General Information
| Completion: | 1910 |
|---|---|
| Status: | in use |
Project Type
| Structure: |
Gravity dam |
|---|---|
| Function / usage: |
Hydroelectric dam / plant |
| Material: |
Masonry dam |
Awards and Distinctions
| 1980 |
for registered users |
|---|
Location
| Location: |
Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA Washington County, Maryland, USA |
|---|---|
| Impounds: |
|
| Coordinates: | 39° 29' 38.85" N 77° 49' 36.83" W |
Technical Information
Dimensions
| height | 6.7 m | |
| length | 218.075 m |
Materials
| dam structure |
stone
|
|---|
Chronology
| 1906 — 1909 | Hydroelectric plant is built next to the dam. |
|---|
Excerpt from Wikipedia
Power Plant and Dam No. 4 is a historic hydroelectric power generation station on the Potomac River, located near Shepherdstown on the county line between Berkeley and Jefferson County, West Virginia. The power plant is a tall one-story, limestone building on a high stone foundation. It is five bays long and has a gable roof. Dam 4 uses horizontal shaft turbines connected by rope drives to horizontal shaft generators. This plant is probably the last commercially operated rope-driven hydroelectric plant in the United States. The building is built into a hillside, so the main floor is the top floor. The power plant was originally built by the Martinsburg Electric Company.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In 2013, the power plant was sold by FirstEnergy to Harbor Hydro Holdings LLC. The power plant has a rated capacity of 1.9 megawatts.
Building the Dam
A view of Big Slackwater, made by Dam No. 4. Towpath of the C & O Canal continues on the right
The dam was originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. On June 7, 1832, the contract was awarded to Joseph Hollman, and the work was completed in June 1835, at a cost of $50.803.15 To avoid construction costs, the canal entered the slackwater above the dam, and continued in the slackwater for about 3 miles. This area was dubbed "Big Slackwater" by the canallers.
Text imported from Wikipedia article "Power Plant and Dam No. 4" and modified on November 24, 2021 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.
Participants
Currently there is no information available about persons or companies having participated in this project.
Relevant Web Sites
Relevant Publications
- (1984): Great American Bridges and Dams. A National Trust Guide. John Wiley & Sons, New York (USA), pp. 158.
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20003551 - Published on:
10/06/2002 - Last updated on:
24/12/2021
