The Katrina Manufacturing Company constructed the Fork Shoals Cotton Mill and converted Cedar Falls grist mill dam into a hydroelectric dam. The location was nearly a mile downstream from the mill on the Reedy River. The conversion was finished in 1910 by the Cedar Falls Light & Power Company and is a very interesting desgin for a turbine and generator. This sign is not very clear when the power plant first started operation. 1910 seems about right although the date 1905 also comes up. The powerhouse was a timber-framed sheet metal building, most likely originally wood siding. Inside the building was a huge cement pillar, located at the bottom was a single Pelton? turbine driven by water carried by the penstock from the dam. then, from the turbine shaft, a belt fed a generator mounted at the very top of the pillar. This design was chosen because of the absence of a tailrace. Mostly the location of the powerhouse and hydroelectric design in general or a shortage of finance was the cause of this odd design. Definitely not the most efficient way to drive the turbine in my opinion but who knows what challenges were faced. From the powerhouse the lines ran North to the Katrina Manufacturing Company's mill and the tiny town of Fork Shoals. In 1950, the power plant was demolished because of Duke providing the mill with electricity and outdated apparatus. I also believe it was just too inefficent to keep up. More information can be view be reading the sign and the following pictures of the modern day site. The Hydroelectric Power Plants of South Carolina Collection: High Shoals 1894 [id=332186800] 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 [you are here] Tumblin' Shoals 1912 [id=366398406] Coneross 1912 [id=361466115] |