Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1913-06-18
PUTTING The SMALL
RIVER TO WORK
Popular Electricity Publishes Inter
esting Article on Our Power
Dams.
WHAT THESE DAMS HAVE DONE
FOR NORTHEASTERN IOWA.
Miss Florence l.. Clark Tells Read
ers of Magazine About Decorah
and Vicinity and the Power
Dams.

The June number of Popular
Electricity contains an interesting
story of the county adjacent to De-
corah, and the two big power dams
of the Upper Iowa Power Co., which
makes timely reading for our people
Cuts of both lower and upper dams
accompanies the article, and we ex-
pected to have these cuts to print
with this article, but was disappoint-
ed in getting them in time, so will
omit them. The article is as fol-
lows:
The topography of Iowa is gener-
ally believed to be fiat or slightly
rolling. This is true of most of the
state but in the northeastern part
a sort of island in the glacial drift,
deeply cut by streams flowing from
the highlands to the Mississippi,
makes rugged break in the other
wise regular surface. The bluffs in
this section are from 800 to 500
feet high and of massive limestone
capped with deep black loan. Many
springs bubble out of the limestone,
creating creeks which run together
to form the picturesque Upper Iowa
River. From earliest times the
clear waters and wooded hills of
this little river have been a favored
haunt of the sportsman and even
today the region Immediately ad-
joining is still so much of Nature S
own that a den of wolves can now
ar hen be unearthed.
A.,ust back from, these hills, how
ever, undulate far and wide highly
developed farm lands. Their own
ers are among the most prosperous
of Iowa's most prosperous farmers.
Land sells as high as $3.50 an acre.
The big red barn, the modern home,
the cement aoored stable and garage
feature the landscape. Just one
thing, electric light and power, was
needed to give the latest progressive
touch to rural conditions. The lit
tie Upper Iowa, so long but an idle
pleasure stream is now providing
this one lacking feature.
Near the town of Decorah, named
for the famous old Winnebago chief
who with his braves used to hunt
and fish through this region, the
waters of the Upper Iowa ripple
quite noisily down to join the Miss
issippi, falling five to eight feet to
the mile. At one place in early
geologic times limestone ridge,
cracked off and undermined by the
wash of the river, toppled over,
forming an ideal dam site. In 1908
the site was discovered by Iowa cap
ital and hydro-electric power
plant was installed.
The construction was attended
with difficulties. Violent floods, caus.
ing big rise in the Upper Iowa
cur at most any season of the year
Such a flood came after the prelim-
mary work on the dam was in place
and swept everything before it. Un-
daunted, a new start was made and
the work carried to successful com
pletion. Five Taintor gates, ten
feet wide and 20 feet high, operated
by an electric hoist and two spill.
ways, one 40 feet and the other loo
feet wide, control these food waters
The operator at danger times keeps
his ear close to the telephone and
at the first warning lowers the water
in the pond. The dam, with an ef.
fective head of 27 feet when the
pond is full, is the highest in Iowa
barring the great structure at Keo-
kuk.
Sufficient electricity was general
ed by the plant to supply quite an
area. The demand for the current
grew as the plant tested out a sue
cess and last year the company found
1t feasible to enlarge its capacity by
putting in a second dam and power
plant just above the pond formed by
the first. The work was complet-
\ ed in January and interesting devel-
opments are rapidly following. From
an engineering standpoint the two
q plants together form probably the
most complete small hydro-electric
development in the Central States
From a practical point of view the
system is unique.
The transmission lines have been