Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project
Lac qui Parle Dam is one component to the larger Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project, which had four major goals: flood control, water conservation recreation and wildlife propagation and poverty relief. The overall project was built in 1933-1951 at a cost of more than $2.5 million and was the largest flood control project in the state of Minnesota. It involved diverting two rivers, creating two reservoirs, building four dams and weirs, raising two railroads, raising and reinforcing three state highways and many local roads and developing hundreds of acres of park land and thousands of acres of improved wildlife habitat. The federal government paid for labor and most materials while the State of Minnesota acquired the land and paid for most parks and roads.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District was responsible for the design and construction of the flood control portion of the project from 1941-1951. The St. Paul District participated in planning, approved major designs and inspected the project, but major construction responsibilities was carried out by the Works Progress Administration. The WPA provided labor from 1936-1942, with its most intense period of construction being 1936-1939, at its peak employing 1,400 men. Operation of the project was transferred from the state of Minnesota to St. Paul District in 1950.
Did you Know:
- The project was one of the largest federal relief projects undertaken in the state
- Is the largest flood control project in the state
- Is the largest pre-1970 engineering project on the Minnesota River
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places, authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Today the Lac qui Parle flood control project is eligible to the National Register as a historic district (Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project Historic District), built from 1933-1951. It is eligible for its importance in broad patterns of history in the area of politics and government, engineering and conservation. This historic district is 61.5 miles long and comprises about 25,000 acres.
Lac qui Parle Dam
Lac qui Parle Dam is the dividing line between Lac qui Parle and Chippewa counties. It was constructed in 1936-1941 by the WPA as part of the overall flood control project; however, it is the primary dam of the overall system. The concrete dam was designed by hydraulic engineers Adolph F. Meyer and Sven A. Norling for the Minnesota Department of Conservation’s Division of Drainage and Water, with the St. Paul District providing additional design work in 1941. Excavation for the dam began in 1936. To construct the dam, a huge amount of dirt needed to be brought in to elevate the staging area above the river channel for the cement house and concrete mixers. There was also a WPA work camp located adjacent to the dam. Before being transferred to the Corps pf Engineers in 1950, the Minnesota Department of Conservation owned and operated the dam. After 1950, the Corps of Engineers constructed new features to the dam to assist with maintenance and operation of the dam including the addition of a gauging station, installing steel plate bulkheads within the bays and repairing the dam apron.