POWERGRAMS

When James Mitchell came to Alabama in the fall of 1911 to inspect sites where he could construct a hydroelectric dam, the diplomatic alignments that would bring a general war to Europe in 1914 were already in place. The Triple Alliance united Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy and was completed by 1882. The Triple Entente linked France and Russia in 1894, Great Britain and France in 1904, and Russia and Great Britain in 1907. The battle sides for war had been determined. A long series of escalating provocations began. As concerned as Mitchell was about the stability of peace in Europe, his immediate focus was on opportunities to develop an interconnected electrical system in Alabama. Powered by hydroelectricity from dams and backed up by coal-fired generation, Mitchell believed that in Alabama he could produce and sell electricity cheaper than in any place he had seen. Mitchell was an entrepreneur, who was investing much of his own fortune in what he called his "Alabama adventure," but he also needed to borrow money. Traveling over the state, he observed the living conditions of much of the population – rural, isolated with no electricity and with only limited employment opportunities, especially for good wage-paying manufacturing jobs. Mitchell believed that cheap electricity to run machinery would improve the lives of Alabama's people, and he developed a strong personal commitment to the state. Mitchell knew that by bringing inexpensive and reliable electricity to operate mills and factories, street railways, cities and homes, there would be more good jobs, which would bring a higher standard of living. But Mitchell also had to make enough profit to repay his loans and make a return on his investments. Between 1905 and 1914, one European diplomatic crisis after another ratcheted up the possibility of war. By 1913, Mitchell saw the completion of his Coosa River dam, Jackson Shoals and the production of hydroelectricity there. The new Gadsden Steam Plant soon was producing electricity, and transmission lines connected the Lock 12 dam at Gadsden and the Birmingham Industrial District. This was the first electrical generation in Alabama that delivered HISTORY Mitchell 2

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