Caplinger Mills Power Plant - Caplinger Mills, Missouri
Posted by: Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
N 37° 47.653 W 093° 48.021
15S E 429534 N 4183284
Power plant within the Caplinger Mills Historic District in the small village of Caplinger Mills, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WMNKAG
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/27/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member fi67
Views: 4

"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

The former power plant is a contributing structure in the Caplinger Mills Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places
Operational: no

Type of power station: Conventional (dams)

Type of turbine: Other/Unknown

Operator: Empire District Electric Company

Visitor center: no

Date built: 01/01/1925

Generation capacity: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
For posting a log to an existing waymark, you will need to post a unique picture of the power station. If is not open to the public, please do not enter private property. A picture from the distance is sufficent. If it's possible to enter the machine hall, a picture of it would be nice. Please add some additional informations if possible.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Hydroelectric Power Stations
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.