North Star Mine Powerhouse

North Star Mine Powerhouse
North Star Mine Powerhouse
California Historical Landmark  #843
North Star Mine Powerhouse is located in California
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Location: Mining and Pelton Wheel Museum

South end of Mill Street at Allison Ranch Road
Grass Valley, California

Coordinates: 39°12′50.1″N 121°4′19.0″W / 39.213917°N 121.07194°W / 39.213917; -121.07194
Built/Founded: 1895
Architect: Arthur De Wint Foote
Architectural style(s): Pelton wheel
Governing body: City of Grass Valley

The North Star Mine Powerhouse is located at the North Star Mine in Grass Valley, California, USA. When the mining operations expanded subsequent to the California Gold Rush, the powerhouse was added. In 1895, it became the site of the largest tangential water wheel in the world.[1] Situated by Wolf Creek, a mile west of the Empire Mine, the powerhouse is a designated California Historical Landmark, and has been turned into the North Star Mine and Powerhouse & Pelton Wheel Museum.

Contents

History

In 1878, Lester Pelton of Camptonville brought a strange machine to the Miners Foundry in nearby Nevada City. The Pelton wheel, about the size of a car tire and referred to as "Wheel One", was put on display for mine owners. It used cups on a wheel to draw water and harness power.[1] Running out of trees to burn, the North Star decided to switch to hydraulic power, and Arthur De Wint Foote designed the 30-foot (9.1 m) wheel which drove four new compressors that delivered 90 pounds (41 kg) of air pressure for 2,000 feet (610 m) to the mine's central shaft.[1] For his ingenuity, Foote was made the North Star's superintendent.

The powerhouse is now a museum. The New Verde Mining Company donated an acre of land and the remains of the old power house. The wheel was saved from the scrap heap by a Grass Valley resident who raised $2,000 to purchase the wheel and donated it to the Historical Society.[2]

Landmark

The plaque's inscription reads:

NORTH STAR MINE POWERHOUSE

The North Star Powerhouse, built by A. D. Foote in 1895, was the first complete plant of its kind. Compressed air, generated by Pelton water wheels, furnished power for the entire mine operation. The 30-foot Pelton wheel was the largest in the world, and was in continuous use for over 30 years.

Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Nevada County Historical Society 15 May 1971.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Touchstone (1991-10-21). "WORLDS LARGEST TANGENTIAL WATER WHEEL". International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. p. 5. http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5617.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 
  2. ^ Jones, Glenn (2007-09-07). "The North Star Mine and Powerhouse & Pelton Wheel Museum". nevadacountyhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2008-06-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080627221453/http://www.nevadacountyhistory.org/htmls/northstar.html. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 
  3. ^ "NORTH STAR MINE POWERHOUSE". ohp.parks.ca.gov. http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/listed_resources/default.asp?num=843. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 

External links

Coordinates: 39°12′31″N 121°04′11″W / 39.20861°N 121.06972°W / 39.20861; -121.06972


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