David Brooks conducted this project from 2009-2011 as part of his dissertation research, which included the removal and remediation processes for the Milltown Dam located near Missoula in northwestern Montana.
The Milltown Dam was located about seven miles east of Missoula, Montana, at the confluence of the Blackfoot River with the Clark Fork River. Copper mining tycoon William A. Clark financed construction of the dam from 1904-1908 to supply hydroelectricity to his sawmills in Bonner. The Milltown Dam had only been completed a few months when a record flood on the Clark Fork River washed a ton of toxic mining sediment downstream, where it settled at the base of the dam. Originally the power produced by the dam was used by the mills; the communities of Bonner, Milltown, and Missoula; the street car; and even some areas in the Bitterroot Valley. In 1929 ownership transferred to the Montana Power Company. Montana Power Company was purchased by NorthWestern Energy in 2000.
Forgotten for years, by the late twentieth century the toxic mining pollution gained the attention of area residents, recreation enthusiasts, environmentalists, the EPA, and financially responsible entities. Different solutions were suggested and finally, almost a century after the flood, remediation, including the removal of the dam was initiated.
From the guide to the David Brooks' Milltown Dam oral history project, 2009-2011, (University of Montana-Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
