The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-12-19
MUSSEL SHOALS PLAN
AND HENRY FORD
History Of Giant Undertaking Which
FlivVer Builder Seeks 10
Acquire.

Acquire.
Florence, Ala, Dec, l1.-Henry
Fords bid for Mussel Shoals. sub
mitted July 8, 1921, the first bid Tor
the properties contained these prin-
cipai features;
Outright purchase OF. nitrate plants
Nos. l apd for $5,0O000O.
Payment of approximately $3.50 600
annual rental" as interest on capital
invested for waterpower rights.
Reimbursement Of S40,000,0O0 spent
by the government on Wilson Dam.
Reimbursement of $4,000 600 to be
spent by the government in building
and equipping Dam No. 3
Outright expenditure Of Sl5,000,O0O
BY the government in erection Of three
locks in connection with these two
dams.
Mussel Shoals begin at Florence and
extend eastward up the Tennessee riy
er thirty miles, HAVING fall in that
distance Of 1870 feet Navigation
around the shoals has been provided
by means of the Mussel Shoals Can
al, waterway sixteen miles long
and containing eleven locks. This
canal was begun about 1890 and by
intermittent effort was partly com
pIeted in 1890 when it was opened
for navigation Both the State OF
Alabama and the Federal Government
participated In this work.
In 1910 government engineers rec
commended that navigation and power
should be pointly developed at Mussel
Shoals and In 1914 an appropriation
was made for diamond drill borings
which proved the suficiency OF the
foundation for proposed dams. A sur
vey was made of lands that would be
inundated and options were taken by
citizens Of Sheffield and Florence In
the name Of the government.
When the war began, the govern
ment, seeking a site for great nitrate
plants. turned to Mussel Shoals and
1.-the erection of nitrate plant No z
was started January s, 1918. 1t began
operation October Is of the same year
and before the armistice several thou
/ sand tons OF nitrate was turned out.
| Operations were suspended after the
/ armistice but work was begun on
Wilson Dam and this work continued
until May /, 1921, when the appropria-
ton was exhausted. The dam ,hen
was said to be about so per cent
/ completed.
/ The great concrete mixing plants,
one of them said TO be the largest In
I the world was constructed and oper-
ated for the building Of the Wilson
J Dam. Quarries were opened, reSiden-
ces for employees were built, with
Office buildings, schools, assembly
halls, and complete sewage, lighting
and water systems a fleet Of barges
and dredges was provided to bring
sand and gravel from the river chan
mel below the dam. Wharf aud UNI
loading facilities were constructed
with a line OF railroad three miles
long extendind from the wharf to the
dam site
/ All Of this equipment was put in
standby condition May l. 1921. On
one siding 45 locomotives now stand
covered in grease paint
Wilson Dam, completed. would be
I the largest IN volume 81 material used
Of any single construction project in
! the United States, army engineers
say. From river bed to top driveway
over tho dam, the height would be
4 1913 feet The available powerhead Of
water impounded above the dam
would be IS feet The length Of the
I dam would be $500 feet
The original plans for the work
/ called for the installation Of turbines
/ and electric generators capable Of pro
ducing coo GOO electrical horsepower,
more than is now represented in tho
combined hydroelectric Developments
in tho states of Alabama. Georgia