In 1897, engineer William Whitner's Portman Shoals Hydroelectric Plant started producing electricity, transmitted to Anderson, SC. The transmission line was 10 miles and provided electricity to the Anderson, SC, the Anderson Traction Company and the Anderson Cotton Mills. Today the power plant is under Lake Hartwell, which flooded the area in the 1950s for a larger hydroelectric dam. Portman Shoals was the longest transmission line in the Southern US at the time. Anderson, SC is known as "The Electric City" for the electric street lights that were along main street in the late 1890s. [id=340212432]

This Imperial insulator is housed at Duke Energy's World of Energy in Seneca, SC. The Dixie Jewels Insulator Club is hosting their August 18, 2012 swap at the World of Energy located at the Oconee Nuclear Station. This insulator, along with a few others in the museum will be on display at the August 18th show!