Garrison Dam is an earthen dam along the Missouri River located about 70 miles northwest of Bismarck. The resulting dam closure in 1953 created Lake Sakakawea, the nation’s second-largest manmade lake by area and third-largest by volume. It wiped out entire towns whose residents, many of them Native Americans, were forced to relocate, primarily to the newly-founded New Town. Locally, the dam’s closure permitted significant expansion south of Front Avenue for the first time by ending recurring flooding in the southern lowlands. The dam also provides substantial hydroelectric power for the region.
Congress authorized Garrison Dam in 1945 and established headquarters at Fort Lincoln on July 1, 1946. Construction formally commenced on October 6th of that year. Initial reports indicated that 450,000 acres of land would be acquired for $36 an acre from 3,300 owners for the dam’s reservoir. Its construction provided quite an economic boost for Bismarck, with as many as three hundred Corps of Army Engineers stationed at Fort Lincoln, in addition to supporting employees. Total payroll equated $60,000 per month.
Garrison Dam was enclosed in April 1953. President Eisenhower attended the dam’s dedication, stopping in Bismarck on June 11th en route, where he visited the Roosevelt cabin on the Capitol Grounds. The dam was officially completed by 1954.
