Hydroelectric Power Development North Highlands, Thirty-eighth Street on Chattahoochee River, Columbus, Muscogee County, GA

Significance: This development was the largest in the South when built in 1900. Originally, the dam provided water for 2 power houses: one for hydroelectric power generation, one for hydromechanical power transmitted to the Bibb Mill, situated on the bluff above the dam. The simultaneous use of electrical and mechanical transmission reflects the period's view of electric power simply as a substitute for mechanical transmission when transmitting over distances. These early electricity users did not employ motors to directly power their machinery; their motors turned line shafting inside the mills. The rope drive that transmitted power to the Bibb mill until 1954 is both a curiosity and a tribute to the efficiency of mechanical power transmission. The original power houses produced electricity for Columbus until 1963 when they were replaced by a modern 30,000 Kilowatt hydroelectric plant.
Survey number: HAER GA-26
Building/structure dates: 1902 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1963 Subsequent Work