Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hydroelectric power |
| Founded | 1882 |
| Founder | Jacob F. Schoellkopf |
| Defunct | 1918 |
| Fate | Merged with Niagara Falls Power Company |
| Headquarters | Niagara Falls, New York , United States |
| Products | Hydroelectric power |
Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was an American enterprise headquartered in Niagara Falls, New York. It was the pioneer in harnessing hydroelectric energy from Niagara Falls in 1882. This achievement was based on prior attempts to develop a hydraulic mill canal. In 1918, the company merged with Niagara Falls Power Company, which later became Niagara Mohawk and was ultimately acquired by National Grid plc in 2002.
Porter, Barton and Company
In 1805, the firm "Porter, Barton & Company", consisting of Augustus Porter, Peter Porter, Benjamin Barton, and Joseph Anim, acquired the Niagara River and the American Falls from the state of New York through a public auction. This purchase included water rights spanning from above the upper rapids down to below the Falls. The company transported goods overland from Lake Erie to Lewiston along the Niagara River, then forwarded shipments eastward via Lake Ontario. However, the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 made this portage route obsolete, halting development initiatives at Niagara Falls. In 1847, Augustus Porter proposed constructing a hydraulic mill canal and offered its right of way to interested developers; nevertheless, both Porter brothers passed away before any construction commenced.
Niagara Falls Hydraulic Company
In 1852, land and water rights were purchased from the Porter heirs by Caleb Smith Woodhull and partners with plans to build a canal. They established the "Niagara Falls Hydraulic Company" in 1853 and obtained a grant for a 100-foot-wide corridor extending from above the upper rapids to below the Falls. Work began that same year but ceased after sixteen months when expenses surpassed projections, resulting in bankruptcy.
Niagara Falls Water Power Company
Stephen N. Allen took over the company in 1856, renaming it the Niagara Falls Water Power Company. By 1857, most of the canal's entrance and river sections were completed, except for a narrow extension at the basin's southern end which was finished only in 1881.
Niagara Falls Canal Company
In 1860, Horace H. Day acquired the company and changed its name to the Niagara Falls Canal Company. With an investment totaling $1.5 million, the canal was completed in 1861 but remained unused during the American Civil War. It eventually became operational in 1875 when Charles B. Gaskill's Cataract City Milling Company utilized its water to power a flour grist mill.
Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company
Following bankruptcy in 1877 due to limited clientele, the company was auctioned off and bought by Jacob F. Schoellkopf for $71,000. In 1878, Schoellkopf founded the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company to capitalize on the canal’s potential. He completed excavation efforts and expanded the canal in 1892. By 1896, power plant number two was up and running, delivering electricity to factories located above Niagara Falls.
The business grew by adding several expansions and constructing plant number three several hundred feet north of the original site. Operations were situated below what became known as the first Upper Steel Arch Bridge. Plant two measured 100 feet by 176 feet and produced an average continuous output of 34,000 horsepower. The canal ensured a consistent supply of water year-round over a 210-foot drop from forebay to tailrace.
Since it was built prior to widespread adoption of alternating current technology, this facility generated direct current electricity with distribution limited within approximately two miles. In 1898, to encourage industrial development in the area, the company established the Niagara Junction Railway.
Hydraulic Power Company of Niagara Falls
Following the 1907 legislation by the New York Public Service Commission that prohibited non-electric entities from producing and distributing electrical energy, the hydraulic operations formerly under the "Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company" were reorganized as the Hydraulic Power Company of Niagara Falls. Concurrently, the "Cliff Electrical Distributing Company" was formed to handle power distribution. The Hydraulic Power Company retained ownership of essential assets such as buildings, land, penstocks, turbines, and water wheels.
This company provided electricity to prominent industrial firms in Niagara Falls, New York, including the Niagara Gorge Railroad, Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), National Electrolytic Company, along with several other significant manufacturers.
By 1908, the principal executives included George B. Mathews serving as president, William D. Olmsted as vice president, Arthur Schoellkopf holding the roles of secretary and treasurer, Paul A. Schoellkopf as assistant secretary and treasurer, and John L. Harper acting as chief engineer. The board of directors comprised Mathews, Olmstead, Arthur Schoellkopf, Jacob F. Schoellkopf Jr., and J. L. Romer.
Cliff Electrical Distributing Company
The Cliff Electrical Distributing Company was established to legally facilitate the distribution of electric power on behalf of the Hydraulic Power Company. By 1914, its principal customers included Alcoa, consuming approximately 70,000 horsepower, and Cliff Electrical Distributing Company itself, utilizing between 30,000 and 40,000 horsepower. Both Alcoa and Cliff maintained ownership over their respective electrical generators and transmission systems; meanwhile, the Hydraulic Power Company controlled the remaining infrastructure.
In 1914, company directors were Peter P. Pfohl, Paul A. Schoellkopf, John Olmstead, C. P. Hugo Schoellkopf, and Jacob F. Schoellkopf Jr. Officers included Peter P. Pfohl as president, Paul A. Schoellkopf serving as secretary and treasurer, and C. P. Hugo Schoellkopf as vice president.
Niagara River Hydraulic Tunnel, Power, and Sewer Company
Inspired by Schoellkopf’s accomplishments in developing millsites and anticipating increased power demand, Charles B. Gaskill of Cataract City Milling Company founded the Niagara River Hydraulic Tunnel, Power, and Sewer Company in 1886. He enlisted engineer Thomas Evershed to devise a plan for harnessing power.
Evershed’s design involved generating mechanical energy through waterwheels and turbines powered by twelve canals diverting water from the upper Niagara River to 238 waterwheel pits. Afterward, water would be channeled through a substantial tunnel into the gorge beneath Niagara Falls. Due to excessive costs associated with this approach, Edward Dean Adams and his team shifted focus toward hydroelectric generation featuring a centralized plant with a shortened tunnel.
Niagara Falls Power Company
The Niagara Falls Power Company along with Cataract Construction Company were formed in 1889 to implement this revised hydroelectric concept. Edward Dean Adams presided over Cataract Construction and spearheaded efforts to construct a central generating facility while overcoming challenges related to long-distance electrical transmission. By December 1892, both the Evershed tunnel and Adams’s inlet canal for the power station were completed.
To address transmission difficulties further, Cataract Construction sponsored the International Niagara Commission in 1890 under Lord Kelvin’s chairmanship. Although seventeen proposals—including direct current systems favored by Thomas Edison—were submitted, none met approval; consequently, a $100,000 prize was offered for a workable solution.
When no winner emerged by May 6, 1893, Lord Kelvin invited George Westinghouse to apply alternating current technology at Niagara Falls. Financed by notable investors such as J.P. Morgan, John Jacob Astor IV, Lord Rothschild, and W.K. Vanderbilt, construction progressed over several years. The Edward Dean Adams Power Plant—designed by McKim, Mead & White—commenced electricity generation on August 26, 1895; by November 1896 power had reached Buffalo. Initially supplying 1,000 horsepower to Buffalo’s street railway company—which soon requested an additional 5,000 horsepower—the facility established a foundation for large-scale electric distribution.
In a manner similar to agreements between the Hydraulic Power Company of Niagara Falls and Cliff Electrical Distributing Company, the Niagara Falls Power Company supplied electricity to the International Railway Company operating streetcars in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The railway installed rotary converters within the generating station without incurring extra rental charges.
Consolidation
In 1918, under governmental directives aimed at optimizing the utilization of the Niagara River's water resources as mandated by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1910, three companies—the "Cliff Electrical Distributing Company," the "Hydraulic Power Company of Niagara Falls," and the "Niagara Falls Power Company"—united. The merged organization continued operating under the name "Niagara Falls Power Company" and issued a total of $26,000,000 in capital stock, comprising both common and preferred shares. The breakdown of this capital stock was as follows:
- $11,515,400 in 7% cumulative preferred stock (distributed to shareholders of the former "Niagara Falls Power Company")
- $14,484,600 in common stock (divided among shareholders from all three merging firms)
On March 2, 1921, the newly formed company obtained a federal license valid for 50 years from the Federal Power Commission pursuant to the Federal Water Power Act of 1920. This license permitted the diversion of water from the Niagara River both upstream and downstream of Niagara Falls in New York for hydroelectric power production.
Subsequently, the "Niagara Falls Power Company" was renamed "Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.," which was later purchased by National Grid plc in 2002 in a transaction valued at $3 billion.