History
The current Folsom Dam, built in 1955, replaced an earlier, smaller dam that had been completed in 1893 by Horatio Gates Livermore. The earlier dam had fed the Folsom Powerhouse, generating electricity that was transmitted to Sacramento over a 22 mi (35 km)-long distribution line, the longest electrical distribution system in the world at the time. The remains of the earlier dam can be seen downstream from the Folsom Lake Crossing.
The current dam was originally authorized by Congress in 1944 as a 355,000 acre·ft (438,000 dam³) flood control unit, and was reauthorized in 1949 as a 1,000,000 acre·ft (1,200,000 dam³) multiple-purpose facility. Construction began in 1952 and it opened in 1955. Construction of the dam began in October 1948 and was completed in May 1956.
Some old settlements and towns were flooded when the lake was filled, including Mormon Island and Salmon Falls.
Read more about this topic: Folsom Dam
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In history as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment and a thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)