United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. St. Paul District

The Army Corps of Engineers was established by Congress in 1802. In addition to its military responsibilities it is involved in water-related civil engineering work, much of which is centered on navigation and flood control projects and typically involves the construction and maintenance of dams, reservoirs, locks, levees, and jetties, and the dredging of channels and harbors. The Corps also has a regulatory function, with authority to approve or deny projects submitted to it by corporations, local governments, private individuals, and others.

The Corps is subdivided into divisions and then districts. The St. Paul District covers an area of approximately 139,000 square miles. Its borders follow the edges of five river basins: the Mississippi, Minnesota, River Red River of the North, Souris, and Rainy River. This area includes most of Minnesota, the western half of Wisconsin, the northeastern half of North Dakota, and small portions of South Dakota and northern Iowa. The St. Paul District is one of six Corps districts that make up the Mississippi Valley Division. It is responsible for supporting inland navigation by operating 13 locks and dams and by maintaining the Nine-Foot Navigation Channel; helping local communities reduce damages caused by flooding; issuing permits for work in wetlands and navigable rivers; operating 16 reservoirs for flood damage reduction, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and water supply; environmental restoration programs to improve fish and wildlife habitat; emergency response operations following natural disasters; and recreation activities at Corps facilities, including campgrounds, day-use areas, boat ramps and swimming beaches.

The St. Paul District began its service to the region on July 31, 1866. Civil War hero Major Gouveneur Kemble Warren opened the first engineer office with three missions: (1) to examine the Mississippi and its principal tributaries above the Rock Island Rapids; (2) to determine the best means of bridging the Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul "so as to occasion the least obstruction to navigation"; and (3) to devise the best means of establishing a four-foot channel from St. Louis to the Falls at St. Anthony. For many years the St. Paul District Office was apparently also known as the local United States Engineer Office. Although changing from time to time, its jurisdiction has included the watershed of the upper Mississippi and the basins of the Minnesota, St. Croix, Chippewa, and Wisconsin rivers, the Red River of the North, and the international boundary waters of northern Minnesota.

From the guide to the St. Paul District records., 1879-1990., (Minnesota Historical Society)