The Devil's Gate-Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant was built in 1909–1910 on the

Weber River The Weber River ( ) is a long river of northern Utah, United States. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber. The Weber River ...

in northeastern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, about southeast of Ogden. It was built by the Utah Light and Railway Company under the direction of E.H. Harriman, a director of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

. It was one of the first powerplants in Utah designed to feed an electrical grid rather than as a source of power of a single locality.

History

Work had begun on an intake structure in

Weber Canyon Weber Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range near Ogden, Utah, through which the Weber River flows west toward the Great Salt Lake. It is fed by 13 tributary creeks and is long. History Weber Canyon is, historically, one of the more import ...

in the early 1900s at the Devil's Gate location under the direction of C.K. Bannister, an engineer from Ogden. Bannister's plan for a hydroelectric station was contested by the Union Pacific, whose line ran through the canyon. Bannister died shortly after, and his business associates sold the property rights to the Utah Light and Railway Company. Work continued on a penstock to feed the power plant until Harriman acquired sixty percent of the UL&R. With Harriman's ownership Union Pacific opposition to the plant ceased, on the condition that a retaining wall be built to protect the railroad grade. The powerhouse was built in 1909–1910, along with three residences for plant operators. Harriman died in 1914 and the UL&P became the locally owned Utah Light and Traction Company, which leased the station to the Utah Power and Light Company. The dam was rebuilt in 1916–1917 to better accommodate flood flows. Another operator's residence was built in 1922, together with some utility structures in ensuing years. The plant was upgraded from 2.5 MW to 3.5MW in 1948. Automation allowed a reduction in staff in the 1960s, and two of the residences were demolished. The remaining two were damaged by flood in 1982. A fire in 1983 resulted in renovations and alterations to the powerhouse.

Description

Water is fed to the powerplant from a low dam about upstream. Overflow is controlled by two tainter gates between concrete piers. A wide

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mo ...

climbs the north side of the dam. On the south side a large sluice gate allows the small reservoir to be drained. The intake structure is between the sluice gate and the south buttress wall, housed in a small wood frame intake house. A one-story wood-frame watchman's house is just downstream from the intake house, and is joined to the intake house. The power plant intake conduit is a diameter reinforced concrete pipe for the first , transitioning to a welded steel pipe. This replaced of concrete pipe and of wood stave pipe in 1949. The conduit is buried along most of its length. It crosses the river on a -span riveted steel

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

bridge made by the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pitt ...

downstream from the dam. Total head is about to . Since the conduit has been altered and is partly buried under the rail line it is not included in the historic district designation. The powerhouse is a rectangular brick building with a gabled concrete roof supported by riveted steel

Fink truss The Fink truss is a commonly used truss in residential homes and bridge architecture. It originated as a bridge truss although its current use in bridges is rare. History The Fink Truss Bridge was patented by Albert Fink in 1854. Albert Fink de ...

es. The end walls are five bays wide with stepped parapets at the gables. Original window openings have been bricked in. Side elevations are three bays wide, also with infilled window openings. The structure sits on a concrete foundation that incorporates outflow works. The main room in the powerhouse accommodates a

Pelton wheel The Pelton wheel or Pelton Turbine is an Impulse (physics), impulse-type water turbine invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to water's dead w ...

turbine and a 2300 volt generator made by

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

, together with a small 125VDC exciter generator. The main generator was rewound during upgrade work in the 1940s. The turbine room is served by a 20-ton traveling crane made by the Whiting Foundry Equipment Company. Three other rooms house batteries, a workshop, and a third room formerly housed switchgear. The operator's camp once had four houses. Two remain, a one-story brick house and a 1922 wood cottage. Both houses retain landscaping and garden areas with outdoor fireplaces. There are several outbuildings associated with the property. The Davis and Weber Canal Company maintains a diversion dam just downstream from the powerhouse that is not part of the historic district. The powerhouse and associated structures were placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

on April 20, 1989. It is visible from Interstate 84 in Weber Canyon, between the lanes of the highway, whose westbound lanes pass just to the north.

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Morgan County, Utah Buildings and structures in Weber County, Utah Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Dams in Utah Hydroelectric power plants in Utah Dams completed in 1910 Energy infrastructure completed in 1910 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Morgan County, Utah National Register of Historic Places in Weber County, Utah Energy infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places

History

Description

See also

References

External links