*Article from THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. Volume 20. (July - December).*

In 1895 William C. Whitner leased room in McFall's Mill at High Shoals on the Rocky River six miles from Anderson, South Carolina. In the space he installed a two-phase Stanley generator transmitting 200 HP to the city light plant. Before this project emerged, Whitner built a water works and electric light plant for Anderson in 1890. The steam power plant had a system of 750 incandescent lamps and was an expensive endeavor. Whitner then became obsessed with utilizing water power for electrical generation. The city of Anderson didn't trust Whitner on the idea of long-distance electric power transmission due to extreme costs and suspicions of the new concept. He persuaded the city toward a small project at hMcFall's Mill at High Shoals on the Rocky River six miles from Anderson. Here he leased space for a 200 HP Stanley two-phase generator. A small transmission line was built running to the city where electricity ran 2,000 incandescent lamps and 70 arc lights. The remaining power was distributed for a variety of other purposes. It is said the High Shoals plant was the first long-distance power transmission in the South and operate a dynamo at 5,000 volts AC. Whitner believe he would produce a low voltage and use step-up transformers to create high voltage, an idea the Stanley MFG Co. took up, and manufactured the necessary machinery.

With the completion of the successful experiment at High Shoals, the large Anderson Cotton Mill approached Whitner on effectively driving the mill with electricity instead of steam. Whitner and his partners organized the Anderson Water, Light & Power Company which then sought to harness the Seneca River at Portman Shoals. Today both the city light plant and McFall's grist mill are long gone. William C. Whitner went on to establish multiple power companies and power plants including being involved with the 1904 Catawba Power Company and the 1896 Elberton plant in Gerogia.

This information was gathered and retold using this reference: https://dspace.ychistory.org/bitstream/handle/11030/72699/00000371.PDF?sequence=1

The Hydroelectric Power Plants of South Carolina Collection:

High Shoals 1894 [you are here]

Pelzer Lower Dam 1895 [id=360186922]

Portman Shoals 1897 [id=340212432]

Berry Shoals 1903 [id=330110326]

Holiday Shoals 1905 [id=332438399]

Ware Shoals 1906 [id=347219612]

Saluda Dam 1907 [id=268330246]

Gaston Shoals 1908 [id=346266588]

Rocky Creek 1908 [id=429285050]

Boyd's Mill Pond 1909 [id=429197935]

Ninety-Nine Islands 1909 [id=358895213]

Fork Shoals -1910 [id=366408583]

Tumblin' Shoals 1912 [id=366398406]

Coneross 1912 [id=361466115]