Located about 10 miles west of Brandon on the Little Saskatchewan River, this dam was the first hydroelectric generating station in operation in western Canada. It began supplying power to the city in 1901. This power source, which could not operate in winter, was supplemented by the steam plant on 10th St. By about 1920 the steam plant had been greatly expanded and the hydroelectric plant closed. The old dam was washed out due to a thunder storm in 1948.
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
Scope and Content
Original Hydroelectric Dam belonging to Brandon Light & Power Co.
Notes
[Mr. Stuckey put two negatives (with two views each) in one envelope, numbering each view J3b through J3e. We have separated them.]
Situated in the R.M. of Whitehead on the Little Saskatchewan River, the 10 Mile Dam was a 14 kilometer transmission line that supplied the city of Brandon with power. The Brandon Electric Light Company built the dam in 1900 and it is considered Manitoba's first hydroelectic power generating station. The dam spanned approximately 80 meters and was constructed from timber and reinforced with clay and stone. The station was decommissioned in 1924.
Alonzo Archibald Rowe (b. 1862, London, ON; d. 22 Oct 1951, Brandon). The Rowes were considered Brandon area pioneers. Alonzo’s father, Alonzo L. Rowe, came to Brandon with his family in 1881, where the family had a furniture and undertaker business on the west side of 10th Street between Rosser and Princess Avenues. In 1885, the family began farming west of Brandon and Alonzo Archibald served as a councilor and then a reeve in the R.M. of Whitehead. He returned to Brandon in 1907 and served with the Brandon Police Department until 1910, when he returned to farming, this time in Arrow River. A.A. Rowe returned to Brandon in 1915 to work as a Provincial Licenses Inspector, a position he held until 1938. (Source: Obituary, Brandon Daily Sun 22 Oct 1951)
Custodial History
Photograph was in possession of Mrs. Ruby Miles, who passed the image on to Fred McGuinness. McGuinness makes reference to Mrs. Miles and this photograph in his Sunbeams column (Source: F.A. Rosser, "Another interesting chat with a daughter of the plains," Brandon Sun 18 Aug 1981).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows four fishermen at 10 Mile Dam, also known as the Brandon Dam or Minnedosa River Hydro Plant. The fishermen in the photo are identified as George H. Rowe and his father A.A. Rowe, Dr. Wilfred Bigelow, and Al Collins.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: at Brandon Dam, [right to left] son and father - George H. ROWE, Mr. A.A. ROWE, Dr. BIGELOW, Al COLLINS (dam?, 1906?, George born March 1897); Jerrett's Photo-Services, May 7 1938.
