Completed in 1913, Barton Dam was the first of six dams built on the Huron River by Detroit Edison to bring hydroelectric power to Ann Arbor and the surrounding region. The Huron River had been Ann Arbor’s primary source of water power since the first sawmill was built on the river in 1825. By the early 1900s, with the increased use of electricity in homes and businesses, Edison sought to harness the river’s power to generate electricity. Detroit Edison’s dam building projects changed the face of the Huron River to what we see today, creating large ponds above Barton, Argo, and Geddes Dams.

Gardner Stuart Williams was the engineer of Detroit Edison’s dam building projects on the Huron, and U-M Architecture Professor Emil Lorch worked with Williams to design the dam and powerhouse that we see today. The earthen portion of the dam is massive (over 1,700 feet long and 34 feet high), but it is the power plant that really stands out. The building is a wonderful example of Lorch’s tasteful designs for industrial buildings (see #2) and shows that functional and industrial buildings can also be beautiful. It is built on a high poured-concrete base with yellow brick laid in decorative bands following the triangular outlines of the building’s gables and windows. The building’s Dutch-influenced parapet gables are topped with concrete trimmings. Detroit Edison sold the dam and power plant to the city in the 1960s. The building, though empty, still looks much as it did 100 years ago.

Return to Miller Road/Water Hill/Sunset neighborhood from Historic Ann Arbor: An Architectural Guide