Did You Know...

. . . after 100 years, the Ware Shoals Hydroelectric Project is still contributing to the economy and quality of life in Ware Shoals, South Carolina? The dam on the Saluda River provided the power that fueled the textiles industry in this southern mill town. The mills are gone now, but the dam continues to function, and its license was recently renewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for another 30 years.

The hydro project contributes to recreational opportunities in the area by marking portage routes around the dam for canoers and kayakers traveling the river, by providing fishing access and by installing duck boxes for nesting. Flow from the dam is timed around the spawning cycles of fish in the river.

A celebration to honor the dam's contributions to the community was held on May 25, 100 years after the first cotton was fed into the looms at Ware Shoals Manufacturing.

Source: Index-Journal, Greenwood, South Carolina, May 27, 2006.

(reprinted from the USSD Newsletter, July 2006, page 3)