Bloede's Dam
Encyclopedia
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
of Ellicott City brought fame to the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
corridor in 1906 when it constructed the world’s first underwater hydroelectric plant. Named Bloede's Dam after the company’s president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, Victor Gustav Bloede
Victor Gustav Bloede (chemist)
Victor Gustav Bloede , was a chemist and manufacturer of chemicals, president of the Victor G. Bloede Company, and businessman.-Early life and education:...
. Bloede, a German immigrant, was also the founder of The Avalon Waterworks in the same area. Bloede's dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and power generating plant was located near Gray's Mill on the Patapsco River an area now part of Patapsco Valley State Park
Patapsco Valley State Park
Patapsco Valley State Park is located in Maryland, USA and extends along 32 miles of the Patapsco River, encompassing and five developed recreational areas. Recreational opportunities include hiking, fishing, camping, canoeing, horseback riding and mountain bike trails, as well as picnicking for...
Avalon Area.
Design
Victor Bloede hired electrical engineer Otto Wonder to oversee the development of this unique hydroelectric dam. The dam was 220 feet (67m) long, 40 feet (12.1m) wide at the base and had a drop of 26 ½ feet (8m). It was an Amburson Hydraulic ConstructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
Company (Boston type) reinforced concrete slab
Concrete slab
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 10 and 50 centimeters thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.In many domestic and...
and buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
dam. It was the first known instance of a submerged hydroelectric plant where the power plant was actually housed under the spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
. It is also recognized as one of the earliest dams constructed of reinforced concrete. The dam was not only the first of its kind in design but in technology as well state of the art equipment by 1907 standards was housed within its core. The power generating plant was built with 34-inch Poole & Hunt
Poole and Hunt Company Buildings
Poole and Hunt Company Buildings is a national historic district in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is a complex of fieldstone and brick buildings on a site. They were erected in 1853 and enlarged periodically as the need arose for Poole and Hunt, who produced machinery and castings for a...
Leffel Wheels and 30-inch Samson Turbines.
History
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
was meant to serve the surrounding towns which were outside of the competitors service area. As fate would have it, the dam was sold to Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power, a predecessor company of Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
, in ca. 1912 and continued to generate electrical power within its interior until 1924 when it was closed due to the competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
of larger, more powerful plants. Although the dam was severely damaged by the flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
of Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
1972, much of the dam still stands, although the dam has been gutted leaving only a mud filled shell. The gate house structures which did survive have been removed since the storm left them unsafe. In 1992 the Department of Natural Resources
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources such as the 66 state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife and recreation areas....
added a fish ladder
Fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...
to allow migrating fish to swim upstream without being blocked by the dam. More controversy has risen about the American eel
American eel
The American eel, Anguilla rostrata, is a catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. It has a snake-like body with a small sharp pointed head. It is brown on top and a tan-yellow color on the bottom. It has sharp pointed teeth but no pelvic fins...
in that the dam blocks their passage as well.
Removal
The removal of Bloede's Dam is in the design stage. Two dams upstream of Bloede's Dam, Simkins and Union, were removed in 2010. Removal of Bloede's Dam will leave Daniels Dam as the last remaining dam along the Patapsco River.
Other sites within Patapsco State Park, Avalon area
- Thomas ViaductThomas ViaductThe Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay and Elkridge, Maryland, USA. It is the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States to be built on a curve...
- on the Patapsco a few miles from Bloede's Dam, by the entrance of Avalon area - Patapsco Swinging BridgePatapsco Swinging BridgeThe Patapsco Swinging bridge is located in the Avalon / Orange Grove area of the park, it is a Suspension Bridge consisting of a wooden deck supported by large cables. The Patapsco Valley has a history of swinging bridges built for pedestrian travel from one side of the river to the other. The...
- another favorite attraction at the park. - Avalon Dam - another victim of the great flood in 1868 (remains)
- Grist Mill - leveled by the wrath of Agnes. (remains)