The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-10-24
CAVENDISH GORGE
FURNISHING BIG
WATER POWER
Black River Harnessed For
Electric Energy
PLANT TO COST S225,OOO
High Dam Of Concrete Developes Over
1000 Horse Power for New
Hampshire Company.

There is an ancient Indian legend
says the Boston Herald, that the land
where the Cayendish (VtJ gorge now
is was once covered by a broad and
| placid lake, but one day. when two
tribes We're contending for supremacy
upon It's surface i'm their war canoes,
the great spirit rent the mountain
walls asunder, releasing the lake
| through the rocky chasm that for
ages has been the course Of Black
river However, that may be- the
Clarcmont ~ H. Power company bent
on increasing it's supply of electrical
energy has utilized the rocky bed of
the river as a foundation for a mighty
dam that has caused the water to set
back and from miniature counter
part of the mythical lake of old
Construction work was begun in
may, 1907, and the last week has seen
the plant comnleted to the extent of
being practically for a variety Of pur-
poses.
The only serious interruption in the
work was In the early fall of 1907
when four inches of rain fell the first
week i'm September causing a rise of
water i'm The narrow channel tbat
washed AWAY nortion of the works
ana machinery some tbere were
familiar with the capricious moods of
Black river who predicted that the
dam would never be completed and
that the enterprise would be attended
with a waste of good money A visit
to the plant supplies an interesting
contradiction 10 This
The dam is Of copcrete "a feet bio,,
and lO7 ID feet wide along Inc oresf
or rol wov Tho thickness below the
yyafor linz is rs foat and fbaro is ~
oro-ircb batfar ON fbo ebear eide
'rbero ore two ootes and AZ jncb
v,gsIo voter pins mo forobov h <
faet souors and carried n foot abovo
tba crast of fbe dam The cato lead-
inc INTO tbo forobrt ia ~ 1.9 fse. he.
low vatar surface
From tbe forab,v ap oiobf foot tfp.
moi a,ferds fbrorob a00 feef or solid
rock CONNECTING vifb a steel naustocl,
eiy f.of Sin inches I'm diameter and
ii01 faat LONG trat conyays me water
to tha Turbines I'm rbs novrar bousa
To oraroore tbo rrassure of me- trr-
merdous head The vater wheels arc
urotactad with a stand him. of Tho
saua diameter ne tba n1nstoct and
toD faaf bfab tbe tom of tba sfandpiro
beipe 10 10 faot above tba level off
tbo roll,rav of tho dam Tho stand.
p.po is pr5tecad with Two wood Gov.
/ ernes and coat of tarred pauer and
/ rs rooted Orb prevent freezing. I'm clos
/ ing or opening tho water wheel gates
this standn'uo takes up the pressure.
or. i'm other words. allows the water TO
"s.rctch" up and down the pipe.
I'm the brick and concrete power
house arc three Francis turbine Penon
wheels directly c0unec,ed with an
equal number of Fort WAYNE genera
tors of 500 *. vs.. or / 900 volts. each
machine representing ESQ horsepower.
There IS "a pressure ON top of the wat.
or wheels of 49, pounds TO the square
inch and go pounds ON the draft tube
below the wheels.
In a trial run of three hours at COO
horsepower. the water above the dam
was drawn one foot; for one hour at
1903 horsepower the draw was two
feet Five hundred horsepower was
registered by the natural flow of the
river. which is at the lowest point
| known for 90 years The maximum
high water power Is estimated at 1850
horsepower. and when by another year
the storage is developed in the three
lakes that feed Black river. an aver.
age OF 1900 horsepower daily can be
maintained
From the generators the current Is
transmitted at II 600 volts but Is stem.