Thursday, July 27, 2023

1,000 Men Working on Mountain Island Dam, July 27, 1923

Mountain Island Dam, photo taken in 1925 by George Ivey, from the Robinson-Spangler North Carolina Room Image Collection, www.cmsstory.org

1,000 Men Working on Mountain Island Dam

The Mountain Island development, a few miles out of Mount Holly, is hardly more than 75 per cent completed; but is still being pushed with all the vigor possible to men and money. In all there are close to 1,000 men on the work, and counting the various mechanical appliances that are in active service, the constructive effectiveness engaged probably amounts to 10,000 men. The big power house is now standing high up against the mighty concrete dam, which stretches several hundred yards across the river which looks like an insignificant stream from the top of the works. Hundreds of visitors drive out on Sundays to see the progress of the work. When the plant is completed it is expected to develop the equivalent of 80,000 horsepower.

From the front page of the Cleveland Star, Shelby, N.C., Friday, July 27, 1923. Manmade Mountain Island Lake, formed by the dam, today provides drinking water for over 1 million people in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Mount Holly and Gastonia in Gaston County, and generates hydro-electric power for the nearby region.

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