Ahead of you, a concrete barrage spans the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, its spillway still holding back the current after a century. Built by the Detroit Edison Company in 1920 to produce hydroelectricity, the dam was decommissioned in 1959 and sold to the city of Ann Arbor in 1963. It sits about 0.75 miles south of M‑14 (Bus.
US 23) and is accessible just south of the highway via exit 3, North Main Street. Picture the river’s long run: this location lies roughly 50.5 miles from the Huron River mouth at Lake Erie, with Barton Dam 2.1 miles upstream and Geddes Dam 5.0 miles downstream. When the dam was completed it flooded the river to form an unnamed 96‑acre reservoir—often called Argo Pond or the Argo Impoundment—averaging 16.3 feet deep and sitting near 773 feet above sea level; the reservoir has no noticeable storage.
Today the surrounding area is used for recreational purposes, including the Argo Nature Area and Bandemer Park. Listen to the water spilling over the old spillway, tracing its path past the calm pond and into the parklands beyond.