In 1904, engineers surveyed the Saint Croix River for a suitable site for a hydroelectric project that the Minneapolis General Electric Company hoped would send electrical power to Minneapolis, forty miles to the southwest. The falls had long powered local lumbering and milling industries, and this stretch of river, with its high traprock banks and dramatic drop, offered ideal conditions. Completed in 1907, the dam became an early example of a concrete-arch gravity dam, combining the weight-based retention of gravity dams with the outward force distribution of arch dams, a design likely influenced by the traprock ledge at the site. Because it was one of the region's largest hydroelectric projects and stood in a popular scenic area, the powerhouse was given arched window openings rather than the plain box-like form typical of such buildings; although the openings were later filled, they still shape the building's appearance. The plant was built with a capacity of 25,000 horsepower, produced about 12,000 horsepower when it opened in 1907, and today generates roughly 34,000 horsepower. The dam, about 750 feet long, included a log spillway at the western end and a fish ladder on the east, and it created a head of about 56 feet. A concrete dike to the west helped raise the water level, protected Taylors Falls from flooding, and, together with the dam, created recreational benefits by pooling water upstream, boosting the appeal of the park region and encouraging hopes that Taylors Falls would become a popular summer resort.