Introduction

The Ames Mill Dam was built in the same year Northfield was founded, and from that moment it became a defining feature of the town– both cherished and contested. In the mid-19th century, the dam powered the milling industry that fueled Northfield’s early growth. Today, however, it no longer provides hydropower and has begun to deteriorate.

Debates over removing the dam have circulated since the 1990s, yet for decades many Northfield residents have opposed these efforts. The most recent initiative– led by Clean River Partners through the Fish Passage Project– seeks to remove or modify several low-head dams along the Cannon River to restore ecological health. Like earlier proposals, it has faced substantial community resistance.

This exhibit traces that resistance to the persistence of settler-colonial and frontier ideologies, and considers the Ames Mill Dam as a tool in the colonization and dispossession of Dakota homelands. The guiding questions for this exhibit include: What role did the dam play in settling Dakota homelands? How has the dam been remembered and narrated within Northfield’s historical memory? And in what ways does the dam continue to play a role in occupying the land that is now called Northfield?