On this day: The Hoover Dam completed 87 years ago
The Hoover Dam is one of the most impactful engineering feats in American history. Completed on March 1, 1936, the dam spent nearly a century harnessing the mighty Colorado River and transforming parts of the arid Southwest into fertile farmlands and bustling city centers. Here’s a look at the dam’s history and how it shaped the region. The history of Hoover Dam began in 1921, when a young Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, proposed the construction of a dam on the Colorado River. At the time, the Colorado River, which ran uninterrupted from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California, was considered dangerous and unreliable. According to the National Park Service, the river would often flood, particularly in late spring and early summer, when snow melted from the Rocky Mountains would surge into the river.