Society
Main Category
Sub Category
Era
Date Created
Location Country
us
Coordinates
40.397508, -91.371531
Address1
Mississippi River
Address2
525 N. Water St
City
Keokuk
State
Country
Zip
Creator
Spearheaded by Hugh Cooper, the Keokuk Dam & Power Plant served as a prototype for many future power plants. The project harnessed the hydropower of the Mississippi River, between Keokuk, Iowa and Hamilton, Illinois.
The crest of the dam is nearly a mile long. The dam structure features 119 arch spans between six-foot-thick piers and a 110-foot-wide pneumatic lock. Combined with the lock, the dam reduced travel time for steamboats by nearly two hours.
This was the largest privately-funded construction project in the world when completed, and one of only two North American sites to generate 25-cycle power at the time.
At the time, the Keokuk Dam & Power Plant project incorporated the longest monolithic concrete dam in the world and was a pioneering effort in large-scale, low-head hydroelectric power.
Image Credit
Courtesy Flickr/Michael R. Allen (CC BY 2.0)
Image Caption
Mississippi River Lock and Dam number 19
