Oscoda Press
By Holly Nelson
OSCODA - Cooke Dam was the first of six AuSable River hydroelectric projects to be built and on Monday, 99 years after construction began, it was celebrated by state, county and local officials with the unveiling of a state historical marker. Markers were also placed at the site of the Five Channels Dam workers camp and at Mio Dam. Commissioner Tom Truscott of the Michigan Historical Commission shared the honor of unveiling the plaque with William Schoenlein, the Consumers Energy director of hydrogeneration. While only the three sites qualified for a state historic marker, all six AuSable River dams are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Qualifying any site for an historic marker is a lengthy and exacting process. In addition to proving the obvious historical values, Consumers had to identify a characteristic which is unique to each site. For Cooke, it was the 140,000-volt transmission line which extended 125 miles to Flint, Schoenlein said, the highest voltage transmission line in the world at that time. "Its impact of transmitting power such a long distance is a marvel which would eventually bring the benefits of electricity to power the progress of Michigan's industry and its citizens," he said. The Mio Dam, completed in 1916, was the first to pass excess river flow through concrete conduits built into the foundation of the powerhouse, reducing construction costs and solving the dangerous icing problem experienced by dams with above ground gated spillways. The 45-acre Five Channels Dam Workers' Camp was unique in that it included the sanitary necessities of a central water supply and sewage, also an icehouse, school, washroom, store and boarding house, plus gave workers plots on which to build houses or pitch tents for themselves and their families. These were improvements made by the Foote brothers - founders of Consumers Energy and builders of the six dams - utilizing lessons learned during the Panama Canal construction about worker health and living conditions, Schoenlein said. The camp was started in 1911 and dismantled in 1913 after the dam was built. Its structures are now gone, but the site is protected and its surface largely undisturbed. The unveiling of the markers was preceded by speeches from local and state officials, all of whom commented on the importance of Cooke and the other dams to the area economy, back in 1906 and today. Ed Glotfelty, vice president of the Oscoda-AuSable Historical Society, shared the story of how an accidental meeting between the Foote brothers and the Loud brothers (lumbermen from Oscoda) eventually led to the Footes purchasing the timbered river lands and constructing the dams. When the Fire of 1911 destroyed most of the area's economic resources, construction had already begun on Cooke. "By the fall of 1911, this dam was finished and they still had all the rest to go on. And so, a lot of the people who had been employed in the lumbering industry now found work building the dams, maintaining them and everything else. It was the shot in the arm that this area needed," the historian said. The Foote brothers' legacy was their vision to put in 140,000-volt carrying line, he said. "Nobody had ever done something that big before. Nobody had ever set up a system that would generate power along this river and then transport it someplace else. They had to invent it all as they went - the towers, the insulators, the wire, the substations. And then, once they got it all together and started tapping into everything, they had to figure out how to balance that system, how to manage and control all of that. They did it by their bootstraps and they did it as they went. They were the first ones to ever do a project like that," Glotfelty shared. While Glotfelty spoke of what the dams meant to the area at their inception, others focused on their value today, including Oscoda Township Supervisor Rob Huebel. "Consumers has created a resource that is one of the most exclusive and most valuable to the Oscoda area," he said. "This system works in harmony with the environment, allowing for a habitat where the bald eagle and many other species are able to survive and even thrive. "Thousands upon thousands visit our community every year to utilize this river…the boating, canoeing, sightseeing and fishing are, without a doubt, enhanced by the dam system, as maintained by Consumers." Huebel said that Consumers, as the owner of Old Orchard Park, which is operated by the township, has further boosted the economy and promoted the recreational value of the AuSable. "Without a doubt, historically and presently, Oscoda is fortunate to have a neighbor like Consumers Energy. As I have said, they have created a river system renowned nationally and even internationally," Huebel remarked. Iosco County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairman Jeff Matthews spoke from the prospective of having grown up on the river. "I think the partnership that Iosco County has [with Consumers] has been nothing but a win-win situation over the years and I want to thank Consumers Power on behalf of Iosco County and I look forward to many, many more years of its involvement." Tom Ferguson, executive director of the Michigan Sunrise Side Travel Association, talked about the tourism aspect of the dams. "It is important to understand that the river and those hydroelectric dams have a lot to do with the economic impact on places like Oscoda," he said. Ferguson said the hydroelectric dams need to stay, not only because of the one to two percent of the total power generated to the Consumers' grid, but also because of their draw as a tourist attraction. Bev Bodem, a former state legislator and now a member of Senator Tony Stamas' staff, presented Consumers with a legislative tribute for Five Channels, signed by Stamas and State Representative Joel Sheltrown. Rep. Sheltrown was also in attendance, presenting a tribute to Cooke Dam on behalf of himself, Stamas and Governor Jennifer Granholm, as well as one for the Mio Dam, on behalf of Granholm, Stamas and Rep. Matt Gillard. "I hope that Consumers Energy is going to be able to maintain this facility for the good of not only this county and this township, but also for all of Michigan, because it is a tremendous resource," Sheltrown said. Also speaking was a representative from the Utility Workers Union of America, which has been representing Consumers workers for 68 years, remarking on the efforts which the employees make to keep the dams operating and preserve their historic value. The new markers are two-sided. One side tells the history of hydropower generation in Michigan, while the other tells the story of the individual site. The Cooke marker states: William Augustine Foote, a Jackson entrepreneur, built a series of hydroelectric plants along the AuSable River with the help of his brother, electrical engineer James Berry Foote. The Footes enlisted the aid of civil engineer William Fargo and construction supervisor Grant Cochran and, in 1919, began constructing the Cooke Hydroelectric Plant. The first of six hydros built on the lower AuSable River, the plant opened the following year. Its 140,000-volt transmission line (the highest voltage in use at that time) extended 125 miles to Flint. The facility was named for Andrew Cooke, a financier who accompanied the Footes on surveys of the AuSable River and suggested this location for the plant. The marker at Five Channels reads: Consumers Power company (now Consumers Energy) built Five Channels Dam in 1911 and 1912. It was the second of six hydroelectric plants to be built on the lower AuSable River by the Foote brothers of Jackson (the founders of Consumers Power). During construction, the company sought to provide a healthy environment for workers and their families by building a 45-acre camp, complete with a central water supply and sewage system, icehouse, school, washroom, store and boarding house. Workers received land on which to build a house. Housing ranged from log or clapboard houses to tarpaper shacks and tents. Camp buildings were moved to the next site (Loud Dam) or razed as the plant neared completion in late 1912.