Power Plant – Caplinger Mills Historic District –Caplinger Mills, Missouri - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

"By 1917, W.A. Whinrey had installed a dynamo in the mill to produce saleable electricity and wires were strung across the bridge to reach customers to the east of the river. In 1925, he sold his power rights to the Ozark Utilities Company which immediately built a power house into the east end of the dam. The new facility was constructed of monolithic concrete replacing a portion of the dam and forcing the water to run beneath it and through the turbines (one of 250 horsepower and one of 350 horsepower. The building was 44-1/2 x 23-1/2 feet with the long axis oriented east and west. The extant trash racks and control gates were on the south, or upstream side, and the water exited under the east span of the bridge. The transformers were located on the riverbank just to the south of the building. Hindsight shows that the inside of a sweeping river curve was not the best place to build a hydro-electric plant, and it was a constant battle to keep the intake channel from being blocked by silt. The plant was eventually taken over by the Empire District Electric Company, which closed it in the mid 1950s. The generating equipment was removed and the building, dam, and nearby park were sold to the City of Stockton {CMBPS:Carender). Currently, all wall openings on the east have been closed with concrete, the catwalk to the upper entrance has been removed, and all- windows have been boarded up. A report for the Corps of Engineers reached the conclusion that, although the power plant building was intact, the expenses involved in clearing the channel, repairing deteriorated concrete in the dam, and installing new equipment made the benefit cost ratio unfavorable for putting the plant back into operation." – National Register Nomination

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Caplinger Mills Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: Jct. of Washington Ave. and the Sac R. Caplinger Mills, Missouri How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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