[1] Folsom Dam was proposed as early as the 1930s under California's State Water Plan, in response to chronic flooding in low-lying Sacramento.

The flood risk to the state capital had been exacerbated since the 1850s by hydraulic mining debris and the construction of levees to protect farms and towns, which reduced the channel capacity of the Sacramento and American Rivers.

The primary contract was awarded to Savin Construction Corp. of East Hartford, Connecticut, and Merritt-Chapman & Scott of New York for $29.5 million, with oversight by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In order to acquire the necessary land in the future Folsom Lake bed, the government had to relocate families on 142 properties, including the settlements of Mormon Island and Salmon Falls.

[25][29] On the morning of July 17, 1995, the Folsom Dam power plant was shut down and Spillway Gate 3 was opened to maintain flows in the American River.

The failure resulted in the uncontrolled release of nearly 40% of Folsom Lake and a flood of 40,000 cubic feet per second (1,100 m3/s) moving down the American River.

The struts are primarily compression members, but friction at the pin-hub interface induces a bending stress during gate operation.

At Folsom Dam, increasing corrosion at the pin-hub interface had raised the coefficient of friction and, therefore, the bending stress in the strut and the axial force in the brace.

A renewed focus was placed on maintenance and monitoring of radial gates, many of which were retrofitted to strengthen struts and bracing and ensure sufficient lubrication.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bureau of Reclamation analyzed potential targets for vulnerability and measures that could be taken to eliminate or reduce possible threats.

Continued security concerns prevented them from re-opening the road and a new bridge, named Folsom Lake Crossing, was constructed and opened on March 28, 2009.

[33] In February 1986, nearly 500,000 people faced the possibility of flooding when engineers at Folsom Dam were forced to open the spillway gates after heavy rains.

[30] The flooding was made worse by the failure of the Auburn Dam cofferdam upstream which released an extra 100,000 acre-feet (120,000,000 m3) into the American River.

[34] The New Year's Day storm of 1997 was the most severe in recent history, with a total inflow of 1 million acre feet (equal to the entire capacity of Folsom Lake) over a 5-day period.

Prior to the New Year's storm, the winter of December 1996 had also been one of the wettest ever recorded, saturating the ground and depositing a considerable amount of snow.

[36][37] The Bureau of Reclamation's Safety of Dams Program determined the risk of flooding in the Sacramento area, labelling it as one of the most at-risk communities in the United States.