Power Plant and Dam No. 5 (Potomac River)
Encyclopedia
Power Plant and Dam No. 5, also known as Honeywood Dam, comprises a dam on the Potomac River
, originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
, and a power plant built to take advantage of the river's flow to generate hydroelectric power. The dam is included in Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
.
The dam was originally built to retain water for the C&O Canal in 1835. It was modified in 1993, and is 20 feet (6.1 m) tall, retaining 490 acres (198.3 ha) of reservoir. The 1835 dam was constructed of wood cribbing, and was attacked by Confederate
forces under General Stonewall Jackson
in December 1861 with the aim of destroying the dam, depriving the upper C&O Canal of water and consequently cutting off coal shipments to Washington, D.C.
. Two assaults by Jackson's forces failed to cause significant damage to the dam. The dam was later replaced with a stone structure, which has been upgraded with concrete.
The power plant is a two-story brick building on the West Virginia
side of the river. It was built circa 1900 as the Honeywood paper mill. The first Honeywood Mill was built at the same time as the dam, in 1835 by Edward Colston. It burned a few years later and was replaced, then burned in the Civil War. The power plant is operated by Allegheny Energy
with a total installed capacity of 1210 kilowatts.
The dam and power plant were placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980.
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
, and a power plant built to take advantage of the river's flow to generate hydroelectric power. The dam is included in Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and West Virginia. The park was established as a National Monument in 1961 by President Dwight D...
.
The dam was originally built to retain water for the C&O Canal in 1835. It was modified in 1993, and is 20 feet (6.1 m) tall, retaining 490 acres (198.3 ha) of reservoir. The 1835 dam was constructed of wood cribbing, and was attacked by Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces under General Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
in December 1861 with the aim of destroying the dam, depriving the upper C&O Canal of water and consequently cutting off coal shipments to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Two assaults by Jackson's forces failed to cause significant damage to the dam. The dam was later replaced with a stone structure, which has been upgraded with concrete.
The power plant is a two-story brick building on the West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
side of the river. It was built circa 1900 as the Honeywood paper mill. The first Honeywood Mill was built at the same time as the dam, in 1835 by Edward Colston. It burned a few years later and was replaced, then burned in the Civil War. The power plant is operated by Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy is an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owns and operates electric generation facilities and delivers electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia...
with a total installed capacity of 1210 kilowatts.
The dam and power plant were placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980.