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.
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“In front of these sinister facts, the first lesson of history is the good of evil. Good is a good doctor, but Bad is sometimes a better.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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