Carroll County Chronicles Fall 2020

Lawsuits abounded; companies who provided materials and equipment, workmen who were owed for their labor and investors had lost heavily. However, Grover Skaggs had gone. The equipment was reclaimed, but the investors, workmen and suppliers were left “ holding the bag. ” Possibly Grover realized he did not have the money to make repairs and would not be able to regain the confidence of investors. Also, he most likely did not possess the technical know-how to correct the system.

What Happened to the Skaggs Brothers?

Grover reappeared in 1930 in West Jefferson, in Ashe County, NC working as an electrician in a power plant. That same year, William and his family were in Campbell in Blount County, AL and he was again working as a school teacher.

By 1940, Grover and his family were in Roda, in Wise County, VA working as an electrician in the coal mines. He died in 1982 in Fayette County, WV.

By 1940, William had recently moved to Trenton in Dade County, GA and was in the county jail working on the road. He died in Hueytown, AL in 1953.

The dam and the power house were never razed, but the equipment was reclaimed by the manufacturer. Today the remnants of the structures are still visible. The basic idea of the dam system was pretty good and likely would have been successful had basic design and construction rules been observed. In the writer’s opinion, the brothers simply did not have the funds to carry off a first class dam construction project and most likely were not crooks. It appears that they were possibly a little naïve and had gotten in over their heads and simply fled the consequences of their mistakes.

Luckily for the town, the dam was small and its failure did not result in any loss of life or significant property damage. It could have worse; the failure of the

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