A BIT ABOUT BARKER DAM by Pam North Gilpinites who watched last Sunday's fireworks show on the banks of Nederland's Barker Reservoir might have had a few moments of passing curiosity about that picturesque body of water and the dam that dominates its eastern end. The early 1900s brought about a great need by Colorado for electric power, and the rushing mountain streams were perceived to be an important source for unlimited water resources. The state originally planned to have several hydroelectric facilities, but ultimately only two were built: the Shoshone near Glenwood Springs, and the one at the edge of Nederland. The hay meadows that ultimately became the site for the project were owned by Mrs. Hannah Barker, who had no desire to part with them; she turned down the purchase offer made by the Central Colorado Power Company (now Public Service). The company had to resort to condemnation proceedings in Boulder's district court to secure the necessary land for its proposed project. The jury's verdict in favor of the power company forced Mrs. Barker to exchange her ownership of the land for the sum of $23,000. The Barker Dam and Reservoir, where the Boulder Hydroelectric System originates, are the results of supreme engineering. Here is the starting point of the water's journey through a concrete gravity line following an 11.7 mile route eastward through the mountains to Kossler Reservoir, where it drops 1,828 feet to power the turbines generating electricity in lower Boulder Canyon. Construction equipment was transported to the dam site at Nederland by the Colorado & Northwestern Railroad, and included a sizeable saw mill, two aerial tramways, and a steam shovel similar to those used to dig the Panama Canal. The transportation route went through Cardinal and Sulphide by narrow-gauge railroad, and from Sulphide a temporary four-mile-long spur line had to be built to connect eastward to the dam site. The construction of the Nederland-to-Kossler concrete gravity line proved to be even more of a challenge than the building of the dam itself. The difficulty of transportation through the rugged mountain terrain was resolved by manufacturing sections of the line on-site at various points. The steel pipe sections of the penstock tube, through which the water moved from Kossler Reservoir to the power house, were 52 inches in diameter at its upper sections, narrowing to 44 inches near the plant. Water pressure measured 88 pounds per square inch at its entrance to the power house, the highest water pressure of any plant in America. Two major interruptions occurred during the construction process. The 1907 depression delayed the labor of digging down to the bedrock until June, 1908. The subsequent concrete work, impossible to pour in freezing temperatures, then had to be postponed until the following summer. On August 4, 1910, a ceremony celebrating the dam's completion was held, with Boulder's mayor, Alfred A. Greenman, officially opening the switch. A slight sham occurred at that point; the plant in reality was not quite ready to produce power, and another switch was operated in the background at the precise moment that the mayor was turning the ceremonial one. The power that came on that day actually originated from the Shoshone hydro plant. The Boulder Hydoelectric System, in comparison to the limited practical knowledge of such systems at that time, proved to be a highly-touted engineering feat, and its construction provided technical information that later was assimilated throughout the world. The Boulder Canyon power plant is now completely automated. Next time you make that trip into Nederland for groceries and gas refills, or continue down the canyon to Boulder, take another look at this local landmark and appreciate the effort and ingenuity that brought it into being. Resource: Nederland - A Trip to Cloudland, by Isabel M. Becker.