POWERGRAMS

13 electricity for Alabama Power to build dams and expand transmission lines, which grew and improved service to the state. The plant supplied reserve power to Lay Dam and electricity for trolleys, streetlights, manufacturers and others, historian Leah Rawls Atkins noted in her award- winning book "Developed for the Service of Alabama." Having available power encouraged many companies to move to eastern Alabama. "It was the beginning of a new era – one driven by electricity," Atkins wrote. "Gadsden Steam Plant was significant in the development of the state power system." Plant Gadsden operated when hydropower wasn't available. Through the years, the plant was retrofitted several times, but employees' commitment to providing reliable energy never wavered. In 1946, the company's flagship publication, Powergrams, recorded that Alabama Power announced plans to build a new steam plant on Gadsden's site. Orders were placed for an initial installation of two 60,000-kWh, turbo-generator units to be in service in spring and summer 1949. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held June 9, 1947. Then-company President Tom Martin presented Gadsden Mayor Herbert Meighan with a miniature silver spade to symbolize the start of construction, and Meighan mounted a tractor and bulldozed the first cubic yard of dirt. The rest of the year, workers made much progress in excavation and foundation work, which included moving 77,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. In early winter, the company was building some of the plant 58 feet below ground level, in an area devoted to condensers, pumps, coal pulverizers and other machinery. On Jan. 2, 1948, Martin addressed Alabama Power's 4,000 employees on WBRC Radio, mentioning that construction of Plant Gadsden was underway and "progressed as rapidly as the supply of materials would permit … We spent in 1947 approximately $14 million for plant additions, including the Gadsden Steam Plant." Martin added that more than 125 new manufacturing plants had located in areas directly or indirectly served by Alabama Power. At the time, the company had more than 270,000 customers. The first of Plant Gadsden's new units began operating on April 7, 1949. Both units, which were dedicated on Sept. 16, 1949, were built with the ability to use coal or natural gas. The original plant produced electricity until November 1952. The original units were demolished in April 1964, signifying a bygone era. Beginning in 2000, Plant Gadsden began testing Built on the banks of the Coosa River in 1912, Gadsden Steam Plant played a huge role in electrifying Alabama.

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