The Tahawus Center has opened a new exhibit on the J. & J. Rogers Company pulp and paper mill dam, Rome Undammed.  The exhibition of photographs document the life and recent removal of the J. & J. Rogers Co. pulp and paper mill dam, which spanned the West Branch of the Ausable River, just upstream of Au Sable Forks, for 125 years (1893-2018).

The recently removed Rome Dam, was one of the last visible relics of the J. & J. Rogers Company. Among the largest industries in the Ausable River Valley, the company once owned roughly a third of the watershed

The exhibit includes recent photographs of the dam and its impoundment by Stephen Longmire, a landscape photographer and historian who lives in Upper Jay, and photographs of the mills after their closure in 1971 by Elsa Voelcker, grand-daughter of Henry Geer Rogers. It also includes historic photos and other artifacts showing the mills in their prime, and interpretive materials on the dam’s removal.

The exhibit, sponsored by the Ausable River Association, is open weekends from until September 1, 1 to 4 pm, or by appointment by contacting Stephen Longmire at (631) 833-7778.

The Tahawus Center is located at 14234 Rt 9N, Main Street, Au Sable Forks. More information is available on their website.