Grand Coulee Dam the plateau. MWAK eventually sold Mason City to Reclamation in 1937 before its contract was completed. In 1956, Reclamation combined both Mason City and Engineer's Town to form the city of Coulee Dam. It was incorporated as a city in . With the onset of World War II, power generation was given priority over irrigation. In 1943, Congress authorized the Columbia Basin Project and the Bureau of Reclamation began construction of irrigation facilities in 1948. Directly to the west and above the Grand Coulee Dam, the North Dam was constructed. This dam, along with the Dry Falls Dam to the
Birch Coulee Battlefield soldier Albert Colgrave. Guideposts mark the U.S. camp and the positions of the surrounding Dakota. Management has since been transferred to the Renville County Parks Department, which also maintains a campground on site. Birch Coulee Battlefield Birch Coulee Battlefield in Renville County, Minnesota, United States, was the site of the Battle of Birch Coulee, the costliest military engagement for U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. It is now a historic site with self-guided trails and markers interpreting the battle from both sides. Birch Coulee was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for having state-level significance in