For centuries, the rivers in America ran wild. In the spring they flooded and left the land rich with nutrients when they receded back into a narrower channel. At times they found an easier way around an obstacle and made a new path. Or they sealed off water and formed a lake.
The human inhabitants, relatively few in number, adjusted travel and building patterns to the river’s habits.
Then the 19th century arrived. The population increased dramatically, and these new humans felt entitled to control the world around them. First they tinkered around the edges. Then, as building materials changed, the situation became more serious.
From the north, this is the second-to-last dam across the Mississippi River. This series of structures was designed with locks and dams to enable shipping to have a safe minimal water level. You’ll find them dotted at irregular intervals from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, MO.
No dams on the river in 1851 when New Dreams, a sweet historical romance, takes the reader to this fictional village. Board a virtual steamboat and come along for an adventure with a baker and a reformed(?) thief. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE
