An aerial photo of the Milltown Reservoir from the late 1930s.

In a span of 25 years, both the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers were dammed and put to industrial use. The Bonner Dam was finished in 1886 and the Milltown Dam was completed in 1908.

The Bonner Dam was removed in 2005 and the Milltown Dam's removal began  in 2008.