Richmond Lake dam replacement will mark historic past

Structure was part of Great Depression-era projects that put people to work

Drought-stricken farmers work on Richmond Lake dam in Brown County in the 1930s. Farmers who had been wiped out by drought helped finish a dam and bridge for a 1,000-acre artificial miles north of Aberdeen. The structure now needs to be replaced. Photo Courtesy of the South Dakota Historical Society.

The spillway at Brown County’s Richmond Lake is considered a high-hazard structure and is expected to be replaced starting next year.

But officials with the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency won’t just demolish the structure without acknowledging its historic significance.

The dam has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced, a project South Dakota School and Public Lands will oversee.