Bull Run Powerhouse: Forgotten Oregon History Embedded in Nature
by Abby Haney
Photo of the different tools workers used on the powerhouse for repair and construction. Each tool is from back then and hasn’t been tampered with.
Bull Run Powerhouse was an innovation of its time. Using technology of creating flumes to get it powered, a machine shop located on site, being powered by three rivers rather than one, and having a man made lake for water storage all made it ahead of its time. Not only that, it defied safety by keeping fuses and transformers close together without any major incident occurring. It is unlike any other powerplant during its time and ones today.
The Bull Run Powerhouse was a hydroelectric power plant that was built from 1909 to 1912 in the town of Bull Run to generate electricity for the electric trolleys that supported the timber industry and supplied the town. “It was one of the first hydroelectric plants that was built in the state of Oregon and really, it was one of the first hydroelectric plants that was being built in the world,” Executive Director Claire Guy said.
The building includes the turbines which powered the electricity but also the transformers, circuits and fuses. However, each of these weren’t built safely, with six transformers right next to each other and fuses a mere five feet apart. . While safety wasn’t thought out, gaining resources was. A still-functioning belt driver machine shop and blacksmith shop was built on site in order to make necessary tools on-site.
“The first folks that conceived this place came from a different time. They really came from a time of self sufficiency,” Guy said.
Photo of one of the circuit boxes located inside the power plant. The circuit was operational with the powerplant until 2008 when it was decommissioned.
Originally built to power electric trolleys, Bull Run’s electricity began to power local communities after the trolleys were decommissioned in 1930.
“The power this place generated for the folks in the Bull Run, it very well was some of the first electricity that they had in real life like this,” Board of Directors President Kellen Bateham said.
“It kind of speaks to that “get it done” nature that these people are approaching this project. They really wanted train tracks to be able to move people and materials all the way out here. They wanted trail lines running out here to help with logging,” Guy said.
The floor view of the Bull Run Powerhouse where the turbines were located. On the left is a photo from then and the photo on the right is from now.
Unlike most power plants, Bull Run was powered by not one, but three rivers.. Water started at the Big Sandy River and the Marmot Dam before it went through a tunnel system to Little Sandy Dam to dump into Little Sandy River. From there a flume system was created to have the water travel into man made Roslyn Lake, which stored water until needed for the plant, to then finally be dispersed into the Bull Run River.
“This place was interesting because they ended up diverting two rivers and collecting it ultimately into Roslyn Lake,” Guy said.
Roslyn Lake was important for the power plant but also the people within the community. It became a source of enjoyment during the summer. In 2008, the plant was decommissioned and unfortunately, the lake was also drained during that, a hard loss for the community.
“When they ended up draining the lake, the community sorta of took a hit because it was just a big spot that everybody went to,” Guy said.
The plant, lake and Marmot Dam all were shut down in 2008 due to protection of native fish. In order to power the plant, the Little Sandy and Big Sandy River had to be dumped into the Bull Run River, mixing its smell. For the fish, this confused them and prevented their ability to travel as they rely on the river smell to find their way home. In order to help the fish populations, a new program began which stocks the river with farm fish who are acclimatized to the Bull Run River by putting them in a tank located at the Bull Run Powerhouse. This effort has rehabilitated the fish that was lost due to the powerhouse.
“They moved a lot of water around which was a lot of work and it kind of wreaked havoc on fish populations, like salmon in particular, don't enjoy having their waterways disrupted,” Bateham said.
When the power plant was decommissioned, three architectural preservationists, Rick Michaelson, Karen Karlsson and Jeff Joslin, bought the site and made it into a non-profit. Their goal was to preserve the power plant and provide the public with information.
“There was a big not abandonment but they closed the doors. It became a time capsule,” Bateham said.
Photo of the individual turbines located at the power plant. The photo on the left is the turbine from back then and the photo on the right is from now.
“The bull run is very much marked by an old world meets new world approach to technology,” Guy said.
While the town of Bull Run no longer exists, the historic power plant does. Currently, a second Bull Run Powerhouse exists that is fully operational. The historic powerhouse is available to the public for tours. To learn more about Bull Run Powerhouse go to their website https://bullrunpowerhouse.org/ or visit the Sandy Historical Society which has an exhibit about Bull Run.
Abby Haney will be the upcoming Editor-In-Chief at Sandy High School for the Pioneer Press and is a writer at large for The Sandy Historical Society.