Lock & Dam at Sandy Lake Reservoir, McGregor, Minnesota, 1993 Print

Historic scene showing the Lock and Dam at Sandy Lake Reservoir near McGregor, Minnesota, from 1993

The Sandy Lake Reservoir Dam and Lock is one of six Mississippi River Headwaters dam sites that are historically significant for their association with navigation, commerce, tourism, the Ojibway Indians, and U.S. Indian policy in Minnesota in the late 19th century. By providing a consistent flow of water throughout the navigation season, the Sandy Lake Dam and Lock enhanced navigation on and aided the commercial development of the Upper Mississippi River. The Sandy Lock enabled the transport of goods and logs via steamboats between the lumber towns of Grand Rapids and Brainerd. The dam site was also one of the earliest non-Indian settlements in the region and by the late 19th century was attracting some of the first tourists to the area. Although Sandy Lake had been a significant residential site for the Ojibway Indians since the mid-18th century, most of the Ojibway left the lake's shores prior to construction of the project.

Image courtesy of Library of Congress