The Grindstone River Dam in Hinckley will be torn out in the coming months and there are some long-time residents of the area who are sad to see it go.

Hinckley City Council member Judy Hopkins told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the Grindstone Dam might be relatively small, but it’s been a big part of the area’s history.

“This was a playground for kids. I mean it’s been here for 90-plus years,” said Hopkins. “We crawled across the top of the dam. We played underneath it. We fished. We jumped off the walls. It’s just sad to see it go.” 

Hopkins said the dam was a fixture for generations as the spot to swim, fish and entertain themselves by watching the trains pass by when things moved a little slower.

“There’s just so many memories,” said Hopkins. “Time gone by. Water under the bridge.”

Brian Nerbonne, Regional Fisheries Manager at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told KSTP the dam was originally built in 1931 to create a reservoir for a DNR fish hatchery downriver, but it’s now outlived its usefulness.

“We want to bring it back to what it was and have this sort-of-sediment-filled reservoir replaced with a natural, free-flowing river,” said Nerbonne. “We are going to create some river habitat that caters to the river fishes that are downstream.”

Removal of the dam will start sometime in 2024.