Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1909-10-21
4 GREAT WORK COMPLETED.
Costly Electrical Power Plant at Dam
No. 4 Now in Operation.

Company al Ddm mo. Z, OH tie oioiioN
river. about five miles north OF Shep-
herdstown, has been practically COM
pleted. and last Saturday for the first time
the machinery was started up and the
mysterious electric force sent over the
copper highway to light the streets OF
Martinsburg and illuminate the homes ana
business places Of that city.
Three years ago work was commenced
on this enterprise. A company had been
organized, principally by Martinsburg
capitalists, to build plant on the west
| Virginia shore at Dam No. 4. This dam
had originally been built as a feeder TO
the Chesapeake & Ohio canal, and later
was reconstructed when the late A. r.
German was president OF the canal COM
pany. As it now stands it is one OF the
largest and certainly the most substantial
of all the dams across the Potomac. 1t is
about LOO feet in length, from shore 10
shore, and Is feet high. 1t is built Of
heavy blocks of stone, quarried from the
Virginia cliffs, and seems likely to endure
for ages. 1t backs up a great body OF
water, and the only purpose it served up
TO the present was to provide a supply OF
water for the canal. BY a curious pro-
vision in the charter of the old canal
company, certain riparian rights were
preserved to the owners OF land on the
Virginia shore-they were allowed the
privilege of utilizing all the water i'm
pounded by the dams that was not actually
needed to float boats upon the canal.
Having acquired contiguous land along
the West Virginia side OF the stream, the
Martinsburg company was able to make
satisfactory arrangements with the canal
company and the work OF establishing the
power plant was commenced.
Work was commenced more than three
wears ago, but the job was too big for the
firm of contractors, Schoaff & Brubaker,
of Pennsylvania, and after working in
desultory sort of way for about year,
thew gave UP. The contract was award
ed TO Kefauver & Shreeve, of Baltimore,
who have carried it to successful COM
pletion. There has been wonderful
transformation OF the topography OF that
section. The great cliff of limestone that
formed the southern shore has been blast
ed away entirely,-an enormously tedious
and costly work-to give room for the
power-house and forebay, while the
rocky limestone ribs below the dam have
been blasted out to form a tail-race for
the discharged waters. Where once were
great Jagged lodges of rock and stunted
willows are lengthy walls combining the
waters to their appointed place.
The power-house proper is massive
structure so by 120 feet in size, rising to
a height OF 50 feet above the water. Its
foundations are enormous walls OF stone
and concrete founded upon the solid rock.
| The walls of the building are OF heavy
blocks OF limestone, set in Portland GEM
ent four to ten feet in thickness, while
the girders of iron and the heavy framing
of the structure give it the appearance OF
a fortress impregnabe even to the might
lest assaults of the Potomac. The FORE
bay is 60 feet wide and 120 feet in length,
the water being taken from the river above
the dam through gates set in heavy
| wall of stone and concrete. The tail-race
is 100 feet wide, 20 feet deep and 800 feet
| in length, thanked on either side by mas
sive walls that carry the water 10 the riv-
| er far below.
The equipment represents the very best
and most up-to-date machinery tor the
production of electricity by water-power,
and there are few, if any, superior plants
| in the United States. There have been
installed two / 900 horse power turbine
water wheels, with room left for third
| when it may be needed, making the ulti-
mate capacity OF the plant 5000 horse
power; two 500-kilowat generators, ex-
citers and switchboard two Lombard
hydraulic water-wheel governors. The
| generators are driven by thirty-Six one
and a-half inch Manila ropes on each
machine. The current is generated at
200 volts and stepped up through 500
kilowat transformers to 1000 volts. The
current will be three-phase 60 cycle.
The electricity generated at this plant is
used in both Martinsburg and Shepherds
town, and additional lines will be ex-
tended wherever there may be demand
for the current. The same company has
another plant at Dam No. 5, further up
the river, and the current from these two
establishments is amply sufficient to light
both towns and furnish power for several
of Martinsburgs most important factories,
besides numerous smaller industries.
The current is not now being used in
Shepherdstown, but will be within few
days, or as soon as new transformer
can be put in place by Superintendent
Carter, OF our local plant.
The company has an auxiliary steam
plant in Martinsburg which can be called
into service when needed. With this and
the two water-power plants, total Of
5000 horse power is available.
! The officers of the company are Pres
ident, DR.. S. N Myers, of Martinsburg
vice-president, Stevenson A. Williams,
of Belair, Md. secretary, w. H. Polling,
OF Baltimore; treasurer, Frank E. Wilson,
OF Martinsburg; superintendent, H. B.
Shoemaker, of Martinsburg. Baltimore,
Washington and Philadelphia capital is
interested and il is curious coincidence
that among the prominent stockholders is
George w. Rumsey, OF Philadelphia, Z
collateral descendant of James Rumsey
the inventor Of the steamboat-the mar
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