The Beginning Of The Lakes

Mountain Island Lake and dam

Clean And Clear Catawba, by Alice Battle – April 28, 2012

The hydro dams on the Catawba River were built to provide abundant cheap electric power for industry, especially the textile industry. This was a large potential market as great advances were being made in machinery.  Electricity was unknown in homes and businesses along the River.

James B. Duke, who made his fortune in tobacco, had an interest in machinery.  He introduced mechanization to his cigarette manufacturing and saw the potential for other industries. 

The first Bill Lee designed hydro dams for Walker Gill Wylie, a New York doctor reared in South Carolina. A side interest of Wylie’s was producing electricity. Wylie was the physician for both James Duke and his brother, Ben. Wylie managed to interest both men in damming the Catawba. The Dukes provided the venture capital to build a network of hydro dams designed by Lee to provide reliable electricity to large industrial customers.

In 1901 they began buying River land near Great Falls. By 1907 two dams were built on the waters south of Charlotte – one at Great Falls and the other near Rock Hill. Lake Wylie is the oldest of the power lakes. Other dams followed at Mountain Island, Wateree and Lake James.

The dam at Lake James was under construction in July of 1916. Rain fell on the Catawba Basin, and the dam was washed away.  Two hurricanes converged on the upper Catawba. More than 22 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. The muddy waters surged downstream. Farms, mills, homes and dams were washed away. The oldest dam was washed out on July 16. Other were forced to shut down.

The flood was a major setback for damming the Catawba.  James Duke never lost faith in the venture and continued to fund the rebuilding and repair of dams on the Catawba.

About Alice Battle – Alice lives on Mountain Island Lake has served on numerous groups devoted to protecting the lake, including the Duke Energy Relicensing stakeholders group. She currently is Lakekeeper for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation.