The Glen D. Palmer Dam is a dam across the Fox River in

Yorkville, Illinois Yorkville (officially the United City of Yorkville) is a city and county seat of Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,533 at th2020 census History In 1836, the city of Yorkville was settled ...

, about 35.9 miles (58.2 km) upstream from the confluence with the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

, and 940 feet (366 m) upstream from the Route-47 bridge. The dam is named after the original manager of the State Game Farm, formerly located in Yorkville. There has been a dam at this site since the early 19th century. Kendall County was established on February 19, 1841 and the government township (37 North, Range, 7 East) plat was signed on August 25, 1842. Labeled on this plat are: "Howe's Mill Dam" and a sawmill on the south side of the river. Surveys taken in 1837 and 1838, show there was a dam across the Fox River at Yorkville as part of a mill, near the present dam location. Records indicate that the Yorkville mill buildings were destroyed by fire. In 1915 an old "wood crib" dam existed across the Fox River, with a head-race on the south side of the river. It collapsed subsequent to a Spring flood. Its ruins remained submerged and decomposing, until such time as the current dam was built in 1962, as a part of the Stratton project dam system which was designed to keep the river navigable from the Wisconsin border to the confluence with the

. The original dam had a modified

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

crest and a spillway length of , which created turbulence at the base of the dam. As a result, there were a number of fatal accidents caused when

kayakers A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

canoers Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

sailed over the dam, and at least 26 people have drowned at the dam. In 2006, the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

started to renovate the dam changing the shape of the spillway and adding a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...

and an fish/ canoe bypass channel. The project was completed in 2010. This project was the first Denil style ladder in the State of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

References

{{Coord, 41.643134, -88.443048, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Dams in Illinois Yorkville, Illinois Buildings and structures in Kendall County, Illinois Dams completed in 1952 United States state-owned dams Dams with fish ladders