Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-22
GREAT FALLS POWER
Work Begun in Utilizing the Force
Of the River.
ELECTRICITY Fer CITY PURPOSES
Between Two and Three Million
Dollars TO Be Expended
y V a r. ETY. OF USES

| Ac'Ne work is in progress 10y the Great
| tallS Power Company to utilize ,h,. u,,c,
| power of the Potomac river nj tbat n,i,,
| Tor tue purpose OF making ,ic,,rictty IN
DE used IN this city for lighting puri.oscs
| i"' the motive power in stree, railroads
| and for power uses generally II * -
pected that the machinery Will no n, ,,la,,..
and that electricity produced ~ The ,;...s,
| Falls will he ia use in this city ,n a..
| course of the next eighteen months or two
| years. II is further expected bv tbos,. VIII,
| control this company 10 expend between
| s2WnW1 and S3.Uoaao0 In reaching this
| result. 1t will be recalled that last ,,riur
| the rights controlled by the Great Falls
| Power Company were purchased by TN. in
| terests that were then engaged ia b,,,-trr
| the electric lighting and the various street
| railroad properties in this ptsirtc, now
| known as the Washington Traction ana
Electric Company. and which now control
large number If such properties.
Since the purchase SURVEYORS and on
| gineers have been engaged in exsrntuips,
| the property with the view of, ,lc,arnni,i,,,,
| the best method OF developing the pnUsr
| IN the river at that noint for commercial
| purposes The pans determined lpon are
| now being carried out or at least a ha
| ginning has been made. The foundations
| for the proposed dam. which is to cross tba
| river south of the government dam at that
| point, are hejng constructed. The foun1a-
| uonS are rip rap and the ,Ipnar sir,IrttIre
will be of concrete
| The government dam stretches across the
| rlEeT at right angles 10 the Virginia shore
while the new dam will have rather dag
| onal direction from the Virginia shore and
VIII touch the MarN land shore Al a f,oint
near To ana south Of the present dam At
| the end of the dam on the Virginia shore
| Will be what is known as the intake =
| where The water from the river will enter a
| canal and will be conveyed through the
canal about a mile south along th.. NIr-
| Slnia bank of the river to a point where
| II is proposed to build the power house.
| Here the water with the force that is gath
| cred in its descent will turn turbine wheels
and IN this way the power OF the river will
| be utilized in the production of electricity
The Power Produced
1t is estimated that the power produced
| Will be equal to between 10000 and IL 900
horse power, and it is proposed 10 carry
| the current on overhead wires that will be
erected along the Virginia shore to some
point near the city. where 1t will be brought
| across the river and transmitted into the
city for the various uses to which this
power is now put to in the life OF a modern
| city.
1t is claimed that the quantity OF cur-
rent furnished will be sufficient To operate
all the street railroad lines controlled by
the Washington Traction and Electric
Company. which will then include line
| running out of the city to Rockville. Md,
and lines now in use going TO Lakewood.
Md. to Deanwood, to Forest Glen, Md.
| and to Glen Echo. Nd. The power needed
| for the electric lighting of the District will
come ii is said. from the same source, and
also. IT is thought. there may be some left
which can be sold for manufacturing uses
| and for every purpose which needs power
| The plant which produces this power
| with its furnaces and boilers and huge
| chinneys pouring out smoke. will he locat-
| Ell some fourteen miles from the city. and
| the power houses in and about the city now
| in use will no longer be needed.
| Elimination of Smoke Nuisance
One result Will he, it is thought, the elm
ination of what is known as the smoke
| sance in this city.
As is well known. the rights and privi-
| leges of the Great Falls water power were
| purchased a number of years ago by he
| late Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and the
property has remained in the posses sion OF
| his family until the recent purchase. While
| ii was organized as a stock company. the
entire issue of stock, amounting to $500 900
was controlled by the Butler estate. repre-
scented in the sale by Paul Butler and Gen.
Ames.
1t Is not known exactly what was paid,
| hut # is supposed it was not less than
SS5o,60. Gen. Butler became interested in
| this property carly 1859. AT that
tine certain riparian rights at the Great
Falls were owned by what was known as
| the Great Falls Manufacturing Company.
II was then the purpose to establish a man
ufacturing village there, as II was prior to
the days of cleo tricity and the present pro-
| posed use of the property was not Then
deemed possible.
The scheme of a manufacturing village
was never carried out Gen Butler con-
| tinued to add to his holdings in that local
| ity and organized a company with a capt.
taliZation of s.. 100000. Stock amounting TO
only $t0OOOO was issued. A few years ago
a charter was obtained from the states OF
Virginia and Maryland. giving the COM
pany the right to make use of the bed OF
the river.
Holdings Of the Company.
This. together with the riparian rights
already owned, was believed TO complete
| and perfect he holdings of the company.
AS is well known. the Great Falls are
located about fourteen miles north Of this
city. At this point the Potomac river IS
nearly half a mile in width with an ele-
walton OF $50 feet above tide at Georgetown.
The river is divided by a chain of islands
into what are known as the Virginia and
Maryland channels, respectively The
largest of these islands is Conn's Island.
The company owns and controls six small
islands near the upper end of Conn's Island.
and all of the latter with the exception Of
a strip 400 feet wide, which Is held by tho
United States government for the use OF
its aqueduct dam.
On the Virginia shore lie two adjoining
tracts of land belonging TO the company.
containing between 500 and 900 acres. The
property he Virginia side of the river
begins at point near the middle of Conn's
Island and extends down the river two and
one-half miles. The company also has a
claim in the land on the Maryland shore
extending down the river TO point some
distance below the lower end Of the COM
pany's Virginia lands.
Christmas Service.