SHUTESBURY — Wednesday marked the end of an era for residents living along Montague Road who said goodbye to a dam that dates back to the early 1800s.

The Dudleyville Pond Dam, affectionately known as Brown’s Dam by property owner Lois Brown, was breached and removed after being deemed an emergency safety hazard by the state Office of Dam Safety.

The property, pond and dam have been in the Brown family since 1951 when it was purchased by Lois’ father, Robert Brown.

The family has maintained the dam for decades while also facing warnings from the Office of Dam Safety since the 1990s.

The nearly 200-year-old dam does not meet modern safety requirements, according to Stantec engineer Michael Chelminski.

After years of erosion, climate change causing increased rainfall and other environmental impacts, plus beaver dams upstream increasing the height of the water, the Dudleyville Pond Dam was at risk of failure. If the dam were to fail, it would overwhelm an aging culvert, flooding the road and potentially a few houses.

“It’s not upstream of 20,000 people, but it’s still upstream of people and roads,” said Susie Bresney, an ecological restoration specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.

In January, the agency was called in for a survey of the dam. By March, it was determined the dam could not be saved and would need to be removed.

Chelminski described the dam as a dangerous car swerving on the highway and crashing into people, and said the state needed to step in and take action.

“The danger is we have a dam in bad shape, a culvert in bad condition. … Now is the time to take action,” he said.

An emergency removal order was issued by the Office of Dam Safety, allowing the project to bypass a permitting process that normally takes three to five years and providing access to grants to help fund the removal.

“This is a rare occurrence,” said Rebecca Budd, restoration program manager with the Greenfield-based Connecticut River Conservancy, which helped fund the removal.

David Brown, Lois’ brother, maintains that the dam was not in danger of failure and the hazardous rating was exaggerated. The real issue, he said, was the retaining wall and complications from the weather. He has been working to repair and maintain the dam for decades, and excavated an area to put in a retaining wall just behind it. That wall was compromised by Hurricane Hugo, which David said was the real issue.

David said he was ordered to stop work on the dam, as the Office of Dam Safety was requiring ecological and engineering surveys that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Eventually, red tape and exorbitant costs — including $500-per-day fines for not meeting dam safety standards — forced the Browns to accept the dam would need to be removed.

“I spent a long time on this dam and it’s a big letdown to see all the work I did go away,” David said, adding that he would love to rebuild the dam one day, but unfortunately does not think he will be able to due to rising costs. “Maybe if I win the lottery.”

In its prime, Dudleyville Pond was the place to be, the Browns said. There was always something happening, from picnics with family and friends to concerts with local bands. Even the University of Massachusetts hockey team used to practice on the pond back in the day, David said.

Lois also had her wedding on a floating dock on the pond.

“It was the gem of the property,” Lois said.

Before the Browns took ownership of the dam, it was owned and used by S.F. Dudley, which built the dam and a sawmill in the 1830s.

In addition to being used for a mill, the pond was also used to produce ice during the 1830s, David said. Ice harvesters would come to the pond and cut out large blocks of ice during the winter to be shipped to Boston.

Like David, Lois said she is sad to see the dam go, but also relieved to not have to stress about funding repairs.

“Having it funded and done with is just a huge relief,” Lois said.

While the dam is going away, all of its parts will be staying on the property. Much of the rocks used to build it will be reused to create the new bank for a stream that will be created as the pond pours out. Lois said her brother plans to repurpose the rest of the rocks and boulders to build stone walls and other projects.

Stantec engineers said the demolition work will continue over the next few days and a new riverbank will be created. By Aug. 29, the dam will be completely gone and Dudleyville Pond will look more like a stream — good news for trout living downstream.

According to Division of Ecological Restoration fish counts, there is a fair population of trout living downstream. Removing the dam will allow them to access a larger area and explore an extended habitat.

“This is a barrier, and they will be able to get over it now,” Budd said.

Bresney said once emergency work is complete, the Division of Ecological Restoration hopes to work with the town of Shutesbury to replace the culvert and further improve safety at the location.