This project has been sponsored by the St. Paul district of the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a planning tool to facilitates its obligations to preserve and project the cultural heritage. More specifically, thirteen locks and dams have been investigated in order to determine their historical value. Since seven of these lock and dam complexes are currently under evaluation for hydropower conversion, historic preservation officers of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa have expressed their interest in seeing the thirteen lock and dam structures be considered for a thematic group format submission to the National Register of Historic Places. Moreover, the contract was modified to include study of the Lower Dam Hydro Station and Wasteway No. 2, both of which are located in St. Anthony Falls Historic district and may be utilized for hydropower development. The location of this study area is a large one covering a stretch of approximately 239 river miles along the upper Mississippi upon which the locks and dams are located. The specific specifications of the contracts are contained in the scope of work found in the Appendix.

Resources inventoried in this report are located in Arcata Bottom and include a section of the Mad River Slough Levee near Lanphere Road, the Dias Farm on Old Samoa Road, and Arcata Bottom Rural Historic Landscape District.