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TOWER- Members of the Tower-Soudan Historical Society gathered at the Herbert R. Lamppa Civic Center on Sept. 27 for the group’s annual meeting. Tucker Nelson, editor of the Hometown Focus, …
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TOWER- Members of the Tower-Soudan Historical Society gathered at the Herbert R. Lamppa Civic Center on Sept. 27 for the group’s annual meeting. Tucker Nelson, editor of the Hometown Focus, gave a presentation of the research he has done into the history of the Pike River Dam. The dam was built by the city of Tower in 1912, but only produced electricity for a few years before the city voted to bring in Minnesota Power to provide a more reliable power source. Nelson is no stranger to Tower. His father Brian is a Tower-Soudan High School Class of 1987 graduate, and his grandfather Jim ran Nelson’s Hardware on Main Street for 25 years. Nelson said he had always been interested in the history of the dam, and had gotten some background information from Richard Hanson, from TSHS, which spurred his interest to investigate further. The bulk of the information on the dam, he said, was from old newspaper articles, but the information was often contradictory. “I am not sure how much of it was true,” he said. “And I couldn’t find any primary sources on the construction or operation of the dam.” A smaller wooden dam was constructed at the site somewhere around 1900, based on historic photos, at the mouth of the Pike River. It was built by the Tower Lumber Company and used to float timber through the area. By 1911, electrical appliances and lights were becoming popular, and the city of Tower was looking at a reliable source of electricity. “In March 1911, voters approved $16,000 in bonds. The vote was 117-13. The money was used to build the concrete dam and electric plant.” The first lights powered by the dam were turned on in April 6, 1912. Nelson said the reasoning behind the construction of the dam was environmental. A letter published in 1911 talked about conservation of natural resources and how the construction of the hydro plant would be good for the environment and the city. “It was reasoning like what you’d see today,” Nelson said. “The slogan was ‘Water Power for Tower.’” The total cost for construction of the dam and plant was $33,000. But inconsistent water levels in the river, similar to what is seen today, meant the power generated from the hydro plant was not steady enough to meet the demands of the city. Also, it appeared the engineers who designed the dam didn’t factor in the reduced flows over the winter. It took nine years to have high enough winter water flows to provide service over the winter. But after that good year in 1920, low water levels in 1921 meant not enough electrical service for the city. “There were a lot of ups and downs,” he said, “and the city had to rely on its old power plant. The city had to increase its rates, and even put in curfews on when electric lights could be operated.” In 1921, Minnesota Power and Light (MPL) started advertising in the Tower Weekly News asking for investors. In 1924, voters approved granting a 25-year franchise to MPL by a vote of 166-6. “That was the end of the power plant,” Nelson said. Minnesota Power has provided electric service to the city to this day. “It was a very creative way community leaders tried to solve a problem,” said Nelson, “but ultimately the inconsistency meant they needed a better supply.” There are still many unanswered questions about the plant, Nelson said. “All the news about the plant vanished once MPL came to Tower,” he said. Nelson’s research was published in a three-part article which is available online at hometownfocus.us. The dam is now owned by the DNR. “It’s over 100 years old,” said Nelson. “The concrete has held up pretty well.” Nelson said the DNR has estimated it would cost between two and four million dollars to do all the repairs needed on the same, and also determined it would not be feasible to remove the dam. The DNR has done some repairs over the last year, sealing a submerged outlet to prevent the flowage from leaking as much. “This is considered a low hazard project,” Nelson said, though they are looking at future maintenance including repairing concrete and embankment walls. The dam, Nelson said, will be around well into the future. “It’s not really going anywhere.” The hydro-electric dam and plant built on the Kawishiwi River, a few years after the Pike River Dam, did go on to be a reliable electrical source and is still in operation today. A video of the talk, from Ely TV, will be available on the TSHS Facebook page. Find more about TSHS annual meeting on page 12 of this week's print edition of the Timberjay (available here in PDF format)
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