The Eau Claire River Dam

The Eau Claire River Dam. . , Officially known as Eau Claire River 2WP224 Dam and dedicated on August 12, 1937, this concrete gravity structure owes its existence to the unemployment crisis of the Great Depression and the need for conservation. The stock market crash of 1929 caused wide-spread poverty. The majority of banks in Wisconsin were closed by 1933 and nearly 400,000 residents were on welfare., Newly elected president Franklin Roosevelt proposed a New Deal for Americans, promising “relief, recovery, and reform.” In 1935, Congress established the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which set aside $318 million for Wisconsin, three-fourths of it for the construction of infrastructure such as dams and bridges, and one-fourth for community service projects., The sandy soil along the Eau Claire River did not support farming, and flooding affected the cities of Altoona and Eau Claire. The dam and a clubhouse were constructed here as part of a county-wide conservation project. Employing 200 workers, this was the largest WPA project in the state. Work to clear timber and brush began in October 1935. The final concrete pour was completed on September 13, 1936. The dam spans 251 feet in length, stands 24 feet high, and created 1.7 square miles of lake surface area, providing flood control and recreation.