Built 1905 NRHP Reference # 82004957 Area 5 ha | Architect F.O. Toquet Opened 1905 Added to NRHP 24 June 1982 | |
 | ||
Location Stockbridge, Massachusetts Similar Mission House, National Shrine of The Divin, Monument Mountain, Norman Rockwell Museum, October Mountain State For | ||
The Glendale Power House is a historic power station on the Housatonic River, just off Massachusetts Route 183 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The 1905 power house was the one of the first places in the United States where electricity was generated for the purpose of providing power to an industrial facility. It was built by Monument Mills of Housatonic, at the site of a dam that dated to the 1840s for a papermaking operation. The stone building uses stone originally quarried for the Glendale Woolen Mill. The power station was taken out of service in 1946, and most of its original generation equipment removed.
The property was redeveloped to provide hydro power in the 1980s. Its four turbines can produce 1.07 MW of electricity. Electricity generation depends on the availability of water; during a drought, the water level might fall too low to run the turbines.
The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.