Power Generation

Electrical generation required water moving with great force. When the mill was converted to a powerhouse in 1899, water from upstream was channeled into a ditch that ended at the top of the hill. A wooden structure on the hill transferred water to a pipe called a penstock, part of which lies partially buried in front of the site. Inside the building at the end of the penstock, a turbine was made to spin by the down-rushing water. A generator connected to the shaft of the pulley used the spinning force of the turbine to make electricity.

Knights Ferry, California · United States