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Fort Peck Dam and Power Plant MuseumFort Peck MontanaListing Type: DamCity: Fort Peck Montana Region: Missouri River Country 406-526-3431 http://www.fortpeckdam.com |  |
The Fort Peck Power Plant Museum is located in the lobby of Power Plant #1 on Lower Yellowstone Road, 2 miles northeast of Fort Peck, Montana. The museum recalls the history of the construction of the dam and power plants. There is a display of fossils collected from the area including a Triceratops skull. The museum is open year round; however from Labor Day to Memorial Day appointments are necessary. Free guided tours are given everyday from Memorial Day - Labor Day through the power plants.
Fort Peck Dam is one of the largest hydraulically filled earth dams in the world, measuring 21,026 feet long, with a height of 250.5 feet. The five turbines can generate 185,250 kilowatts of power. Its original purpose was not only to control floods but to create jobs in a depression-saddled economy. In 1933, the undertaking was the nation's largest public works project. The building of the dam, at its peak in 1936, provided 10,456 jobs; it was completed in 1940.
The dam spans across the Missouri River from bluff to bluff covering 3.5 miles.
The construction spawned shanty boom towns that were scattered around the work area; Square Deal, New Deal, Park Grove, Delano Heights and Wheeler. These places disappeared almost as quickly as they grew. Some, including New Deal, are now covered by the lake. All that's left today of any of them is the rebuilt Buckhorn Bar; the original burned down in 1983.
The name is derived from an old trading post that was located here. Colonel Campbell K. Peck and Commander E. H. Durfee established a trading post and Indian agency in 1867 a few miles from the present dam site. Fort Peck established a monopoly on fur trade with the Assiniboine and Sioux.
Fort Peck Lake is a Montana treasure for its size and outdoor opportunities. Six recreation areas within a few miles of the dam provide access for water sports, fishing and hunting. The Beaver Creek Nature Trail starts at the campground downstream from the dam and leads through wildlife habitat. A wildlife viewing auto route, the Leo B. Coleman Wildlife Exhibit, takes off from near the Fort Peck Theater.
Directions: Take Highway 24 from Glasgow 17 miles south to Fort Peck, Montana. The power plants are approximately two miles northeast of town on Lower Yellowstone Road.
Fort Peck Dam and Power Plant Museum
Power Plant No. 1, Fort Peck, MT 59223
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