Lake Delhi

Hartwick was once a thriving town of about 250. It boasted a sawmill, wagon factory, creamery, blacksmith shop and general store.

Its prosperity declined when the railroad came to nearby Delhi in 1872. The village now lies at the bottom of its namesake Hartwick Lake, commonly known as Lake Delhi, formed by construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Maquoketa River.

Building of the $1.5 million dam began in the spring of 1926 by Interstate Power Co. At the point selected for construction, borings in high bluffs rising on both sides of the river showed a solid rock foundation 100 feet thick.

The dam had three sections: a 500-foot earthen dike reinforced by a concrete core on the south bank (the part that failed in 2010); a 100-foot-long, concrete flood pass section with three electric gates; and a power house for two turbines, each capable of generating 750 kilowatts.

Two crews of men worked day and night on the dam. Interstate Power constructed a mess hall, canteen and bunk house near the construction site for the workers.

Steel pilings for the earthen part of the dam were in place by September 1926. The 160-foot tower erected to convey concrete and other building materials was mounted with electric lights that were visible for miles at night.

So work would not be delayed over the winter, heating pipes were installed through all the materials to keep them warm, and workmen built a conduit that carried the Maquoketa over their heads as they worked in the river bed.

Construction of the dam was completed in 1927, while the bridge on top of it was completed in 1928.

Farm-to-market funds helped widen the road over the dam in 1964 and remove two 90-degree curves that made the north approach to the bridge hazardous. Blasting during construction was muffled by old tires. Interstate Power installed five mercury vapor lights on the dam roadway as well.

In October 1965, the water level of the dam was lowered about 10 feet. Interstate Power and Delaware County cooperated in rebuilding a collapsed wing wall at the north end of the bridge.

A torrential downpour in July 1969 caused flooding that sent 11,700 cubic feet of water per second over the dam. Dam operator Charles Redman said it was the highest outflow since 1951.

The Shift to Recreation

By 1972, Interstate Power wanted to sell the dam. It was becoming expensive to maintain, and generating power with fossil fuels was more cost-effective. Interstate Power sought to change the dam permit from power generating to recreational to pave the way for its sale.

The Delhi Recreation Association was formed to oppose the purchase of the dam by the Schiltz brothers of Dubuque. The brothers insisted that lakefront property was included in the sale. Interstate had purchased 550 acres for flooding at the time the dam was built, and in August 1972, state officials determined the boundary of Interstate land was an average of four feet beyond the lake shore.

The Schiltz brothers planned to charge residents an access fee for that strip of land around the lake and use the money to maintain the dam. Residents objected to paying a fee for what they felt was private property.

On June 2, 1972, Lavern and Jack Schiltz paid Interstate Power $10,000 and became the owners of the dam. The owners of lakeside cabins weren't giving up, though. They considered incorporating as a town so they could use eminent domain to condemn the property. The vote to incorporate was successful but was later ruled invalid because it was not instituted under the proper section of the Iowa Code.

Lightning knocked out the only generator in operation in 1973. Expensive repair bills and the retirement of Redmon, "Keeper of the Dam," after 26 years expedited the exit of Interstate Power. The dam no longer manufactured electricity for the area.

Redmon recalled that in 1947, there were only 11 cabins in the immediate dam area. In 1974, there were more than 100, with more than 1,000 summer and year-round homes dotting the shores of Lake Delhi.

He also remembered that in 1947, the largest motor on the lake was 5 horsepower and row boats were plentiful, as well as summer fish fries.

Meanwhile, in February 1973, Lavern Schiltz offered to sell the dam rights to the Cooey family, who had operated the Hartwick Lake Marina and Resort since 1930. His reasons for the sudden change: his age, the continual controversy and the death of his brother, Jack.

The Cooeys were not interested in buying the dam, but they agreed to make a down payment and pick up an option for the recreation association to buy by May 1. The association voted to form a corporation to buy the dam by selling shares at $100 each to property owners. The purchase price of the dam was $28,600, the Schiltzes' purchase price plus the cost of improvements.

The recreation association then drained the lake to repair damaged timbers on the bottom of the dam's flood gates. The last time the gates were repaired was about 10 years before. The dam's capacity to produce enough energy for a town of 1,000 prompted the association to look for a community or industry that was willing to repair the machinery and install new turbines.

After several failed attempts to raise money for maintenance of the lake, in 2008 the association asked the Delaware County supervisors for matching funds to help with costs, but the county supervisors said no.

All that became moot July 24, 2010, when a 200-foot span of the dam was breached after a heavy rain deposited more than a foot of water on parts of Delaware County and raised the river to record heights. Following a $5 million legislative appropriation, reconstruction of the dam is expected to begin this spring.