National Register of Historic Places

McCarthy Power Plant

McCarthy, Valdez-Cordova County, Alaska
Listed
April 25, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79003752

About this property

The McCarthy Power Plant, also known as the Mother Lode Coalition Mining Company Power House and the Mother Lode Plant, is a historic power plant building in the small community of McCarthy, Alaska, in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It is a three-story wood-frame structure with a clerestory roof, located on the banks of McCarthy Creek. It was built in 1917, after the arrival of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway in the area kicked off a building boom. The coal-fired power plant was built to provide electricity for the operation of a tramway and other facilities of the Kennecott mines. Most of the transmission lines and the tramway were destroyed by avalanches in 1919, and other changes made soon afterward made the power plant unnecessary, and its turbine was moved up to Kennecott. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Location

McCarthy, Valdez-Cordova County, Alaska
61.43205, -142.92705

Categories

INDUSTRY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

McCarthy General Store
Industrial
0.2 mi
Kennecott Mines
Listed
6.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was McCarthy Power Plant listed on the National Register?

McCarthy Power Plant was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 1979.

What type of historic resource is McCarthy Power Plant?

McCarthy Power Plant is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for McCarthy Power Plant?

The period of significance for McCarthy Power Plant is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near McCarthy Power Plant?

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