Mill Dam Once Again Produces Power
The “new mill” is long since gone, but it’s dam still exists. The dam is shown as the backround in the photo above. The Girl Scouts had a summer day camp beside the river about 1954. Recently, that dam has been put to good use, again, for it’s original purpose. The Lockhart Power Company has installed a new power house and turbine and is using it to produce enough electricity for 1100 houses. The full story of this new facility along with photos can be read in an article from the Spartanburg Herald at: Dam Again Used to Produce Power. (This article appeared in the paper on May 2, 2013. The link to this article on the Newspaper website is no longer active so a copy of the article is used here.)
The dam is over 100 years old. In it’s early life, the dam produced water power for the huge waterwheels that powered mills no.'s 1 and 2. These mills were damaged or destroyed in the Great Flood of 1903. The “new mill”, mill no. 5, was built in the same location to replace them.
Lockhart Power is already using the powerhouse and turbines at the “old mill” (Mill no. 3) dam to produce electricity. See the photos of the "old Mill" dam, turbines and control system below.
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