Bull Run Hyrdro Electric Dam - Fairfax, Virginia
Posted by: flyingmoose
N 38° 46.004 W 077° 24.888
18S E 290199 N 4293660
Located along the Bull Run Occoquan Trail within the Hemlock Overlook Regional Park.
Waymark Code: WM14ACT
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/29/2021
Views: 4
While the dam is all but gone, the hydro electric power station that it fed still stands today. Most of it is still accessible to the public but there are one or two compartments that are sealed/ locked off to the public.
In 1928 three years after being built by the Bull Run Power Company, the hydro plant began powering the town of Clifton, a year later Manassas got power as well. Manassas already had a power source but this was more about using alternate power sources. The plant ran until it closed in 1940. In 1941, the Bull Run Power Company was taken over by the Prince William Electric Cooperative and powered the region with five diesel engines.
There are signs of its use after its closure in 1940, however what it was used for is unknown. If you have any information that would help fill this gap, please leave a comment or contact me directly at flyingmoose23@gmail.com
"The site of a dam that supported the first hydroelectric power generation to Fairfax County is also on the Hemlock Overlook site." - (
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