IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2016 - 87

history

Craig A. Woodworth

Canada-U.S. ac intertie
first Canadian hydro plant at Niagara Falls

M

MUCH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
over the past century concerning the
large, for their time, U.S. and Canadian 25-Hz hydroelectric stations in
the vicinity of Niagara Falls. However,
little has been published about the very
first Canadian hydroelectric station at
the falls and how it became involved
in an early ac international connection
between the United States and Canada.

Background
The 36-mi (57.9-km)-long Niagara River forms the border between the United
States and Canada from Lake Erie on
the south to Lake Ontario on the north.
The major tourist attraction along the
river is Niagara Falls, where the river
plunges 168 ft (51.2 m) into the Niagara
Gorge (see Figure 1). This was also an
important location for hydraulic power
development. In the 1880s, maintaining the beauty of the area adjacent to
the falls became a concern in both the
United States and Canada. On 30 April
1883, the New York legislature voted
to acquire land for a park and gave the
newly created State Reservation an annual operating budget. The new park
opened on 15 July 1887.
Also in 1887, the government of the
Province of Ontario voted to acquire
land adjacent to the Niagara River and
the Niagara Gorge in the vicinity of the
Horseshoe Falls for the Queen Victoria
Park to eliminate the tacky tourist attractions in the area. However, the leg-

islation did not provide funds for paying off the bonds or for operating and
maintaining the park, which opened
on 24 May 1888. Admission was free,
but visitors were expected to pay vari-

The Niagara Falls region of southeastern Ontario and western upstate New York
has long been an outstanding tourist attraction because of its scenic beauty and
spectacular waterfalls. The major potential for the development of hydraulic
power at first and hydroelectric power later led to early industrialization on
both sides of the falls. This article, authored by Craig A. Woodworth, an authority on electric power in western New York in general, and in Buffalo and Niagara
Falls in particular, tells the story of the first Canadian hydroelectric power plant
constructed at the falls and the very early electric lines that connected Canada
and the United States. The author also discusses further Niagara Falls electric
power development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and concludes
with an update outlining more recent developments.
Craig Woodworth holds a B.E.E. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His career with the Western Division of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation spans a total of 63 years, from summer employment during high school and
college, through 34 years of full-time employment, to consulting work from
his retirement in 1987 until April 2008. Craig served as underground engineer
in charge of services to large buildings in downtown Buffalo, New York. He
was also responsible for special cable projects, including over 20 mi (32 km)
of 230-kV cable in the Buffalo area. He later worked in overhead transmission
and retired as transmission design lead engineer. Craig is an IEEE Life Member
and was recently named a "Member 1st 50 Years" in recognition of his continuous IEEE membership since IEEE was formed on 1 January 1963 through the
merger of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and the Institute
of Radio Engineers (IRE). Craig's membership actually dates back to 7 April 1954
when he became an AIEE associate member.
We are honored and pleased to welcome Craig Woodworth back as our
guest history author for this issue of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine.
-Carl Sulzberger
Associate Editor, History

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2016.2548432
Date of publication: 16 June 2016

88

ieee power & energy magazine

ous "fees." In 1889, the park welcomed
over 250,000 visitors but did not collect
much money from fees and concessions.
However, the commissioners of Queen
Victoria Park (park commissioners)

1540-7977/16©2016IEEE

july/august 2016



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