Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities

Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities

Company type	Hydroelectric power stations
Industry	Energy
Founded	1908
Defunct	2005
Fate	Decommissioned and dismantled for ecological restoration
Headquarters	Yavapai County , United States
Area served	Arizona
Products	Hydroelectric power (4.2 megawatts combined output)
Owner	Arizona Public Service Company (APS)

Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities consisted of two early 1900s hydroelectric power stations, a dam, and associated structures situated along Fossil Creek in Arizona. This complex was honored as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1971 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The site was decommissioned in 2005, after which key components such as the dam, Irving Power Plant, and extensive concrete flumes were dismantled to reestablish the creek's original flow.

History

The water rights for Fossil Creek were purchased in 1900 by rancher Lew Turner, aiming to supply hydroelectric power to mining operations in Yavapai County, including copper mines located in Jerome. Construction of the Childs Power Plant began in 1908 under the Arizona Power Company, which later merged into Arizona Public Service Company (APS). Due to challenging terrain and the considerable distance from Mayer’s nearest railroad, over 400 mules and 600 laborers—mostly Apache and Mojave Native Americans—transported materials along a 40-mile route. This effort supported building a dam, powerhouse, and roughly 8,800 feet of concrete flumes that directed water to the plant near the Verde River.

The Irving Power Plant was erected between 1915 and 1916 upstream on Fossil Creek from Childs. The location’s canyons and a consistent flow rate of 43 cubic feet per second from Fossil Springs provided an ideal setting for hydroelectric production. Combined, both facilities generated a total output of 4.2 megawatts.

Funding for the Childs facility was secured through bonds marketed by William Bonbright and Company; the plant was named after S. W. Childs, a bond broker at Bonbright. The Irving plant received its name in honor of co-founder Irving Bonbright, while Stehr Lake reservoir commemorated Frederick W. Stehr, APS’s treasurer.

In 1976, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognized Childs-Irving as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Operations ceased in 2005 due to high maintenance costs and limited power generation capacity, prompting APS to focus on ecological restoration of the stream. By 2008, APS had removed diversion structures including the dam and flumes, dismantled access roads, and replanted native vegetation near the former dam location.

Flume and tunnels

The initial construction phase incorporated concrete flumes and tunnels as part of the water conveyance system.

Stehr Lake

Located between the Childs and Irving plants, Stehr Lake is an artificial reservoir that collected water from flumes and tunnels. It functioned as a reserve water source for the Childs plant during periods when flume maintenance was required, storing sufficient volume to sustain plant operations for approximately three and a half days.

Fossil Springs and Fossil Creek are named due to elevated calcium carbonate concentrations that result in travertine formations along the creek bed.

See also

• Fossil Springs Wilderness

External links

• APS Childs-Irving Collection at Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
• , plus 32 records documenting individual components