The renovated Rapidan Dam Park and campground was shown off to hundreds of area visitors Saturday.

The Day at the Dam celebration was designed to reintroduce people to the historic dam area and the new Blue Earth County campground and park.

“This is a beautiful park and campground,” said Jane Tarjeson of the Rapidan Heritage Society. “We just wanted to bring people out to see what’s here. We especially wanted to bring attention to the campground.”

The popular campground along the Blue Earth River has been improved since being purchased by Blue Earth County a few years ago.

Targeson said area businesses wanted to tout the campground, which was closed much of last summer. That was prompted by structural problems discovered at the dam, which forced the county to close the campground until repairs could be made.

“It’s a lovely campground. With it closed a lot of last year, that hurt the area. We want people to take a look at it again,” Tarjeson said.

In the reservoir behind the dam, Joe Michel and Brand Frentz of the Mankato Paddling and Outing Club gave rides to 10 people at a time in a large canoe.

Live music included the Lake Crystal Community Band, B-squad and the Ferguson's. Jack McGowan performed his magic show and provided activities for kids.

Several groups had displays at the event and the Dam Store was serving its signature pie and hamburgers.

The hydroelectric Rapidan Dam was built in 1910 and began supplying electricity to the area in 1911. It allowed people to have electricity long before other rural areas in the nation.

The output more than doubled the electrical capacity of Mankato, allowing it to grow as a manufacturing center.

Today the Rapidan Dam is still in use and when running at full capacity, it generates electricity for between 2,000 and 3,000 residences.

The dam is featured in the new MN150 exhibit at the Minnesota History Center and featured in the book, “Minnesota 150: The People, Places and Things that Shape Our State,” by Kate Roberts. Roberts was at the park to sign copies of the book.

The dam was one of 150 sites in the state chosen for the book and exhibit, out of 3,000 submissions.

Some of the improvements in the park, located next to the dam, includes a pedestrian/bike trail across the deck of the dam. Bikers or walkers using the Red Jacket trail from Mankato to Rapidan can use the side of the road from Rapidan to near the dam to get onto the new trail link. The county has also installed a new park information kiosk, landscaping and a hard-surface sidewalk to the picnic shelter and river outlook.