It was built in 1921 by the California Oregon Power Company (COPCO), the predecessor of PacifiCorp, which continues to operate the dam.

Charles and Rufus Moore dug a canal on the other side of the Link River in 1877 to power a sawmill and transport logs from Upper Klamath Lake.

On February 24, 1917, officials from the USBR and COPCO reached an agreement to lease the Keno Canal for ten years at a rate of $1,000 per annum.

Senator George E. Chamberlain of Oregon telegraphed Secretary of the Interior John B. Payne on August 20, 1920, requesting he halt dam construction long enough to determine the legality of the 1917 contract.

As a 50-year contract between the USBR and PacifiCorp reached its expiration in 2006,[3] the company proposed closing down hydroelectric generation at Link River.

As of 2014 the company intends to continue to generate electricity at Link River, in the short term and at reduced output.