Dresden Island Lock and Dam

The Dresden Island Lock and Dam is a 23.4 acre Lock and Dam complex on the Illinois River in Morris, Illinois. The dam was completed in 1933 and designed by engineer Walter Mickle Smith. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The listing included one contributing building and three contributing structures.

The lock and dam complex includes an arched gravity dam, a spillway, nine Tainter gates, 18 headgates, and a section of fill dirt connecting the headgates to the embankment of the Illinois & Michigan Canal.

The lock and dam are 1320 ft long, and the lock has a maximum lift of 22 ft.

The state of Illinois began constructing the dam in 1928. In 1930, the state had completed 35% of the dam but lacked the money to complete it, so the federal government built the remainder of the dam.

The Dresden Island Lock and Dam is documented in a Historic American Engineering Record.