Carroll County Chronicles Fall 2020

There are no records as to how many homes… if any… were connected to the system. Residents thought they had seen the end of kerosene lamps.

However, it is doubtful that the system could have provided enough power to do much more than light 1 or 2 lightbulbs in half a dozen homes. No transformers were used and the losses in the transmission line would have severely limited the power the system could deliver. Shortly after the system became operable, the Skaggs brothers’ partnership dissolved. We don’t know if they had a disagreement, but more likely, William, who apparently knew something of the science of electricity, foresaw the problems that would occur. Whatever the reasons, William moved away and Grover remained in sole ownership of the system… and the liabilities. Sometime in the April of 1922, we don’t know exactly when, a heavy rain caused the dam to fail. A man who lived near the dam said he heard a roaring followed by a crash. Probably a leak occurred on the north end and a large section of the dam broke off. Basically, the concrete on the north end was not adhered to the rock and that end broke off. Old timers say that Grover Skaggs left the county before the next sunrise. No attempts were made to try to repair the dam.

North End of the Failed Dam

Rock and Concrete Construction

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