Former Marseilles Hydro Power Station - Marseilles, La Salle County, IL, USA - Hydroelectric Power Stations on Waymarking.com

In Marseilles, about a quarter mile northeast of the center of the city and overlooking the Illinois River, is the former Marseilles Hydro Power Station.

The station is on the northeast bank of the Illinois River and is easily visible from the river or from the bridge over the river about a quarter mile to the southwest. From the bridge turn left onto Canal Road. The station will be visible from the left (look for the substation). If you want to park, a good location is at the Riverfront Plaza sign where there is a war memorial along the river shoreline. A nice view of the station on the river side is possible by the building that is both the war memorial museum and a phone store.

Today, the station is abandoned. Water no longer runs through the canal that feeds the plant - the other canal was for the former Nabisco box factory. The building is rectangular in shape and has a red hip roof. There are several rectangular areas that appear to have intricate grating across them.

The plant construction was started in 1906 and was completed in 1911. It originally has 7 400 KW generators built by General Electric and Westinghouse, with Laffel and Sampson water wheels. Over time, generators were upgraded such that over 1 MW could be generated. The plant operated from 1911 to 1989, when it was abandoned.

There have been attempts since to generate power there again. Unfortunately, court battles over rights between groups have squashed these attempts.

This plant is significant because it was a plant that provided power to the state's first electric trains of the Illinois Traction System. The plant provided power both to the interurban system and the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Sources:
HAB/HAER (Marseilles Hydro-electric Plant):
(visit link)

Wikipeida (Marseilles Hydro Plant):
(visit link)

Operational: no Type of power station: Run-of-the-river Type of turbine: Other/Unknown Operator: Illinois Power did. Visitor center: no Date built: 01/01/1911 Generation capacity: 1 MW

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.

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