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Old Toccoa Falls Power Plant Historical Marker
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- Old Toccoa Falls Power Plant Historical
Marker
- Located at Toccoa Falls Visitor Center at Toccoa
Falls College in Toccoa, Ga.
(Text)
- THE OLD TOCCOA FALLS
POWER PLANT
The Old Toccoa Falls Power Plant
is an outstanding example of the early hydroelectric generating
facilities that served America's rural communities. Built in
1899 by E. Palmer Simpson of Toccoa, the plant was franchised
in that year by the Toccoa City Council to supply the city and
area with electricity. A log dam to provide headwater for the
penstock at the rear of the building formed a small lake on the
mountain above the plant. the bricks were handmade -- swirls
of the paddle can be clearly seen -- and then brought to the
site in wagon loads that took two days each round trip. Water
from the penstock spun the 200 kilowatt (266 horsepower) generator,
and the electricity was distributed through the old switchboard.
The plan was acquired by the Georgia Power Company in 1927; then
in 1933 it was given to the Toccoa Falls Institute, which used
the power exclusively to furnish all its electrical needs until
1947. At that time, the school returned to Company lines and
the plant fell into disrepair. In 1972, the Georgia Power Company
and the Institute cooperated in renovating the old plant in order
that it can be maintained as a historical site.
Acknowledgment is given to the
vision and progressive contributions of Mr. P.S. Arkwright, founder
and president of the Georgia Power Company, and to Dr. R.A. Forrest,
founder of the Toccoa Falls Institute.
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