From Water to Power: The Prairie du Sac Dam

From Water to Power: The Prairie du Sac Dam. "...The Prairie du Sac Dam on the Wisconsin River has been powering communities in the area since 1914. The idea of constructing a hydroelectric power plant to harness the power of the river came from Norwegian immigrant, engineer and inventor Magnus Swenson. Although it took a little more than a decade for the dam to prove profitable, Swenson was ultimately proven correct and the surrounding areas of Sauk and Columbia counties have benefited from the dam's electric power production as well as the creation of Lake Wisconsin behind the dam. Images of the dam and power plant's construction, taken by local photographer Frank S. Eberhart, are the subject of this month's featured gallery from Wisconsin Historical Images, the Society's online image collection."