Bri Krumwiede, archives assistant of the Blue Earth County Historical Society, selected this photograph of the Blue Earth Dam under construction in Rapidan Township.

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Blue Earth Dam Construction, Rapidan Township, 1910

Formerly the site of Rapidan Mills, the Rapidan Dam was constructed in 1910-1911 by the Ambersen Hydraulic Construction Company of Boston, contracted by the consumer's Power Company of Chicago, to provide “cheap” power to southern Minnesota. Housing was built to support 200 workers; at its height, 345 men were employed by the project. In all, the project cost around $2,000,000.

In Minnesota, industrial and commercial dam building began after the 1837 land cession treaties with the Ojibwe and Dakota people and increased after the 1851 Treaty of Traverse Des Sioux.

The building of the Rapidan Dam was seen as “[o]ne of the largest and most important projects ever undertaken in this section of Minnesota” according to The Daily Review on February 28, 1910, especially concerning industrial development in Mankato and the surrounding areas.

Rapidan Dam is a landmark of Blue Earth County. Many in our community have fond memories of visiting Rapidan Dam, Rapidan Dam Park, and the Rapidan Dam Store.

The Blue Earth County Historical Society in Mankato, Minnesota, collects photographs, printed materials and artifacts related to the history of this south central Minnesota county. Among the images Blue Earth County Historical Society contributed to MDL are photographs of the Hubbard Milling Company, Mankato State Normal School (now Minnesota State University, Mankato), Bethany Lutheran College and steamboat transportation on the Minnesota River.

Browse the Blue Earth County Historical Society collection on MDL.

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