Past Tense: Shoshone Power Plant

By TAMMY GEMAEHLICH

Tammy.Gemaehlich@gjsentinel.com

THE BEGINNING

The town of Glenwood Springs had built a small hydroelectric plant in 1886 to serve its citizens but, when Colorado Power and Irrigation Company organized in 1903, it launched a larger effort to furnish electrical power — from Leadville to Grand Junction — by building a large-scale hydroelectric plant on the Grand River in Glenwood Canyon.

The Electric and Hydraulic Company (aka Central Colorado Power Co.) later formed and took over the Colorado Power and Irrigation Company, keeping alive its hydroelectric plant idea. Construction began in the fall of 1906 and involved building the main plant, a water diversion tunnel, a diversion dam and a power transmission line.

The Palisade Tribune reported that “The big Shoshone power plant being created just east of Glenwood Springs means so much to this valley and the entire Western Slope. Land that is now high and dry and thought impossible to water will be irrigated by electric power and thousands of acres in this valley will be made to ‘blossom as the rose.’ ” Glenwood’s Avalanche-Echo suggested that — next to Niagara Falls’ power plant — it was the first of its size in the United States and would employ 800–1,000 skilled workmen earning $3 per day.

The Tribune described in 1907 the scene of workers and their families in Glenwood Canyon.

“Shoshone is now a thriving little city of about 800 people. Tents are used for living quarters. There are about 40 children and application was made some two weeks ago for a school at that place. It is very likely the petition will be granted.”

HEALTH HAZARDS

OSHA wasn’t a thing until 60 years later, but it likely would have saved life and limb during construction.

¦ On June 14, 1907, plant employee R.W. Guy “was swept over the fall and drown in the Grand River.” Rescuers located his body on an island that evening, but the swift current kept them at bay. Rising water carried the body farther downstream. A railroad engineer spotted the body two weeks later, “caught in some brush in a little eddy about 20 feet from the shore.”

¦ The Avalanche-Echo reported Oct. 31, 1907 that “there were seven accidents at the Shoshone power plant yesterday.”

¦ “John Elliot drilled into a missed shot and the explosion that followed injured him quite seriously,” said a Dec. 22, 1908 story. He was taken to a hospital in Denver. An hour later, mucker John Price was shoveling some dirt and “evidently hit a loose piece of dynamite. An explosion followed and he was badly injured.”

¦ A man came to the Shoshone work camp in July 1909, striking up conversation with some of the employees, including shift boss, Winfield Richards. The men began drinking and wandered from the bunk house to the banks of the rushing river. Richards and the man boasted about their swimming abilities, making a $1 wager that one could beat the other swimming across the river. They striped off their clothes and plunged into the water. Richards turned back after a few feet, daunted by the current. The man swam on and, upon approaching the south bank, raised a hand, sank and disappearing from sight.

¦ Onlookers found a scribbled note in his clothes informing them who to notify in case of an accident. The body of 25-year-old Carthage, Missouri resident, Jessie Dougherty, was found weeks later on a sandbar. He had come to Shoshone to work on the dam as soon as the water was low enough. Richards was fired.

DISGRUNTLED WORKERS?

The Daily Sentinel reported in 1908 that about 250 men — displeased with their wages — had abruptly stopped working at the plant. Company officials had planned to increase the wage scale, “but the men would not wait for this new scale.”

“It is said, however, that the company had been quietly preparing to put on (derogatory names for migrant workers) to take the place of the ‘white men.’ ” “The company has been paying common laborers only $1.75 per day. The men have been dissatisfied for some time,” the story said.

Later that year, the state labor commissioner visited the plant to investigate stories of mistreatment alleged by workmen. The commissioner concluded that “the discontented men were the ones who were looking for soft snaps.”

FINALLY — THE GRAND OPENING

The celebration was previewed by the Sentinel suggesting that “hundreds of people will witness the opening of the great Shoshone Power Plant” next Sunday, June 6, 1909.

“The Grand Junction and Glenwood baseball teams will cross bats for one of the greatest games of the season at Glenwood Springs. This game will be called at 4 p.m. after the return of the crowds from Shoshone.”

“Past Tense is a feature that looks at current events through the eyes of the past. Do you have a suggestion for future columns? Let us know: 970-2564232; tips@gjsentinel.com.

The Shoshone Power Plant is a remarkable engineering accomplishment in terms of the physical difficulties of construction within Glenwood Canyon and the scale of the undertaking as depicted in this 1935 photograph looking northeast.

Source: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Shoshone Power Plant is one of the earliest hydroelectric plants on the Colorado River and one of the largest in the Rocky Mountain Region to depend upon the flow of a river for its source of power rather than on the stored water of a reservoir. This drawing is dated August 1909.

The Shoshone hydropower plant in Glenwood Canyon was completed on June 6, 1909 to much fanfare. Construction on the plant began in the fall of 1906 and involved building the main plant, a water diversion tunnel, a diversion dam and a power transmission line.

BRENT GARDNER-SMITH/ Aspen Journalism