Ellsworth Power House and Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ellsworth Power House and Dam
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | Union River, Ellsworth, Maine |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architectural style | Renaissance, Ambursen type |
| NRHP reference No. | 85001262 |
| Added to NRHP | June 20, 1985 |
The Ellsworth Power House and Dam is a special place in Ellsworth, Maine. It makes electricity using the power of the Union River. People also call the dam the Union River Dam.
This dam holds back the river to create a lake called Leonard Lake. The lake is named after James Leonard, who was the engineer for this project. The building where electricity is made, called the powerhouse, was built in 1907. It has a beautiful design that looks like buildings from the Renaissance period.
The Ellsworth Power House was one of the first power plants in Maine that could quickly start and stop making electricity. This helps when people need more or less power. The dam itself is a very tall and strong type of dam called an Ambursen dam. Because of its history and unique design, the facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
About the Ellsworth Dam
The Ellsworth Dam sits between two tall hills next to the Union River in Maine. These hills are more than 100 feet (about 30 meters) high. The dam is made of strong concrete supports called buttresses. These supports are about 15 feet (4.6 meters) apart.
Two large slabs of concrete, reinforced with steel, stretch across the river between the hills. The dam is 71 feet (22 meters) tall. It has a spillway, which is a part where extra water can flow over, that is 60 feet (18 meters) long. The buttresses are 3 feet (0.91 meters) thick and are built on solid granite rock.
During the 1990s, the dam was made even stronger. It used to be hollow, but workers filled it with concrete. They also added strong anchors deep into the rock. This was done to make the dam safer.
The Power Station Building
The power station building is located at the bottom of the dam, on the west side of the river. It is a 1-1/2 story building made from concrete blocks. It has a red tile roof that slopes down on two sides.
The building's design is inspired by the Renaissance style. It has round-arch windows that are connected by a stone band around the building. There are also special Palladian windows in the triangular parts of the roof. A newer part added to the back of the building matches this classic style.
History of the Power Plant
The Bar Harbor and Union River Power Company built the power station in 1907. James Leonard, their engineer, created the designs for it. In 1925, this company joined with the Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Today, that company is part of a larger energy company called Emera.
Later, in 2009, a company called Black Bear Hydro bought the plant. Then, in 2014, Brookfield Partners bought it. The dam is currently going through a process to get a new permit to keep operating. Its old permit was supposed to end in 2017.
However, people were concerned about how fish could pass through the river and the quality of the water. Because of these concerns, the government agency in charge, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, delayed giving a new permit. The new permit is now expected by April 2020. Right now, the plant makes about 30,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year. That's a lot of power!
