The records show that at one time Foster County had as many as eleven dams that were built on the James River, Kelly Creek, Pipestem and other small streams located in the county:
The question comes up, "Why were there so many dams built in such a small area as Foster County?" "Who built them?" "What was the purpose of these dams?" "Where were they located?"
The 1930s in North Dakota have been recorded as "the dry years or years of extreme drought." Government officials were devising plans to alleviate this drastic situation. One of the theories that developed was that the water cycle had been severely disrupted because of lack of moisture which caused the drying up of the sloughs and potholes. This resulted in no water to evaporate to form into clouds and eventually fall back to earth as rain or snow.
The engineering department came up with the idea that small streams could be dammed up forming ponds that could be used for recreation, such as swimming, boating and fishing. The smaller ponds could provide water for the cattle and other livestock. These dams could also provide a means of diverting spring floods and make water available for irrigation of small vegetable plots.
"Conserve water, dam it" became the slogan of the engineering department and they went around the area soliciting help from the newspapers and town fathers to further their projects. The department was willing to assist the community in picking the best sites for the dams, to survey and furnish plans for suitable dams for that particular site. The cost of the dam was to be paid by the people.
The farm dams, is what primarily interested the department. They encouraged farmers in the townships to unite in asking for the engineering help that was needed and to be willing to donate the labor for the building of the dams which would be either earth filled or rock construction.
It was stated that North Dakota has about 80,000 square miles of land and if on every section these small dams that would flood two or three acres of land would be built, that could mean about 200,000 acres of water in the state that it did not have at that time. The result would be increased humidity in the air, more rainfall and it would have a tendency to moderate the extremes in temperature.
At this time the United States Government was setting up a program for the American jobless, an army of 25.0,000 workmen. North Dakota officials made an effort to secure some of this labor to help with the water conservation program. This army was called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and was a part of the New Deal Program set up in 1933. It provided training and employment. Their object was to conserve and develop natural resources by such activities as planting trees, building dams, and fighting forest fires. The program was in existence until 1942 when it was abolished.
The government set up rules to abide by with these projects
1. The government will not buy property that will be flooded or property on which the dam was to be built.
2. Community in which the dam is built is expected to provide machinery and necessary equipment for the construction work.
3. Some money may be available for cement in some cases.
4. Camps would be set up with 200 men, who received $1 a day and their subsistence.
5. The Government would furnish a limited amount of material- labor and materials not to exceed $90 per month.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 16