A dam located a few miles outside of Algoma that dates back to the late 1800s is slated to be removed this summer.
Director of the Kewaunee County Promotion and Recreation Department Matt Payette says the Bruemmerville Dam located on Silver Creek has fallen to a state of disrepair after decades of idle existence.
Payette says the dam will come out and Silver Creek will be restored to its natural state.
The project will also create a small fish habitat. Additional beautification of the area will be done to maintain its accessibility and services to visitors.
Payette tells us the dam has a lot of history. It dates back to the late eighteen hundreds, when it was originally constructed as an earthen dam. Over the course of about 40 years the dam washed out and was reconstructed a few times. Around 1923, Henry Bruemmer took up business on the land, and replaced the earthen dam with the current structure; Bruemmer installed it to hydro power his grist mill. By 1940 the mill was out of business, and the dam left in a state of abandonment. In the 1950s the county purchased the property for a dollar. The dam has slowly deteriorated over time since then.
Payette says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had a grant opportunity for repair or abandonment projects, with a preference to abandonment, and the county applied for it.
After receiving the grant, Payette says the Bruemmerville Dam removal then went through the bidding process, and all the required engineering and planning was completed ahead of this summer's removal.
Robert E. Lee & Associates, Inc. out of Green Bay is the contractor for removal. Inter-Fluve from Madison will focus on the restoration of the area. Inter-Fluve specializes in river, stream, and wetlands restoration.
When all is said and done, Payette says he believes the project will be a nice facelift and a restoration of the entire area.
