For my final project, I chose to research the Prairie Du Sac Dam. I will share a brief overview of what I learned, specifically what it took to build the dam, the resources involved. There were a few barriers along the way, but the dam was built and is still functioning and providing a benefit to the community many years later.
In 1905, (after seeing the potential of the Niagara Falls power plant) Magnus Swenson an “entrepreneur-inventor-capitalist” (Rick Bernstein), formed a company called the Southern Wisconsin Power Company. This company’s purpose was to investigate the potential of hydroelectricity from the Wisconsin River.
In 1906, construction of the Kilbourn Dam began on the Wisconsin River. This dam began producing hydroelectric power in 1909 and is located in Wisconsin Dells. At first, this dam was not profitable. A couple of years later the dam was deemed unsuccessful due to the bottom being rocky and the site being narrow. Basically, the water did not flow quickly enough to produce an adequate amount of energy. The company began searching for alternative dam locations, and the idea of the Prairie Du Sac Dam emerged.
Due to the difference in the two locations, there were higher hopes for the second dam. The second site was much wider and had a sandy bottom. This meant the water at this dam would flow much faster and the site would generate much more energy, about 3 times as much as the other site. Before construction could begin, bill 332a needed to be passed granting a franchise for the dam at Prairie Du Sac to be built.
At the time a significant percentage of local businesses were powered by gasoline lighting systems because of the cost of electricity. Businessmen in Baraboo signed a petition asking the Baraboo assemblyman to use their influence in an attempt to influence the bill into getting passed. The goal at the time was to provide additional affordable electric power to the community enough to power homes and businesses.
(1911 photo)
Construction of the Prairie Du Sac dam began in 1911 and production began in late 1914.
(1924 photo)
The dam’s construction was affected by the sandy bottom, ice breakup, and flooding. Just under 400 men were employed at once. Their living conditions depended on their socioeconomic status, some lived in “frame bunkhouses with screened doors and windows” and others in “makeshift camps” (Rick Bernstein). The total cost to build this dam was $4.5 million. The lake the dam formed was originally named Swenson Lake but is now known as Lake Wisconsin. The Southern Wisconsin Power Company did end up gaining contracts with The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Co. And Madison Gas and Electric. Unfortunately, these contracts were not enough, and minimal demand drove Swenson to sell both dams in 1916. After the dam was sold again in 1917, the new company profited from selling electricity in southern Wisconsin.
There are several other aspects of the dam that I chose not to mention in this “background” post. If interested I encourage you to continue to explore the topic.
The idea of the Prairie Du Sac Dam emerged from the failure of the Kilbourn Dam and the idea of the Kilbourn Dam emerged from the success of the Niagara Falls power plant. From when the company was first made it took more than a decade, but the dam did become profitable. Now over 100 years later the Prairie Du Sac Dam is owned by Alliant Energy and continues to provide hydroelectricity to the Sauk and Columbia counties.
Primary Sources –
“Baraboo Citizens Aid Prairie Du Sac Dam,” Portage Daily Democrat pg. 3, February 27, 1907 https://www.newspapers.com/image/612199406/?terms=%22prairie%20du%20sac%20dam%22%20%22power%22&match=1.
“Senate has Passed Bill for Prairie Du Sac Dam” Baraboo Weekly News pg. 2, May 29, 1907
“View of the Prairie Du Sac Dam Taken Some Months Ago” Baraboo Weekly News pg. 2, June 6, 1912
Secondary Sources-
“From Water to Power: the Prairie du Sac Dam,” Wisconsin Historical Society., August 3, 2012 https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS337.
“High Water at Prairie du Sac Dam,” Wisconsin Historical Society, Eberhart, F. S., October 11, 1911 https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM47122
“Prairie du Sac Hydroelectric Plant,” Wisconsin Historical Society https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM49745
Rick Bernstein, Wisconsin Stories: “The Power of Water,” Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television. https://web.archive.org/web/20051213084440/http://www.wisconsinstories.org/2002season/water/closer_look.cfm.
Amanda Acton, “31-MW Prairie Du Sac Facility Endures Test of Time,” Hydro Review https://www.hydroreview.com/world-regions/north-america/31-mw-prairie-du-sac-facility-endures-test-of-time/#gref
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