Wise Power House - Newcastle, California

DATE VISITED:  03/15/2015

HISTORICAL SITE:  Wise Power House

LOCATION:  Cross roads of Ophir & Wise, Newcastle, Placer Co., CA

MARKER #:  65001094

DEDICATED:  March 13, 1984

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: My next stop was to be the town of Auburn where there are several national, state and county landmarks. The road from Ophir to Auburn is very, very windy and on goes my air conditioner.  I was telling Dirk that it isn't fair that someone who likes travelling should suffer so much from motion sickness. Someday I'll have to tell the story of my Mexican cruise.

I pass by an old building that says something about a powerhouse but I didn't stop. I got to Auburn and quickly realized that everyone else decided the day was perfect for a trip to Auburn and there was no parking to be found.  There was even an article in the Sacramento Bee that day, talking about the parking nightmare in Auburn because of the popularity of Hidden Falls Park. While this park isn't in Auburn proper, people who get turned away or who want to spend time nearby end up in Auburn with all the rest of us who just want to visit. Needless to say, I turned around and headed out of Auburn.

I wasn't ready to go home quite yet and decided I wanted to go back to the powerhouse I had seen earlier. My GPS was trying to take me back to Ophir so I turned it off and made my way back...with no problems! Sometimes my internal GPS is great.

You know how they say a little knowledge is dangerous...well, since getting the tour at the Folsom Powerhouse, I understand a bit more about the production of electricity, so I need to make sure not to get boring here with details.

Building of the Wise Powerhouse started in 1913. The site for these Powerhouses was not random. Since hydraulic mining or hydraulicking for gold had been outlawed, there were lots of creeks, streams, rivers that opened up for other uses and the locals were thrilled. The hydraulicking  run off had caused lots of problems for downstream homes and farms.

The facility started producing electricity in 1917. The thing that makes this powerhouse unique was that PG&E installed the largest single discharge turbine in existence; one that, up until its installation, had only been viewed Panama-Pacific Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915.