Page 12 - BuildingJob inIowa

The Wapsipinicon River
Watershed
The Wapsipinicon River originates in Minnesota, just across
the state line from Mitchell County, Iowa, and flows southeast
to join the Mississippi River at the border between Scott and
Clinton counties, Iowa. Currently eight dams span the Wap-
sipinicon River, all located along a 120-mile stretch between
Frederika (Bremer County) and Anamosa (Jones County). No
dams are present in the 95 miles of the river downstream
from Anamosa.26 The Wapsipinicon River watershed also
includes numerous tributaries. The five largest include two
tributaries named the Little Wapsipinicon River (one joining
the main river near New Hampton, the other near Littleton),
as well as Crane Creek, Otter Creek and Buffalo Creek.
The Wapsipinicon River, and the Littleton area in particu-
lar, have long been considered attractive fishing destina-
tions. The construction of dams along the river helped to
cement this reputation, particularly in combination with the
State Fish and Game Commission’s program of restocking
the river above the dams with game fish from government
fish hatcheries. This program began in the late 19th century.
The draining of lakes and marshes for agriculture, excessive
silting and erosion, and industrial pollution was drastically
reducing the numbers of fish in Iowa’s rivers and streams.
Concerned about this loss, the state began to maintain fish
hatcheries in order to periodically restock Iowa’s waterways.
In conjunction with restocking, the state also sponsored the
construction of low-head dams to impound sufficient water
to carry the fish through drought periods. Beautification of
the rivers and the elimination of the health risks caused by
pools of standing water during low water periods were also
considered as reasons to support the construction of these
dams.27
Although some of the low-head dams along the Wapsipini-
con River were built as mill dams in the late 19th or early
20th centuries, many were built during the 1930s to com-
plement the restocking program. During the 1930s, approxi-
mately 50 low-head dams were constructed throughout the
state of Iowa.28
New Deal Dams in
the Wapsipinicon River
Watershed
In 1979 and 2010 the Iowa Department of Natural Resourc-
es (DNR) conducted two surveys of Iowa’s dams. These sur-
veys recorded every dam on every major river and stream in
the state. Using the list of dams maintained by the DNR as
a starting point, research has determined that four dams in
10 University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
the Wapsipinicon watershed were constructed under one or
more New Deal programs.
Littleton Dam, Buchanan County (1933–
1934, CWA), extant
Independence Low Dam, Buchanan
County (1934, CWA), extant
Quasqueton Dam, Buchanan County
(1934–1935, FERA and WPA), extant
but concealed
Coggon Dam, Linn County (1934–1936,
FERA and WPA), non-extant
In addition to these four dams, a fifth, located at Frederika in
Bremer County, was approved for WPA funding in 1935 but
was never built as a WPA project. Five years later the dam
was eventually constructed using only state funds and a lo-
cal bond issue. Because of this history, the Frederika Dam is
also included here as an “honorary” New Deal dam.
Three other dams are either known or reported to have been
built in the Wapsipinicon River watershed during the New
Deal era. Two built in Chickasaw County—one in 1934 and
the other in about 1940—had no documented connection
to the New Deal and are not shown on the map on Page 2.29
The reported construction date of 1934 given for the third
dam—Red Gate Park Rock Dam in Fayette County—could
not be confirmed.30
Records of engineering plans for the New Deal dams are
sparse. Based on the limited information available from pub-
lished sources and the dams themselves, the New Deal dams
in the Wapsipinicon watershed appear to reflect standard
engineering practices of the 1930s.31 The dams in the Wap-
sipinicon watershed were typically constructed of reinforced
concrete or a combination of rock and concrete. The dams
for which a specific designing engineer has been identified
were designed locally, by either a county or state engineer,
although the designs had to be approved by federal engi-
neers to receive federal funds.
The Littleton Dam and the Independence Low Dam were
probably designed by Buchanan County engineer Ralph W.
Gearhart.32 Gearhart was in charge of engineering of the
Littleton Dam, and was identified as the designer of the In-
dependence Low Dam. He inspected the site of the Quasque-
ton Dam on at least one occasion, but the chief engineer for
that dam appears to have been a state rather than a county
engineer, one Mr. Baumer, who has not yet been identified in
any other source. It is not presently known who designed the
Coggon Dam or the Frederika Dam.