Property Record
STH 93
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Independence Dam |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 168409 |
| Location (Address): | STH 93 |
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| County: | Trempealeau |
| City: | Independence |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1936 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2010 |
| Historic Use: | dam |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | Mead, Ward and Hunt-Engineer; Works Progress Administration-builder |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. The dam is located upstream of the convergence of the Elk Creek and the Trempealeau River. It impounds Elk Creek, thus creating Bugle Lake, directly to the west. The gravity-style dam consists of a spillway set between concrete sidewalls. The rubble sidewalls and wing walls give the dam a rustic appearance, characteristic of the CCC. The dam replaced an earlier one erected in 1877 by W.S. Newton. Newton's dam was the first attempt to impound the water of Elk Creek. The dam was constructed by the 3665th Company of Independence of the CCC. The 3665th was organized in July of 1935 and formed from its parent CCC Company, of West Salem. The first contingent of the 3665th contained 80 men. The 3665th typically completed soil conservation work, with efforts focused on building dams and dykes, treating gullies, cribbing street and lake bank protection, terracing, limestone quarry work, field planting of trees, tree seed collections, topographic and grade line surveyed and timber estimating. The 3665th was part of the Sparta CCC District, Sixth Corp Area. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Historical Album of Independence, Wisc: 100 Years 1876-1976. Independence, WI: 1976. Wisconsin Historical Society Digital Collection (#28;History, Sparta District, CCC). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |