The first outlet works were constructed in 1870 by Colonel A. W. Von Schmidt. The stone and timber crib structure soon passed to the Donner Lumber & Boom Co. who continued to regulate, for a fee, the water flow for flotation of logs and, later, power generation. The timber and power helped to shore up the wealth of the Comstock Lode. By 1913, the U.S. Reclamation Service completed the present structure to serve the Newlands Irrigation Project. Contractual flow regulations demanded tending of the gates for which a cabin was built in 1910 to house the gatekeeper. The cabin served until 1968, was destroyed by fire in 1978 and the present cabin was completed in 1981.

Dedicated July 19, 1981

North Lake Tahoe Historical Society
Julia C. Bulette Chapter No. 1864
Snowshoe Thompson Chapter No. 1827
Chief Truckee Chapter No. 3691
E Clampus Vitus