remember is no parking on Wittman Lane or straying onto lawns there. Some hikers have reported being told the Lane itself is private, but that hasn't been my experience.
The Dam was created in 1994 as part of flood control, creating a reservoir on a section of the Brandywine Creek. The hike past the dam and wrapping around the hill through the brickyard to the vantage points is just under a mile. While there is one somewhat marked trail, others seem to jump around as you climb the hill. Take note. Many of the various trails leave Broome County owned land and enter private property. The mowed area south of the dam is all county land as well as the land around the dam and to the west until you see some power lines. There is a small waterfall area to the east on the Brandywine Creek that you can see from a distance.
The area known as the Brickyard, used by Binghamton Brick Company for decades is area outside the Broome County property. Currently (Feb 2024), this property is owned by Tri-City Highway Products. From the vantage points in this area, you have a good view of the city of Binghamton.
Brickyard History
For those curious about the history of the "Brickyards", here is some information from friend Dave H. who got it from County Historian Roger Luther:
Chronology of the Binghamton Brick Co.
1906 - Stone Quarry on current brickyard site
1909 - 150 acres of hillside purchased for possible brick manufacture
1912 - Property sold to group of Pennsylvania investors who began making bricks
1916 - Facility purchased by Charles Austin, whose family operated the business until 1988.
1928 - Factory rebuilt following a major fire.
1935 - Tunnel kiln built
1943 - Further modernization following another fire.
1972 - A survey projects enough material to last for 705 years.
1980 - Product line expanded to include concrete blocks.
1983 - High cost of natural gas renders facility uneconomic. New factory proposed, funds not available. Factory shutdown begins.
1984 - Last brick manufactured in Jan 1984. Over 5 billion pounds of bricks since 1912. Binghamton Block Corp. purchased, operation continued making concrete blocks, cinder blocks, brick chips and related masonry products.
1988 - Binghamton Block for sale.
1989 - Company sold in foreclosure
1989 - Binghamton Pre-Cast & Supply purchases Binghamton Block, intends to restart. Several land-use proposals were made but none were successful.
2006 - Binghamton Pre-Cast & Supply goes defunct.
Brandywine Creek History
While hiking one day, I realized I wasn't sure where the Brandywine Creek entered the river. On current maps it seemed to just disappear! After asking in a Facebook Group for the Triple Cities Hiking Club, my friend Dave H. again shed light on the subject after doing some exploring and research of his own.
The Brandywine Creek passes under the old railroad bed just south of Old State Road and flows westward under Route 7 (conincidentally Route 7 is known as the Brandywine Highway). On the west side of the highway it is funneled into a pair of 4-foot dimater pipes that pass under State Street and Chenango Street before emptying into the Chenango River.
However (get this), the original Brandywine Creek flowed all the way to the Susquehanna River (The Chenango also empties into the Susquehanna), following the Brandywine Highway. The re-route was made in 1927-28 for the primarily to drain a swamp that was becoming mosquito infested.
Brandywine Creek in 1905.
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