Oldest Dams in Minnesota

Minnesota has 1018 dams with recorded construction dates. The oldest dates to 1853 — 173 years ago. Minnesota'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	Rum River	Anoka	1853	173 yrs	28	Low	Satisfactory
2	Cedar River	Mower	1853	173 yrs	15	Low	Satisfactory
3	Vermillion River	Dakota	1854	172 yrs	14	Low	Satisfactory
4	Pickwick Mill	Winona	1854	172 yrs	36	Significant	Poor
5	Hutchinson	McLeod	1857	169 yrs	15	Significant	Satisfactory
6	Jordan Falls	Scott	1860	166 yrs	28	Low	Not assessed
7	King's Mill	Rice	1862	164 yrs	17	High	Fair
8	New London	Kandiyohi	1864	162 yrs	22	High	Not assessed
9	Cannon River (woolen Mills)	Rice	1865	161 yrs	12	Significant	Fair
10	Lanesboro	Fillmore	1868	158 yrs	34	High	Not assessed
11	Spruce Creek	Douglas	1870	156 yrs	27	Significant	Satisfactory
12	Pelican Rapids	Otter Tail	1870	156 yrs	16	Low	Satisfactory
13	Chippewa River	Pope	1870	156 yrs	26	Significant	Satisfactory
14	Mill Creek	Stearns	1870	156 yrs	13	Low	Satisfactory
15	Bear Creek	Fillmore	1871	155 yrs	26	Undetermined	Not assessed
16	Lagoon Park	Fillmore	1871	155 yrs	15	Low	Fair
17	Ramsey	Mower	1872	154 yrs	13	Low	Poor
18	Lake Shetek Outlet	Murray	1873	153 yrs	12	Low	Satisfactory
19	Phelps Mill Pond	Otter Tail	1873	153 yrs	15	Significant	Fair
20	Sauk River Melrose	Stearns	1873	153 yrs	20	Significant	Fair
21	Wild Rice River (heiberg)	Norman	1875	151 yrs	25	Low	Not assessed
22	Pelican River	Otter Tail	1878	148 yrs	16	Low	Poor
23	Winnibigoshish Dam - Dike 1	Cass	1884	142 yrs	5	Significant	Not assessed
24	Pokegama Dam - Dikes 1, 2 and 3	Itasca	1884	142 yrs	17	Significant	Not assessed
25	Leech Dam	Cass	1885	141 yrs	13	Significant	Not assessed
26	Sunrise River	Chisago	1885	141 yrs	18	Low	Satisfactory
27	Pine River Dam - Dikes 13 and 14	Crow Wing	1886	140 yrs	23	High	Not assessed
28	Muskrat Lake	Becker	1888	138 yrs	11	Low	Satisfactory
29	Mantorville	Dodge	1888	138 yrs	13	Low	Fair
30	Bald Eagle Lake	Washington	1889	137 yrs	10	Low	Fair
31	Sandy Lock and Dam	Aitkin	1895	131 yrs	22	Low	Not assessed
32	Cloquet	Carlton	1899	127 yrs	47	Low	Satisfactory
33	Knutson	Beltrami	1900	126 yrs	9	Low	Not assessed
34	Dam Five Lake	Lake	1900	126 yrs	15	Low	Not assessed
35	Wind Lake	Lake	1900	126 yrs	8	Low	Not assessed
36	Sullivan Lake	Lake	1900	126 yrs	8	Low	Not assessed
37	Lake Louise	Mower	1900	126 yrs	12	Low	Fair
38	Redwood Falls	Redwood	1902	124 yrs	41	High	Not assessed
39	Taylors Falls Wall	Chisago	1906	120 yrs	30	High	Satisfactory
40	Lake Bemidji	Beltrami	1907	119 yrs	33	Significant	Fair
41	Thomson Canal Dam	Carlton	1907	119 yrs	45	High	Satisfactory
42	Wild Rice Lake	St. Louis	1907	119 yrs	11	Low	Satisfactory
43	Norway Lake	Cass	1909	117 yrs	13	Low	Satisfactory
44	Freeborn Lake	Freeborn	1909	117 yrs	7	Low	Satisfactory
45	International Falls	Koochiching	1909	117 yrs	29	Low	Satisfactory
46	Dayton Hollow Dam	Otter Tail	1909	117 yrs	41	Low	Satisfactory
47	Rapidan	Blue Earth	1910	116 yrs	73	Significant	Unsatisfactory
48	Granite Falls	Chippewa	1911	115 yrs	21	Low	Satisfactory
49	Lake Byllesby Perimeter Embankment	Dakota	1911	115 yrs	9	High	Satisfactory
50	Fountain Lake	Freeborn	1911	115 yrs	21	Low	Satisfactory

← All dams in Minnesota · Oldest dams nationwide