Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1937 Bonneville Dam Completion

In January 1937, companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate that called for 50-cent pieces "in commemoration of the completion of Bonneville Dam." The Senate bill was introduced first, in early January, by long-time Senator Charles Linza McNary (R-OR); it was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. The House bill followed later in the month; it was introduced by one-term Representative Nan Wood Honeyman (D-OR), it was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures.

The bills were introduced on behalf of the Bonneville Dam Completion Celebration Committee. They called for up to 50,000 1937-dated coins, struck at a single Mint facility (of the choosing by the Director of the Mint) and to be struck within one year of the bill's enactment. The bills included the recently-adopted provisions of Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, suggesting they had smooth sailing ahead of them. Neither of the bills, however, was reported out of Committee or considered further; each died for lack of action.

The Bonneville Dam is located on the Columbia RIver between the states of Oregon and Washington, about 40 miles east of Portland, OR. Its construction was part of the New Deal initiative put forth by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR); it was a Public Works Administration (WPA) project managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Dam is named after West Point graduate Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville, a 19th-century Captain in the US Army who took a leave of absence from the Army to lead an Expedition into the American West (1832-1835) including into Oregon County.

Panorama of Bonneville Dam with Lock and Powerhouse Nearly Complete; Spillway Under Construction (October 1936)

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)


Construction of the dam began in 1934, with its first powerhouse being completed in 1937. FDR was on hand to dedicate the new Dam in September 1937.

FDR Officially Dedicates Bonneville Dam (September 1937)

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)

You can read all about the Bonneville Dam at: The Oregon Encyclopedia - Bonneville Dam


After the two 1937 bills failed to gain traction, a third bill was introduced in January 1939 by Representative Homer Daniel Angell (R-OR) and referred to the House Committee. As with the previous bills, the 1939 bill was never reported out by the Committee and a commemorative half dollar for the massive flood control and hydroelectric power plant project was never struck. It was not the first unsuccessful dam commemorative half dollar proposal - see link below.


For the story of the ill-fated Fort Peck Dam commemorative coin proposal, see:

- Did You Know? #5 - Fort Peck Dam


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? Stories, see: Commems Collection.