Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 8, On Mississippi River near Houston County, MN, Genoa, Vernon County, WI

See HAER MN-20, Upper Mississippi River Nine-Foot Channel Project History, Locks and Dams 3-10, for additional information.

Significance: The Upper Mississippi River Lock and Dam Project represents one of the largest and most ambitious of such undertakings. With roots in the Progressive Era, the project was adopted by New Deal proponents to serve the needs of public employment during the Great Depression. Its successful completion turned the upper reaches of one of the world's largest rivers into a intra-continental canal and settled the question of a fully navigable interior river system through the Midwest. Completion of the system helped allay economic inequities in commercial rail and water freight brought about as a result of the opening of the Panama Canal. Although significantly altering the environment of the upper Mississippi, the project also served as an impetus for the upgrading of municipal drinking water and sewage disposal systems, as well as providing new recreational opportunities, thus, in the end, proving generally beneficial to public welfare.

Survey number: HAER WI-49

Building/structure dates: 1938 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: ca. 1993 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1951 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1952 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1968 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1981 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1983-1984 Subsequent Work

dams locks hydraulic facilities houston upper mississippi upper mississippi river channel lock dam mississippi river houston county genoa vernon vernon county wisconsin minnesota movable dams tainter gates dikes engineering control rooms miter gates spillways reinforced concrete construction cranes colonial revival architectural elements lockkeepers houses hydraulic engineering new deal rolling lock gates commonwealth electric company ee gillen company ferd j robers company clayton fraser miller and dresser company fugina h knudson company r g hase historic american engineering record john ledegar company jutton kelly company l p friedstadt company lacrosse dredging company nuemann dredging company william patrick o brien oscar daniels company r c mahon company ferd j roberts siems helmers incorporated t c esser company treadwell construction company us army corps of engineers photo ultra high resolution high resolution river system library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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