Oldest Dams in Illinois

Illinois has 1455 dams with recorded construction dates. The oldest dates to 1852 — 174 years ago. Illinois's earliest dams were built in the 19th century, an era of westward expansion, irrigation development, and early water infrastructure. Older dams require particular attention for safety, as many were built before modern engineering standards.

#	Dam	County	Year Built	Age	Height (ft)	Hazard	Condition
1	Fordam Station Dam	Winnebago	1852	174 yrs	12	Low	Not assessed
2	Belvidere Dam	Boone	1865	161 yrs	10	Low	Not assessed
3	Campus Lake Dam	Jackson	1869	157 yrs	20	Significant	Not assessed
4	Walton Park Lake Dam	Montgomery	1870	156 yrs	37	Low	Not assessed
5	Arsenal Power	Rock Island	1878	148 yrs	29	Low	Poor
6	Citizens Lake Dam	Warren	1878	148 yrs	20	Low	Not assessed
7	Kimball Street Dam	Kane	1884	142 yrs	13	Significant	Not assessed
8	Kinmundy Lake Dam	Marion	1885	141 yrs	25	Low	Not assessed
9	Lake Mendota Dam	LaSalle	1890	136 yrs	17	High	Not assessed
10	Lake Christine Dam	St. Clair	1894	132 yrs	20	High	Not assessed
11	Lake Rice Dam	Knox	1895	131 yrs	35	High	Not assessed
12	Moline Power	Rock Island	1896	130 yrs	31	Low	Fair
13	Cb & Q Railroad Reservoir Dam	Clinton	1900	126 yrs	19	Low	Not assessed
14	Ettlebrick Lake Dam	Cumberland	1900	126 yrs	19	Significant	Not assessed
15	Weldon Springs State Park Lake Dam	De Witt	1900	126 yrs	30	Significant	Not assessed
16	Little Wabash River Dam	Effingham	1900	126 yrs	13	Low	Not assessed
17	Christopher Old Reservoir Dam	Franklin	1900	126 yrs	15	Significant	Not assessed
18	Bernadotte Dam	Fulton	1900	126 yrs	12	Low	Not assessed
19	Vanwinkle Lake Dam	Fulton	1900	126 yrs	20	High	Not assessed
20	Crescent Lake Dam	Henry	1900	126 yrs	31	Significant	Not assessed
21	Rinaker Lake Dam	Macoupin	1900	126 yrs	23	Low	Not assessed
22	Upper Columbia Quarry Lake Dam	Macoupin	1900	126 yrs	18	Low	Not assessed
23	Old Mt. Olive City Lake Dam	Macoupin	1900	126 yrs	37	Significant	Not assessed
24	Godfrey Pond Dam	Madison	1900	126 yrs	20	High	Not assessed
25	Drost Park Lake Dam	Madison	1900	126 yrs	15	Significant	Not assessed
26	Franklin Waverly Outing Club Lake Dam	Morgan	1900	126 yrs	25	Low	Not assessed
27	Lake Lorraine Dam	St. Clair	1900	126 yrs	19	High	Not assessed
28	Monee Reservoir Dam	Will	1900	126 yrs	29	Significant	Not assessed
29	Far Oaks Lake Dam	St. Clair	1901	125 yrs	26	Significant	Not assessed
30	St. Elmo Old City Reservoir Dam	Fayette	1903	123 yrs	23	Significant	Not assessed
31	Sandy Run Lake Dam	White	1903	123 yrs	29	Significant	Not assessed
32	England Reservoir Dam	Fayette	1904	122 yrs	21	Low	Not assessed
33	Forest Lake Club Lake Dam	Macoupin	1904	122 yrs	30	Low	Not assessed
34	Lake Stolberg Dam	St. Clair	1904	122 yrs	16	High	Not assessed
35	Valier Lake Dam	Franklin	1905	121 yrs	21	High	Not assessed
36	Lake Jaycee Dam	Jefferson	1905	121 yrs	30	Significant	Not assessed
37	Greenville Rod and Gun Club Lake Dam	Bond	1906	120 yrs	19	Low	Not assessed
38	Big Four Reservoir Dam	Madison	1906	120 yrs	27	Low	Not assessed
39	Camp Immanuel Lake Dam	Schuyler	1906	120 yrs	33	Low	Not assessed
40	Choate Lake Dam	Union	1907	119 yrs	25	High	Not assessed
41	Upper Sterling	Whiteside	1907	119 yrs	10	Low	Satisfactory
42	Pine Lake Dam	Madison	1908	118 yrs	20	Significant	Not assessed
43	Martinsville Pond Dam	Clark	1910	116 yrs	6	Significant	Not assessed
44	Buckner Reservoir Dam	Franklin	1910	116 yrs	15	Low	Not assessed
45	L & N Reservoir	Jefferson	1910	116 yrs	25	High	Not assessed
46	Geneva Dam	Kane	1910	116 yrs	13	Low	Not assessed
47	Deer Park Lake Dam	LaSalle	1910	116 yrs	55	Significant	Not assessed
48	Lakewood Lake Dam	Marion	1910	116 yrs	17	Significant	Not assessed
49	Concord Reservoir Dam	Morgan	1910	116 yrs	26	Low	Not assessed
50	Marseilles Power Canal Dam	LaSalle	1911	115 yrs	15	Low	Not assessed

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