Harnessing the Rapids

Impressed by the location’s potential for hydropower, Whitford filed a claim in 1857, built himself a log cabin, and named the townsite Fergus Falls in honor of his employer. Unfortunately, Whitford was killed in the Sioux Indian uprising of 1862, and his claim lapsed.

Five years later George B. Wright, a young surveyor and civil engineer, discovered Whitford’s vacated claim of 160 acres of riverfront land and purchased it for $100.

Deciding to develop his property, Wright entered into a partnership with Minneapolis businessman R.J. Mendenhall to construct a dam, sawmill and flour mill at this spot, where the Otter Tail River’s turbulence was greatest – now the center of the City of Fergus Falls.

City on the Rushing River

Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was chosen as a townsite for practical reasons. The water of the Otter Tail River tumbles downward more than 300 feet as it crosses Otter Tail County’s highlands to the valley of the Red River of the North. Fergus Falls is located about halfway down the bumpy, lake-studded slope.

Water Power to the People

To 19th century engineers, the river was a dream come true. Its well-paced descent through zig-zagging ravines provided countless damsites well suited to the dam-building technology of the time. The flow rate and horsepower potential were well matched to the needs of the mills promoters hoped to attract. And the Otter Tail river crossed many lakes, natural reservoirs to buffer seasonal dry spells that made many rivers almost useless as sources of power.

Central Dam

Built in 1871, the earth-filled Central Dam, sometimes called Wright Dam, provided power for Wright’s sawmill, the first Fergus Falls industry to be powered by the river. Wright, who owned much of the townsite by that time, offered free lots to anyone willing to build a business. He wasn’t just being generous, however; the only source of lumber was his sawmill. Wright, who was acknowledged as the founder of Fergus Falls, built a hydroelectric plant in 1881 to provide power for 2,000-candlepower arc lights, which he rented for 75 cents a night to downtown businesses. Wright’s plant also provided electricity for the Fergus Falls Journal, the world’s only water powered newspaper plant.

A Dam at Dayton Hollow

During the first decade of the 20th century, developers were claiming damsites and rushing to get into the electric business. As early as 1902, Vernon Wright, George’s son, had begun surveying at Dayton Hollow, several miles downstream from his downtown dam. In 1907 he led an investment group to incorporate, and Dayton Hollow hydroelectric station came online in April 1909, thus marking the birth of Otter Tail Power Company as a full-fledged operating electric utility.

Catastrophe at City Dam

At about the same time that Dayton Hollow Dam was being built, the City of Fergus Falls also was building a dam and powerhouse about a mile upstream from the city to serve its municipal electric system. During construction the contractor reported digging into springs. Even after completion, the dam operators complained about water seepage. In September 1909 catastrophe struck — the city dam washed out. As you stand here, imagine a sudden surge of water that took out four other dams downstream and for a time threatened Dayton Hollow Dam. Only a very large pond behind it saved it from destruction by the rampaging river. Soon several dams were built, and the power they produced was used by mills to grind grain from the rich prairies to the west and cut lumber from the white pine forests to the east. Promoters envisioned a metropolis, perhaps 14 miles long on both sides of the river, as factories lined up for their share of the falling water.

Today Otter Tail Power Company provides electricity to about 422 communities in a 70,000-square-mile area.