Anderson: "The Electric City"

Anderson was dubbed "The Electric City" in 1895 when William C. Whitner, an engineer and native of Anderson, built a hydroelectric power plant at McFall's Mill at High Shoals on the Rocky River east of the city that was the first in the South to transmit electricity over long distances. The plant supplied power to light the city and operated several small industries in Anderson. In 1897 Whitner replaced the experimental plant with a larger generating station at Portman Shoals on the Seneca River west of the city. The extra power from this plant powered Anderson Cotton Mills and a streetcar line that was the forerunner of the Piedmont & Northern Railroad. Both plants pioneered in transmitting high voltage electricity direct from the station switchboard, an innovation that helped spur the modern industrialization of the Southeast.

Anderson, South Carolina · United States