Jim’s History Corner – Best Little Park by a Dam Site

As you meander south from the beach, you walk on a trail between Lake Bertram and Long Lake.  Eventually you come to where Otter Creek exits Lake Bertram which is spanned by a concrete structure – a dam. This dam was constructed in 1942 by the U.S. Conservation Services and became under the control of the Minnesota Department of Conservation (now the D.N.R.).  Originally there was a concrete “Power House” located on the south end of the dam which electrically controlled the level of Lake Bertram by raising or lowering the two “stoplogs”.  Approximately 300 feet southwest of the dam is a flat area where the builders of the dam pitched their tents In those days workers often camped near their project to minimize cost and transportation. A capped well still exists in the area.  Annual fluxuation in the water level of Lake Bertram are so minimal that the dam in its present form serves an appropriate purpose.