Location: County: Sacramento. Nearest City: Folsom.
Campsites, facilities: No campsites. Point of interest
to visit while on tour.
Reservations, fees: Call park for information.
Contact: Phone the park at 1-916-988-0205. Tour Information:
call 1-916-985-4843. Group Tours are available throughout the
week by special arrangement
Operating hours, seasons: Wednesdays through Sunday
from Noon to 4:00pm. Call the park to verify dates and times.
Directions: The recreation area, located near the town
of Folsom, can be reached via either Highway 50 or I-80.
Weather, clothing: Summer and spring are warm; fall
and winter can be cool. Layered clothing is advised.
Trip notes: The Folsom Powerhouse is part of a colorful
chapter of Sacramento history and is also an example of the tremendous
advance in the commercial application of electricity. H.P. Livermore
realized that the water of the American River could turn generators
for electricity in Sacramento, 22 miles downstream. With his
partners, Livermore built the powerhouse, which still looks much
as it did in 1896. The opening of the powerhouse brought with
it a "grand electric carnival" parade through downtown
Sacramento and a 100-gun salute from a detachment of soldiers
near the substation. Vintage generators are still in place at
the powerhouse, as is the control switchboard, faced with Tennessee
marble. Visitors touring the powerhouse can see the massive General
Electric transformers, each capable of conducting from 800 to
11,000 volts of electricity, in addition to the forebays and
canal system that brought the water from the dam.
© 2001, Miwok Lodge 439, Order of the
Arrow, Santa Clara County Council Inc., BSA
Revision 1.2
