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Pine River Dam and Power Plant

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Cass County Historical Society
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Norway Brook Dam at Pine River

Norway Brook Dam at Pine River, ca. 1950. Photograph by Photo Service Agencies, Inc., Brainerd.

The Pine River Dam and Power Plant was built in 1911 and provided power until 1946, when it was converted into a recreational area.

The village of Pine River was illuminated by candles and kerosene lamps as late as 1910. In 1908 a twenty-five-year franchise was granted to Albert Langenbach “to install and maintain an acetylene gas plant for the village,” but it was never acted upon, and the village streets remained dark at night.

In August of 1909, three promoters met to discuss building an electricity plant for Pine River: C. H. Smith of Duluth and B. E. Wideman and E. L. Forbes of Pine River. They developed a plan for placing the franchise matter before the village council at their next meeting. The men predicted that they would have the support of the residents in Pine River, who were tired of living in the dark.

An important part of the project involved putting in a dam in the brook at the side of Norway, permitting the use of launches directly from the village up the river and into Norway Lake. The water would be kept at a near-constant level and would lure fishermen and waterfowl alike.

A mass meeting of village residents was held September 25, 1909, to consider the application of the electric franchise that was before the village council. Pine River’s village council passed ordinance #34 on October 10, 1910, and granted permission to Hans and Thomas L. Arvig, to “establish and operate a power plant in the village.”

The village of Pine River chose local residents Charles E. Webber and Harry H. Hill to fund and manage construction of the dam, which was to be made of a combination of earth and concrete crossing Norway Brook. Webber and Hill designed the dam to have three openings: the flume to admit water to the wheel; an eight-foot sluiceway, and a four-foot-by-six-foot fishway.

The dam was completed in November of 1910. Work on the power house began the same month by the Arvig brothers. The generator began operating in late January 1911, and a few businesses were connected to electricity on Barclay Avenue, west of the plant.

The Arvig brothers incorporated their plant under the title of Pine River Electric Power and Light Company and extended service to Pequot Lakes and Hackensack. They operated the plant until June 13, 1926, when the business was sold to the Minnesota Hydro-Electric Company, which enlarged the generating plant in 1927.

Less than a year later, the plant and lines were resold. After two other sales, Minnesota Power and Light Company bought the plant and operated it for the next twelve years. (It generated power until the spring of 1946, when the generators were removed and electricity came via high-line.)

In August 1937, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) crew built a new steel-and-concrete, seventeen-foot diving tower that replaced the log tower built two years previously by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #2617, of Pine River. It was dedicated in 1938.

As years passed, the dam continued to deteriorate and became obsolete. In the 1980s, the village of Pine River purchased it from Minnesota Power Company for one dollar. It renovated the dam, reservoir and the adjacent park.

The Norway Brook area flourished with fish and a variety of ducks, and cabins appeared on its shores. In cooperation with the Pine River Fish and Game Club, the Pine River Chamber of Commerce purchased a pair of mute swans, Freda and Stanley, and raised their young along Norway Brook in the late sixties and early seventies.

In the 2000s, the stretch of Norway Brook that runs between Highway 371 was made into a wildlife preserve. Every summer since then, events like duck races have been held in the park below the dam, drawing summer visitors to participate.

As of 2019, there are plans to take down the dam, replacing it with a rock-riffle dam and a functional fish ladder. The City of Pine River will be conducting informational meetings to gain public input on the dam prior to its installation.While a riffle dam would alter Norway Brook's current water flow, it would improve fishing and water quality upstream while reducing maintenance costs for the city of Pine River.

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Clarke, Norman F. Logsleds to Snowmobiles: A Centennial History of Pine River, Minnesota, 1873–1973. [Pine River, MN]: Pine River Centennial Committee, 1979.

“Concrete Dam to be Built.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, August 12, 1910.

“Dam Repair Restores Pride in Norway Brook.” Pilot-Independent,
November 17, 1983.

“Electric Light Plant Probable.” Pine River Setinel, August 20, 1909.

“Franchise for lighting Plant.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, October 21, 1910.

Beck, Bill. Northern Lights. An Illustrated History of Minnesota Power. Duluth: Minnesota Power, 1985.

“Ordinance No. 34.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, October 21, 1910.

Pine River Centennial Committee. Log Sleds to Snowmobiles, Pine River 1873-1973. Pine River, MN: N.p., 1973.

“Steel Tower at Pine River Dam Built This Week.” Cass County Independent, September 24, 1937.

“Power Dam About Completed.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, November 4, 1910.

“Power Dam Completed.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, November 18, 1910.

Royce, Thomas L. The History of the Arvig Telephone Company. Pequot Lakes, MN: Arvig Telephone Company, 1984.

“Work Commences on Power Dam.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, August 26, 1910.

“Work on Dam Progressing.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, September 9, 1910.

“Work Progressing on Dam.” Pine River Setinel and Backus Weekly News, October 21, 1910.

Wetrosky, John (director of Pine River Chamber of Commerce). Phone interview with the author, [February 12, 2019. See also: https://www.lsohc.leg.mn/FY2020/requests/HRE08.pdf

Related Images

Norway Brook Dam at Pine River
Norway Brook Dam at Pine River
Pine River Dam and Power Plant
Pine River Dam and Power Plant
Park at Pine River, ca, 1910s
Park at Pine River, ca, 1910s
Diving Platform at Dam Park, Pine River
Diving Platform at Dam Park, Pine River
Fishing at Norway Brook above dam, 1910s
Fishing at Norway Brook above dam, 1910s
Fish Fry cooks at Norway Brook, Pine River MN, 1920s.
Fish Fry cooks at Norway Brook, Pine River MN, 1920s.
Children in boats at Pine River Fish Fry, 1920s.
Children in boats at Pine River Fish Fry, 1920s.
Norway Brook fishing opener
Norway Brook fishing opener
Observers at the Norway Brook duck race
Observers at the Norway Brook duck race
Observers at the Norway Brook duck race
Observers at the Norway Brook duck race

Turning Point

In the spring of 1946, the generators are removed and the Pine River Dam becomes a recreational site.

Chronology

August 1909

Three promoters present a plan to build a power plant to the Pine River village council.

September 25, 1909

Village residents meet to discuss the lack of electricity in their area.

October 10, 1910

Permission is granted to Arvig Brothers to establish a power plant in the village.

October 1910

A contract is awarded to Charles E. Webber and Harry Hill to build a dam across Norway Brook.

November 1910

The power dam is completed.

January 1911

The generator for the dam arrives and is installed.

June 23, 1926

The plant is sold to Minnesota Hydro-Electric Company.

August, 1938

A swimming pool and diving platform built by the WPA is dedicated above the dam on Norway Brook. The area had been an unofficial park with a makeshift diving platform since the dam’s construction where picnics and fish-frys took place.

1946

Generators are removed from the dam, which is renovated and converted to recreational use.

1980s

The village of Pine River buys the dam from Minnesota Power Company.

2018

The dam is scheduled for removal.