Anglers set up at the base of the Horlick Dam on the Root River. Regional planning officials have recommended that the dam be removed. The Wisconsin DNR has given Racine County until 2024 to either fix the dam or demolish it.
RACINE — Racine County has known that the Horlick Dam, a popular fly-fishing spot on the Root River near the intersection of Northwestern Avenue (Highway 38) and Rapids Drive, has been out of compliance with state standards for years. The fear is that the waterway would flood during a once-in-a-century storm if the dam remains unaddressed.
In 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources told Racine County it has until April 2024 to do something about it, either by raising the dam, lowering it, modifying it or removing it entirely.
For the past six years, the county — which owns and operates the dam — has been slowly moving toward action via a still ongoing fact-finding process.
Water thunders over Horlick Dam on June 10, 2008, after the Root River rose to record levels.
The Horlick Dam, also known as “Ye Old Mill,” became a boat house and recreation area from which boats could be rented to be rowed up river to Thompsondale, a picnic area north of the dam. The first saw mill in area was built at the site of the Root River rapids by William See in 1835.
A dam at that location was originally built 175 years ago by one of Racine’s founding fathers, William See. But the dam has been reconstructed multiple times since. The current version, according to Racine County Public Works Director Julie Anderson, was built in the mid-1970s.
The problem the dam poses isn’t so much that the structure is outdated or falling apart, but rather that it likely causes more harm than good when it comes to protecting Racine from flooding due to being the wrong size and design.
In 2008, the river flooded after several days of heavy rains with waters reaching record levels over Horlick Dam.
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