Page 13 - BuildingJob inIowa

Littleton Dam View of 1938 fishway at Littleton Dam, 1939 (from LCHS-FFPC).

The first of the four known New Deal dams con-
structed in the Wapsipinicon watershed, the Lit-
tleton Dam, started as a locally funded project.
Its construction was supported by the State Fish
and Game Commission because the dam fit into
the state’s 25-year conservation plan. As origi-
nally proposed in August 1933, the state would
supply the materials for the dam and a local com-
mittee would raise the funds for the labor. Con-
struction of the dam started around November
1, 1933, using locally funded labor. Within days,
however, the Civil Works Administration (CWA)
was established, and by the third week in No-
vember the Iowa office of the CWA was receiv-
ing applications for projects. The local sponsors
of the Littleton Dam applied for CWA funding,
which was approved on November 24, subject to
a small local match for “engineering advice and
incidentals.” The dam was constructed of rein-
forced concrete, and was seven feet high, 135
feet long, and 20 feet wide at the base. By mid-
January 1934, an average daily work force of 50
men was at work, with as many as 72 workers
one day. The concrete for the dam was poured
in six sections. After delays due to high water in
January, the dam was completed around the first
week of March 1934.33

The Littleton Dam was originally built without
a fishway. The Wapsie Fish and Game Associa-
tion agitated for a fishway for two years starting
around 1936, and one was finally built in 1938
under the direction of the Iowa Fish and Game
Commission. The concrete fishway was three
feet, four inches wide, and had nine wood steps.
A 24-foot railing was set in the concrete to pre-
vent accidents.34

View of Littleton Dam, 1934 (from LCHS). View of Littleton Dam from downstream, 2012 (OSA).

Building Jobs in Iowa—New Deal Dams of the Wapsipinicon River Watershed in Northeast Iowa 11