Dickinson Dam

Dickinson Dam Built 

After World War II, the city sought help from the Bureau of Reclamation to get a 
long-term solution to the city's water needs. After several years of negotiations, an acceptable project was conceived for the building of Dickinson Dam west of the city on the Heart River. The dam, completed in 1949, was filled with spring runoff the first season. Built with federal funds, the city was required to pay back a substantial part of this over a forty-year period. On September 24, 1949, the repayment contract between the Bureau of Reclamation and the city was signed. The new Dickinson Dam was designed for a capacity of 16,500 acre-feet of water for conservation, flood control and municipal use. Dickinson first obtained water from the dam in 1952. The reservoir was named for Edward Arthur Patterson, a late park board commissioner, in 1960. (Information summarized from Centennial Roundup).