The Stump Lake Dam is located about 5 miles east of Bemidji, MN. It impounds a small lake, Stump Lake, but has the effect of regulating the water level on the much larger Lake Bemidji. It is the largest of the headwater reservoir dams, and the only one to generate power. The dam was built between 1907 and 1909 by the Warfield Electric Company. It was purchased in 1944 from the Interstate Power Company by the Ottertail Power Company. As a result, this dam is often called the Ottertail Power Dam.

The State of Minnesota DNR reports that this dam was built in 1907 to provide electricity to the city of Bemidji. At that time, the average electrical customer used the equivalent of one light bulb worth of power. Today, the dam represents less than 1% of the electrical power used in its service area. The original customers were a group of fourteen wood product factories located in Bemidji.