THE USE OF WATER POWER AT THE COLLINS COMPANY
AND HYDROELECTRIC POWER
Collinsville (Canton), Connecticut
FROM LATE 19th CENTURY TO PRESENT
THIS INFORMATION WAS GATHERED FROM THE FOLLOWING TWO SOURCES:
The Canton Hydroelectric Project Feasibility Study Prepared For The
Town of Canton, June 1979 by the Development and Resources
Corporation, Sacramento, California
Collinsville Hydroelectric Project Proposed Application For License
to The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by The Collinsville
Company, May 1983
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The Collins Company, as described in Samuel Collins Memorandum on the two previous pages, used the power of the river to run their factory, which produced high grade axes, machetes, and other related tools.
At the turn of the Century, the Collins Co. installed generators on the turbines to replace mechanical drives with electrical power. Nine small generators were located within the plant and were able to supply 1500 KW to the factory at all times. The turbines and waterways were located within the foundation structures of the mill works. The power facility in the factory consisted of seven Holyoke turbines driving synchronous generators. In the early 1930's, a powerhouse was added on the west side of the river, which had a vertical Leffel turbine and a 400 KW Westinghouse generator. The turbine generator also was used to drive a 100 HP pump, which provided fire protection for the mill and parts of the Town of Canton.
The lower dam and generating station was built in 1912 and completed in 1914. The powerhouse contained two Allis Chalmers 500 KW turbine generators. The smaller generators could supply power even with low flows, but the larger units were preferred at times of higher flows. The bulk of the power generated at the sites was consumed by the Collins Company. Excess energy was sold to the Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO). In fact, during the flood of 1936, Collins' generating stations were the sole source of power for Hartford Hospital and the radio stations of central Connecticut.
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Available records indicate that a total effective installed capacity of 2000 KW generated an average of over seven million KWH annually in the early 1950's. All the electrical power generation facilities operated with originally installed equipment until the closing of The Collins Company in 1965, with the exception of a few small generators replaced after the 1955 flood.
In 1965, The Collins Company resolved to donate the river-land, ponds, lower dam, spillways and some appurtenant structures to the Connecticut State Department of fish and game, using the good offices of the Hartford Electric Light Company. Before the closing The Collins Company, The Collinsville Company (the applicant) was formed to succeed The Collins Company, and to operate Collins property in such a manner as to prevent and utilize the hydropower facility, attract new industry to the artea, maintain the Village hydrants and the water supply and mains for hydrants and sprinkler systems.
Regulation of the Farmington River:
The drainage area above the upper dam is 354 square miles. The control of the water in the Farmington River was historically under the direction of the Farmington River Water Power Company. This company came into existence soon after the Civil War. The company received its water rights to the river by a grant from the State of Massachusetts. This gave the Farmington River Power Company the right of eminent doman to the flow of the Farmington River and all its tributaries within Massachusetts. The Collins Co. was a major stockholder in this power company, and the two companies shared officers and manpower. Other original stockholders in the power company were the Greenwoods Company of New Hartford and The Stanley Works of New Britain. The Collins Company purchased the Greenwoods' interest when that company went out of business in the early 1900's. The Stanley Works is now the sole stockholder of the Farmington River Power Company and continues to operate the Rainbow hydroelectric facility downstream in Windsor, CT, just before the Farmington River flows into the Connecticut River.
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