UNITED STATES. ARMY. CORPS OF ENGINEERS. ST. PAUL DISTRICT:

An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. St. Paul District, creator.
	Title:	St. Paul District records.
	Dates:	1879-1990.
	Abstract:	Permit files, project maps, correspondence, and other records of the St. Paul district office of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a major army command that provides engineering services for the United States Army and Air Force and is also involved in water-related civil engineering work.
	Quantity:	2.5 cubic feet (3 boxes and 2 microfilm reels).
	Location:	See Detailed Description section for shelf locations.

The Army Corps of Engineers was established by Congress in 1802. In addition to its military responsibilities it is involved in water-related civil engineering work, much of which is centered on navigation and flood control projects and typically involves the construction and maintenance of dams, reservoirs, locks, levees, and jetties, and the dredging of channels and harbors. The Corps also has a regulatory function, with authority to approve or deny projects submitted to it by corporations, local governments, private individuals, and others.

The Corps is subdivided into divisions and then districts. The St. Paul District covers an area of approximately 139,000 square miles. Its borders follow the edges of five river basins: the Mississippi, Minnesota, River Red River of the North, Souris, and Rainy River. This area includes most of Minnesota, the western half of Wisconsin, the northeastern half of North Dakota, and small portions of South Dakota and northern Iowa. The St. Paul District is one of six Corps districts that make up the Mississippi Valley Division. It is responsible for supporting inland navigation by operating 13 locks and dams and by maintaining the Nine-Foot Navigation Channel; helping local communities reduce damages caused by flooding; issuing permits for work in wetlands and navigable rivers; operating 16 reservoirs for flood damage reduction, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and water supply; environmental restoration programs to improve fish and wildlife habitat; emergency response operations following natural disasters; and recreation activities at Corps facilities, including campgrounds, day-use areas, boat ramps and swimming beaches.

The St. Paul District began its service to the region on July 31, 1866. Civil War hero Major Gouveneur Kemble Warren opened the first engineer office with three missions: (1) to examine the Mississippi and its principal tributaries above the Rock Island Rapids; (2) to determine the best means of bridging the Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul "so as to occasion the least obstruction to navigation"; and (3) to devise the best means of establishing a four-foot channel from St. Louis to the Falls at St. Anthony. For many years the St. Paul District Office was apparently also known as the local United States Engineer Office. Although changing from time to time, its jurisdiction has included the watershed of the upper Mississippi and the basins of the Minnesota, St. Croix, Chippewa, and Wisconsin rivers, the Red River of the North, and the international boundary waters of northern Minnesota.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The collection includes correspondence, reports, blueprints, petitions, plans, bridge specifications, engineering maps, mechanical drawings, and other material relating to bridge administration, harbor and flood control projects, civil engineering projects, and other matters. It is an artificially-created assemblage of various St. Paul District Office records that separately made their way to the Minnesota Historical Society, over a period of many years and from a variety of sources. Some of the material is on microfilm.

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ARRANGEMEN

These documents are organized into the following sections:


		Permit Files
		Project Maps for River and Harbor Flood Control Projects
		Records of the District Engineer

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. United States Army Corps of Engineers. St. Paul District Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 8776; 14,427; 14,596; 15,612

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lucile Kane, May 1960; David B. Peterson, May 1993 and April 2001

Catalog ID number: 990017293230104294

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

PERMIT FILES

Engineering maps and mechanical drawings, project applications, permits granting approval to applicants, correspondence, transcripts of public hearings, and other materials pertaining to water-related civil engineering projects submitted by railroads, power and paper companies, state and county highway departments, municipalities, private individuals, and others to the St. Paul District office for approval.

Materials in the collection relate primarily to the design and construction of railroad, wagon, and highway bridges. There is information about hydroelectric and other dams, booms, wharves, docks, aerial power transmission lines, cable ferries, and other projects in and across rivers and lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota. Included are drawings and other information related to the Nevers Dam hydroelectric project on the St. Croix River near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and to the Great Northern Railway Company's Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Correspondents and project applicants represented in the collection include the St. Paul district engineer and members of his staff; Corps of engineers officials in Chicago, Milwaukee and Oshkosh (Wisconsin), Buffalo (N.Y.), and Washington, D.C.; and the Great Northern Railway Company (GN) and its predecessors (especially the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company (SPM&M), the Wisconsin Central, the Northern Pacific (NP), the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie, and other railroad companies. Other applicants include the Fargo and Moorhead Street Railway Company; the Sauk Rapids Water Power Company, the Saint Cloud Electric Power Company, and the St. Croix Falls Wisconsin Improvement Company; the Tri-State Telephone & Telegraph Co.; the Watab Paper Company; the Minnesota Department of Highways; the City of Bemidji; and the Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission.

There is some information about engineering projects in the Fox, Wisconsin, and Wolf river basins of Wisconsin. This material apparently originated in other Corps of Engineers offices.

A number of these materials are housed in small document boxes, which are themselves contained within boxes 1 and 2.

Location

Box

142.E.3.8

Folder 1:

2-55. St. Croix Falls Wisconsin Improvement Co.:

Nevers [Dam] development:

Sheet 3: General plan and elevation, 1928.

Sheet 4: Plan of power house, 1928.

Sheet 5: Sections of power house, 1928.

Sheet 6: Plan of spillway and sluice gates, 1928.

Sheet 7: Elevation of dam and section through trash sluice, 1928.

Sheet 11: Kettle River rapids development: General map of reservoir, 1925.

Sheet 12: Nevers and Kettle River rapids development - Map of transmission line (St. Croix Falls to Kettle River rapids), 1925.

2-57 McGrath Brothers (Rush City, Minn.): Construction of Boom in St. Croix River, 1924-1931.

2-58 Dunn, J. W. G.: Construction of log and rock dam in St. Croix River at Marine, Minn., 1925.

2-61 City of Stillwater, Minn.: Timber trestle wharf, 1929-1931.

2-69 Dunn, J. W. G.: Construction of log and rock dam in St. Croix River at Marine, Minn., 1931.

Folder 2:

3-51 Bridge across Minnesota River at Belle Plaine, Minn., 1879.

St. Paul & Sioux City and Sioux City & St. Paul railroads.

3-56 Bridge across Minnesota River at Mankato, Minn., 1907-1909.

3-59 Proposed dock in Big Stone Lake at Sylvan Beach, Minn., 1916.

Frank Rosenthal, Clinton, Minn.

3-76 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Bridge over Minnesota River at Morton, 1927-1930.

3-78 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Bridge across Minnesota River south of Fairfax, Minn., 1928-1931.

3-79 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Replacement of bridge over Minnesota River at St. Peter, 1924-1931.

3-82 LeSueur and Sibley counties: Bridge across Minnesota River at Henderson, Minn., 1930.

3-84 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Bridge over Minnesota River at Granite Falls, 1931-1932.

3-85 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Bridge across Minnesota River southeast of Montevideo, 1931-1932.

3-86 Minnesota Dept. of Highways: Bridge across Minnesota River at Odessa, 1931.

4-101 St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Ry.: Bridge over the Red River at Grand Forks, undated.

4-101-A GN: Reconstruction of bridge across Red River at Grand Forks, 1923.

4-102 Northern Pacific Railroad: Profile showing crossing of the Red River at Fargo, undated.

NP: Reconstruction of bridge at Fargo-Moorhead, 1923.

4-103 Draw bridge over Red River at Fargo, 1880.

Map showing NP and SPM&M crossings between Moorhead and Fargo, undated.

4-105 Tracing showing style of bridge and location of piers at proposed crossing of Red River of the North by SPM&M Ry. at Moorhead, Minn., undated.

4-106 Location of pile foundations ... at proposed crossing of Red River by SPM&M Ry., 1880.

Fargo-Moorhead?

4-107 Map showing NP and (proposed) SPM&M crossings between Moorhead and Fargo, undated.

4-108 Present and proposed location of the SPM&M bridge over Red River at Grand Forks, D.T., 1884.

4-110 Proposed crossing of the Red River of the North by the Duluth & Manitoba Railroad, 1887.

Duluth and Manitoba Railroad. Map of river bottom at D&M bridge, Grand Forks, N.D., 1894.

(4-110) Profile of bridge over river, [1894?].

Apparently D&M crossing of Red River at Grand Forks.

4-110-A NP Ry. Co.: Reconstruction of bridge across Red River at Grand Forks, 1915.

4-113 Map showing location of two proposed wagon bridges across the Red River of the North to be construcated by the City of Grand Forks, D.T., undated. [1880s?]

Folder 3:

4-115 Proposed pontoon bridge across Red River of the North at Drayton, North Dakota, 1899-1900.

4-116 GN: Crossing of Red River southwest of Halstad, Minn., undated.

4-117 Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Ry.: Plan and profile for bridge over Red River of the North about 19 miles north of Grand Forks, 1905.

4-118 Profile showing elevation of proposed bridge across the Red River at Minnesota Avenue, Grand Forks, D.T., undated.

4-119 Bridges at Grand Forks, N.D., undated.

Includes 5 picture post cards, undated and 1905.

4-120 Wharves at Diamond, Dakomin, and Valley Landing in Lake Traverse (S.D./Minn.), 1910.

4-121 Tri-State Telephone & Telegraph Co.: Overhead wire crossing Red River at Grand Forks, N.D., 1910.

4-122 Proposed bridge over Red River of the North at Drayton, N.D., 1910-1911.

Folder 4:

4-123 Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge across Red River at Fargo, N.D. for the Fargo and Moorhead Street Railway Company, 1910-1911.

Map of the City of Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota, 1908.

4-124 Plan and profile for bridge over the Red River of the North (Oslo, Marshall County, Minn.), 1912.

4-125 Cable ferry over Red River of the North between S.8 and 17, T153N, R50W (Grand Forks Co.) and S.9 and 16, T153N, R50W (Polk County), 1914.

4-126 Burke County, N.D.: Bridge across Upper Des Lacs Lake, 1916.

Folder 5:

4-127 River control dam, Park District, Minot, N.D.:

1. Dam site, 1920.

2. General plan, 1920.

3. Dam: Details, 1920.

4. Radial check gates, 1920.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1919-1920.

4-128 Hendrickson, H. H.: Dredging Red River near Wolverton, Minn., 1922-1933.

4-129 GN: Reconstruction of bridge across Red River at Fargo-Moorhead, 1923.

4-130 Highway bridge across Red River near Pembina, N.D., 1923.

4-131 City of Grand Forks, N.D.: Dam across Red River, 1924-1925.

4-133 Highway bridge over Red River at Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, 1928-1931.

4-134 Highway bridge across Red River at Fargo-Moorhead, 1929-1930.

4-136 Halstad, Minn. and Herberg, N.D.: Bridge across Red River, 1932-1933.

Folder 6:

7-9 Map showing location of C.B. & N. Railroad across Wisconsin River, 1885.

Map is in two pieces. (18.K.4)

7-109 Map showing proposed crossing of the Red River by the Duluth & Manitoba Railroad, 1887.

7-114 Plan of pivot piers and fenders for two wagon bridges over the Red River at Grand Forks, Dakota, undated.

Apparently dates from before North Dakota statehood (1889).

7-116 Great Northern Railway Line: Plan of proposed single track bridge across Red River, Halstad, Minn., 1891.

Folder 7:

8-9 Linen drawing showing piers and river bottom surfaces (1871-1875) for unidentified bridge crossing from Minneapolis to Nicollet Island, undated.

8-11 SPM&M: Map showing site of proposed Stone Arch Bridge across Mississippi River at Minneapolis, 1881.

8-12 Stone Arch Bridge: Diagram showing location of piers, [circa 1881].

8-13 SPM&M: Profile of the Mississipi River at the crossing of the Short Line Bridge showing the location of piers, [circa 1881.]

8-14 SPM&M: Map of the Mississippi River at the crossing of the proposed Stone Arch Bridge at Minneapolis, 1882.

GN: Stone Arch Bridge (Minneapolis) - Blueprint profile drawing showing portions reinforced (1907-1910), [circa 1910?].

Folder 8:

Map of the Mississippi River near Anoka, Minn., showing location of highway bridge, 1883.

Plan for iron highway bridge over the Mississippi River at Anoka, Minn., 1883.

8-20 Sketch showing bridges across Mississippi River at Minneapolis, [circa 1885]. 2 copies.

8-22 Soundings in main channel of Mississippi River under and near SPM&M bridge, Minneapolis, [circa 1886?].

8-24 Profile of Washington Ave. S. bridge across Mississippi River, Minneapolis, [circa 1886].

8-52 Park Rapids & Leech Lake Ry.: Proposed crossing of Steamboat River in S. 20 T144N, R31W, 1898. 3 sheets.

8-52-A Great Northern Ry.: Fergus Falls Div.-Park Rapids Line: Bridge No. 61 over Steamboat River:

General plan, 1914.

Falsework for removing timber draw span, 1914.

Location

Box

142.E.4.1

Folder 9:

8-57 Wisconsin Central Ry.: Plan of proposed bridge over east channel of Mississippi River at Minneapolis, 1899.

Wisconsin Central Ry.: Map showing location of proposed bridges on line to Boom Island, Minneapolis, [circa 1900?].

"Exhibit F."

8-58 Untitled map showing Nicollet Island, east channel of Mississippi River, Central Avenue bridge, and a railroad crossing the river at Minneapolis, undated.

8-59 Wisconsin Central Railway Company bridge across slough between Boom Island and east bank of Mississippi River at Minneapolis, [circa 1902].

Blueprint drawing.

Map showing proposed harbor lines and improvements on and approaching Boom Island (Minneapolis), [circa 1902?].

"Exhibit B."

8-61 Minneapolis, Superior, St. Paul and Winnipeg Ry.: Profile of proposed crossing and location of railway draw bridge over Mississippi River between Champlin and Anoka, Minn., 1902.

Minneapolis, Superior, St. Paul and Winnipeg Ry.: Map showing proposed location of railway draw bridge across the Mississippi River between Champlin and Anoka, Minn., 1902.

Map showing proposed harbor lines and improvements on and approaching Boom Island, [circa 1903].

"Exhibit B."

8-62 Wisconsin Central Ry. Company bridge across slough between Boom Island and east bank of Mississippi River at Minneapolis, [circa 1903?].

Blueprint drawing. "Exhibit C."

Folder 10:

8-64 Bridge over Mississippi River at Elk River, Minn.: Detail of piers and abutments, 1905.

Proposed bridge over the Mississippi River at Elk River, Minn., [circa 1904].

Blueprint drawings.

Map of Mississippi River near mouth of Elk River, Minnesota, [circa 1904].

Shows contours, soundings, depth lines.

8-65 Proposed bridge on 32nd Av. N. over Mississippi River, Minneapolis, 1905.

Blueprint drawing.

Plan showing bridges and soundings across Mississippi River, Minneapolis, 1904.

Blueprint map.

8-66 Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Ry.: Plan and profile for bridge over Mississippi River at Minneapolis, 1905.

Folder 11:

8-68 Map of location of proposed dam across Mississippi River at Watab, Minnesota showing cross sections of river bed, 1905.

Watab Rapids Power Company: Plan of west abutment for proposed dam at Watab, Minn., 1905.

Plan of proposed dam across Mississippi River at Watab, Minnesota, 1905. 2 sheets.

Watab Pulp & Paper Company: Plan of dam across the Mississippi River at Watab, Minnesota, [circa 1914].

Blueprint drawing.

Watab Paper Company: Proposed additions to dam across Mississippi River at Sartell, Minnesota:

Dec. 18, 1923. 5 sheets.

2 sets of drawings.

Aug. 20, 1924. 4 sheets.

Miscellaneous papers, undated.

Folder 12:

8-70 Wisconsin Central Railway Company bridge across slough between Boom Island and east bank of Mississippi River at Minneapolis, [circa 1905].

"Exhibit C."

Map showing proposed harbor lines and improvements on and approaching Boom Island, [circa 1905].

"Exhibit B."

8-73 Minneapolis St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Ry.: Proposed crossing over Mississippi River, Duluth Line (Morrison County, Minn.), 1907.

Blueprint drawing.

8-74 Sauk Rapids Water Power Company:

Dam and power house, [circa 1907].

Blueprint drawing.

Elevations of bed of Mississippi River below Whitney Dam, [circa 1907].

Sections of masonry dam, [circa 1907].

Blueprint drawing.

Sketch map of Mississippi River at Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud, 1903.

Elevations of bed of Mississippi River above Whitney Dam, [circa 1907].

8-75 Saint Cloud Electric Power Company:

Map showing location of St. Augusta Dam, [circa 1907].

Cross section of dam, [circa 1907].

Blueprint drawing.

Map of location of proposed dam across Mississippi River at St. Augusta, Minnesota, showing cross sections of river bed, [circa 1907].

Folder 13:

Plans and sections of power house and dam for St. Cloud Electric Power Co., 1906.

Plan of proposed dam across Mississippi River at St. Augusta, Minnesota, 1906.

Unidentified blueprint drawings showing cross sections of river bed, undated.

8-82 City of Bemidji, Minnesota:

Profile of proposed new steel bridge across Mississippi River between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji, 1908.

Portion of blueprint map of Bemidji and Lake Bemidji showing location of new steel bridge, [circa 1908].

8-83 Profile of Mississippi River in S.4, T52N, R23W showing location of piers and elevation of swing bridge of Mississipi, Hill City and Western Ry., 1908.

Map showing Mississippi, Hill City and Western Ry. crossing Mississippi River in S.4, T52N, R23W, [circa 1908].

8-84 Saint Paul Boom Company: Map of Minnesota River outlet, 1908.

8-85 Northern Pacific Railway Company:

General plan of Mississippi River bridge at Little Falls, Minn. on new location of main line, 1899.

Plat showing located line of NP through Morrison County and Little Falls, 1898.

"Exhibit A."

Folder 14:

8-86 Plat showing Mississippi River, position of piers and break-water for Mississippi, Hill City and Western Ry.

8-90 Town of Bass Brook, Minn.: Map showing location of proposed bridge across Mississippi River at S.10, T55N R26W, [circa 1910].

General elevation of proposed bridge over Mississippi River at Village of Cohasset, Itasca County, Minn., [circa 1910].

8-93 Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company: Plan and profile for pile bridge over Mississippi River at Bemidji, Minn., 1910.

11-278 Floating finger piers at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, undated and 1977-1979.

11-357 Green Bay & Mississippi Canal Co.: Pulp mill at Little Kaukauna Lock, Wisconsin, 1909, 1955-1960.

11-880 Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission: Buried pipe in Fox River, 1973-1976.

11-1009 Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission: Filling part of Little Lake Butte Des Morts, 1972-1979.

11-714 to 11-879; 11-2512 Miscellaneous projects in Fox River area of Wisconsin, 1902-1968.

St. Paul District: Miscellany, 1959-1979.

GN Co.: Proposed reconstruction of railway bridges over Mississippi River at Minneapolis, Minn., 1924.

3 blueprint drawings.

Ball Bluff Town Board (Jacobson, Minn.): Cable ferry across Mississippi River, 1920. 2 sheets.

Blueprint drawings.

Folder 15:

Chippewa River:

Bulk head lines along Chippewa River (Eau Claire, Wis.), 1961. 4 blueline maps.

Official city map of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1961.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1961-1964.

Folder 16:

Permit maps: Fox, Wisconsin, and Wolf Rivers, 1912.

Bound set of blueprint maps and data sheets; United States Engineer Office, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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PROJECT MAPS FOR RIVER AND HARBOR AND FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS (1990)

Maps and accompanying project summary sheets that typically give a brief description of the project, historical background, a construction progress report, the cost of the project, and information about lands and local cooperation. Numbers in parentheses following the folder titles refer to individual map numbers. The materials were originally contained in a looseleaf binder, filed chronologically by map number. They were reorganized alphabetically by the cataloger in order to better facilitate research use.

Location

Box

147.C.5.6F

Index maps (1) (201), 1981, 1990.

Includes alphabetical lists of individual projects giving map (page) numbers and information about the status of many of them: (a) Inactive or deferred, (b) Section 205 project, or (c) Section 107 project. The lists also indicate whether each is a flood control (FC) or a harbor improvement project.

Alma Harbor, Wis. (44).

Argusville, N.D. (295).

Basset Creek, Minn. (283).

Big Stone Lake and Whetstone River, Minn. and S.D. (26).

Black Bear and Miller Lakes, Minn. (296).

Black River, Wis. (55).

Burlington Dam, Souris River, N.D. (274).

Chaska, Minn. (284).

Devils Lake, N.D. (293).

Dry Run, Decorah, Iowa (238).

East Grand Forks, Minn. (205).

Eau Galle River, Wis. (249-250).

Elk River, Minn. (271).

Emerson-Noyes, Minn. and Canada (300).

Enderlin, Maple River, N.D. (290).

Grafton, N.D. (286).

Grand Forks, N.D. (203).

Gull Lake Reservoir Dam, Minn. (11).

Guttenberg, Iowa (265).

Harriet Island Harbor, St. Paul (98).

Henderson, Minn. (299).

Homme Reservoir and Dam, N.D.

Houston, Minn. (302).

Hudson Harbor, Wis. (54).

Lac Qui Parle Reservoir, Minnesota River, Minn. (228-233).

La Crosse, Wis. (285).

La Farge Lake and Channel Improvement, Kickapoo River, Wis. (263-264).

Lake Ashtabula and Baldhill Dam, N.D. (223-224).

Lake City Harbor, Minn. (42).

Lake Pulaski, Minn. (297).

Lake Superior Area project maps:

Flood control projects:

Ball Park Creek, Bayfield, Wis. (260).

River and harbor projects:

Area index map (56).

Ashland Harbor, Wis. (75-76).

Bayfield Harbor, Wis. (73-74).

Beaver Bay Harbor, Minn. (61).

Big Bay Harbor, Mich. (92).

Black River Harbor, Mich. (79-80).

Chippewa Harbor, Isle Royal, Mich. (57).

Cornucopia Harbor, Wis. (71-72).

Duluth: U.S. Vessel Yard (66).

Duluth-Superior Harbor, Minn. and Wis. (68).

Eagle Harbor, Mich. (87).

Grand Marais Harbor, Minn. (58-59).

Grand Traverse Bay Harbor, Mich. (90-91).

Keweenaw Waterway, Mich. (83-85).

Knife River harbor, Minn. (64).

La Pointe Harbor, Wis. (102-103).

Lac La Belle Harbor, Mich. (88-89).

Lutsen Harbor, Minn. (60).

Marquette Harbor, Mich. (96-97).

Ontonagon Harbor, Mich. (81-82A).

Pesque Isle Harbor, Mich. (94).

Port Wing Harbor, Wis. (69-70).

Saxon Harbor, Wis. (77-78).

Two Harbors, Minn. (62-63).

Lake Traverse-Bois de Sioux River, S.D. and Minn. (225-227).

Leech Lake Reservoir Dam, Minn. (7).

Lock and Dam No. 1, Mississippi River (16-17).

Lock and Dam No. 2, Mississippi River (18-19).

Lock and Dam No. 3, Mississippi River (20-21).

Lock and Dam No. 4, Mississippi River (22-23).

Lock and Dam No. 5, Mississippi River (24-25).

Lock and Dam No. 5A, Mississippi River (26-27).

Lock and Dam No. 6, Mississippi River (28-29).

Lock and Dam No. 7, Mississippi River (30-31).

Lock and Dam No. 8, Mississippi River (32-33).

Lock and Dam No. 9, Mississippi River (34).

Lock and Dam No. 10, Mississippi River (36-37).

Lost River, Minn. (243).

Lower Branch, Rush River, N.D. (288).

Mankato and North Mankato, Minn. (251-252).

Marshall, Minn. (257).

Middle River at Argyle, Minn. (294).

Minnesota River, Minn. (52).

Minot, N.D. (275-275A).

Mississippi River project map (12).

Orwell Reservoir and Dam, Minn. (216).

Pembina River, N.D. (287).

Pembina River Lake, N.D. (240).

Pepin Harbor, Wis. (100).

Pine River Reservoir Dam, Minn. (10-10A).

Pokegama Reservoir Dam, Minn. (8).

Portage, Wis. (303).

Prairie du Chien, Wis. (278).

Red Lake River, Gentilly, Minn. (301).

Red Lake River, Minn., including Clearwater River, Minn. (218).

Red River of the North drainage basin, Minn., S.D. and N.D. (202).

Red River of the North, Halstad, Minn. (292).

Red River of the North, Oslo, Minn. (280).

Red River of the North, Pembina, N.D. (281).

Redwood River at Marshall, Minn. (291).

Redwood River below Marshall, Minn. (259).

Reservoirs at headwaters of Mississippi River, Minn. (5).

Rochester, Minn. (279).

Roseau River, Minn. (269).

Rushford, Minn. (255).

St. Anthony Falls extension, Minn. (13-15A).

St. Croix River, Wis. (53).

St. Paul (298).

St. Paul and South St. Paul (245-248).

Sandy Lake Reservoir, Minn. (9).

Sheyenne River, N.D. (formerly Kindred Lake) (276).

Souris River Basin, N.D. (289).

State Road Coulee, Wis. (272).

Tongue River Lake, N.D. (239).

Twin Valley Lake, Wild Rice River, Minn. (277).

Upper Iowa River, Iowa (237).

Velva, N.D., Bonne's Coulee (270).

Vermillion River at Hastings, Minn. (282).

Wahpeton-Breckenridge, N.D. and Minn. (215).

Warroad Harbor, Minn. (2).

Warroad River and Bull Dog Creek, Minn. (266).

Wild Rice River, South Branch and Felton Ditch, Minnesota (273).

Winnibigoshish Reservoir Dam, Minn. (6).

Winona, Minn. (253-254A).

Zippel Bay, Minn. (104).

Zumbro River, Minn. (268).

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RECORDS OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER

Letterpress books of the St. Paul district engineer for 1905-1906, supplemented by letters, records of hearings, newspaper clippings, affidavits, and other records of a Board of Engineers that was appointed in 1905 to investigate reservoirs built on the upper Mississippi River. They pertain to an attempt by persons and organizations in northern Minnesota to persuade the United States government to abandon or modify the operation of these reservoirs.

The reservoirs were built from 1884 to 1912 at Winnebigoshish, Leech, Pokegma, and Sandy lakes, and at Pine River, to control floods and equalize river flow throughout the navigation year. Northern Minnesota was sparsely settled when they were built, and thus there was no protest at the time from persons living on the river. With settlement, however, farmers, mill owners, and others protested against overflowing and interference with the natural river flow caused by the reservoirs.

To settle the matter, the government in 1905 appointed a Board of Engineers to investigate flood damages and other disasters attributed to the reservoirs, and to make recommendations. The Board travelled through the northern headwaters area, interviewed settlers, and finally held a hearing in St. Paul. Its final report recommended that the reservoirs be continued, but that modifications be made in their operation.

Correspondents include J. Adam Bede, Knute Nelson, William De la Barre, and William D. Washburn.

The letterpress books include information on the reservoirs and their operation; administrative relations with the Washington, D.C. office; directions to engineers in the St. Paul office; proposed bridge construction across various rivers, including the proposed Fort Snelling Bridge in St. Paul; water levels on the Mississippi River; obstruction of the river by logs and booms; applications by logging companies to maintain booms on Rainy River; and plans for dam construction on the upper Mississippi and its tributaries, as well as other Minnesota rivers.

Location

Reel

M253

Correspondence and other records, 1903-1907.

St. Paul Office letterpress book, January 3, 1905-March 9, 1906.

Location

Reel

M253

St. Paul Office letterpress book, March 13-December 18, 1906.

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RELATED MATERIALS

See the catalog for the locations of a variety of reports and other materials generated by the St. Paul District office, which are in the Minnesota Historical Society book and serials collections.

U.S. Engineer Office. Bridge Records are in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

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CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:: Booms (Log transportation) -- Rainy River.; Bridges -- Design and construction.; Bridges -- Minnesota.; Civil engineering.; Dams -- Design and construction.; Ferries.; Flood control -- Mississippi River Valley.; Harbors.; Hydroelectric power plants.; Levees.; Locks (Hydraulic engineering) -- Mississippi River.; Nevers Dam (Minnesota and Wis.).; Railroad bridges.; Reservoirs -- Minnesota.; Rivers.; Stone Arch Bridge (Minneapolis, Minn.).; Watershed management.

Places:: Chippewa River (Wis.).; Fox River (Wis.).; Minnesota River (S.D. and Minn.).; Mississippi River.; Mississippi River -- Navigation.; Red River of the North.; Saint Croix River (Wis. and Minn.).; Superior, Lake.; Wisconsin River (Wis.).; Wolf River (Wis.).

Persons:: Bede, J. Adam (James Adam), 1856-1942.; De la Barre, William, 1849-1936.; Nelson, Knute, 1843-1923.; Washburn, William D. (William Drew), 1831-1912.

Organizations:: Minnesota. Department of Highways.; United States. Engineer Office.

Types of Documents:: Engineering maps.; Mechanical drawings.; Microforms.; Permits.

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