Pensacola Dam
| Pensacola Dam | |
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East and west view of dam, courtesy USACE
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Location in Oklahoma
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Mayes County, near Disney and Langley, Oklahoma |
| Coordinates | 36°28′19″N 95°01′57″W / 36.47194°N 95.03250°WCoordinates: 36°28′19″N 95°01′57″W / 36.47194°N 95.03250°W |
| Status | In use |
| Construction began | February 1938 |
| Opening date | March 21, 1940 |
| Construction cost | $21 million USD |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Grand River |
| Height | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Length | Total: 6,565 ft (2,001 m) Multiple-arch section: 4,284 ft (1,306 m) Arches and spillways: 5,145 ft (1,568 m) |
| Spillways | 3 |
| Spillway type | Ogee-type, tainter gate-controlled |
| Spillway capacity | 525,000 cu ft/s (14,900 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Grand Lake o' the Cherokees |
| Total capacity | 1,672,000 acre·ft (2.062×109 m3) |
| Surface area | 46,500 acres (18,800 ha) |
| Maximum length | 66 mi (106 km) |
| Normal elevation | 742 ft (226 m) (normal) |
| Power station | |
| Operator(s) | Grand River Dam Authority |
| Commission date | 1941 |
| Turbines | 6 x 20 MW Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 120 MW |
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Pensacola Dam
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| Nearest city | Langley, Oklahoma |
| Coordinates | 36°28′19″N 95°01′57″W / 36.47194°N 95.03250°W |
| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | John Duncan Forsyth, W. R. Holway |
| Architectural style | Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 03000883 |
| Added to NRHP | September 9, 2003 |
The Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam, is a multiple-arch buttress dam on the Grand River in-between Disney and Langley in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The dam is operated by the Grand River Dam Authority and creates Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. After decades of vision and planning, it was constructed between 1938 and 1940 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control and recreation. It is Oklahoma's first hydroelectric power plant and is referred to as the longest multiple-arch dam in the world.
The idea to construct a dam on the Grand River originated in the late 1800s with Henry C. Holderman, a Cherokee Nation citizen, who wanted to provide electric power to the Cherokee Nation. Holderman and a few colleagues soon conducted the first survey of the river in 1895 on their own handmade houseboat. Holderman later left the United States at the age of 16 and worked on dam projects in India and Africa before returning to Oklahoma. He sold his land holdings and borrowed money from friends in order to purchase rights to the dam sites he had prospected. Over several decades, Holderman and a group known as the "Rainbow Chasers" tried to secure funding to construct the a dam; making several trips to Washington DC.
The dam was almost built in 1914 by British capitalists but plans were halted due to World War I. In 1920, Holderman refused an offer given by Chicago businessmen and in 1929, the Wall Street Crash ended the hopes of Canadian engineers and investors building the dam for Holderman. In DC, supporters of the dam, which later included state and federal officials, argued for the dam as a source of hydroelectric power and that it could stimulate the state's economy but local energy providers opposed the possibility of a state-run electric utility. The onset of the Great Depression would revive and accelerate plans to construct the dam. Just prior in 1928, Oklahoma Representative Everette B. Howard secured $5,000 in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to survey the Grand River. The results of the study concluded that it would cost over $6.2 million to construct a dam at the "Pensacola site" for flood control. The name "Pensacola" was derived from the only available means of identifying the site at the time: an old store on a Cherokee plantation. Because of limited state funding and a limited water supply on the Grand River, the project was not proposed at first for federal funding under the scope of hydroelectric power but instead for flood control.
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Wikipedia