In the early 1800s a dam and grist mill were built, creating Boyd's Mill Pond on the Reedy River in Laurens County, South Carolina. In 1907, the Reedy River Power Company was established for the purpose of rebuilding the mill dam for electric power production.

Beginning in 1908 the company constructed a much larger masonry dam and stone powerhouse where Boyd's Mill once stood. The hydroelectric plant was completed in 1909, the powerhouse identical to that of the Ware Shoals hydroelectric plant built three years prior downstream of Boyd's Mill Pond. Producing about 2,000 HP, the power plant has went through minor changes over the years eventually being turned over to the Duke Power Company, now Duke Energy, who still operates the plant. In 1912, the Tumblin' Shoals hydroelectric plant upstream was completed and tied into Boyd's Mill Pond, transmitting electric power to Laurens by 1909.

The transmission line is of interesting construction built in 1908-1909 from the Boyd's Mill Pond powerhouse to Laurens, SC where an auxiliary steam powerhouse was constructed. A majority of the electric power drove cotton mills, street lights, incandescent lighting, and other applications. The line used bow & arrow construction with a single static wire bracket and two telephone lines below the main line bracket. The electric insulators used were M-3060 made by the Akron High Potential Porcelain Company, the telephone insulators were Star CD 162, and the steel brackets made by Jones & Laughlin. Over the 107 years of continuous service, most of the original construction has been changed out with modern material.

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 [you are here]

Ninety-Nine Islands 1909 [id=358895213]

Fork Shoals -1910 [id=366408583]

Tumblin' Shoals 1912 [id=366398406]

Coneross 1912 [id=361466115]