Hanover Historical Society was awarded a grant “made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund” for the archaeological survey of the Hanover dam/sawmill ruins located in and below the banks of the Crow River in Hanover.

Constructed in the mid 1850s by Hanover’s founding brothers, Jacob and William Vollbrecht, the original Hanover dam was operational by December 1856. In 2003 during low water levels, members of the historical society viewed and documented the visible remains.

Maritime Heritage Minnesota (MHM) began fieldwork last summer traversing the area by boat with SONAR. Results did indeed indicate the location of the dam site in the middle of the river. Once the water level dropped the archaeologists came back to the site to zero in on the various locations.

Their theory on the dam is that it may have been a log pond that was constructed to catch logs in between, so the center of the river remained open with dam logs on both shorelines.

“There’s more down here than we thought. It looks good.” Ann Merriam, one of the archaeologists said. “The Integrity of remains will help determine if eligible for listing on the National Register.”

To view the entire report and its findings click below:

The Vollbrecht Dam Site Report