Embrey Dam
In 1909-10, the Fredericksburg Water Power Company constructed the Embrey Dam and its power plant on Caroline Street, for the express purpose of generating electric power. The increasing number of uses for this emerging technology encouraged such an ambitious investment, which had profound impact on the region. Electrification allowed mills and other industries to be built near roads and railways, rather than within flood hazard areas.
Frank J. Gould acquired the local utility and established the regional Spotsylvania Power Company. The firm also absorbed the Rappahannock Electric Light & Power Company, which had been Fredericksburg’s earliest electric generating enterprise, established in the 1880s.
The Embrey Dam provided electric power to the region through the 1960s and backed up a reservoir for municipal drinking water until the 1990s. The dam’s utility ended with construction of a joint water treatment plant in Spotsylvania County and its removal began in 2004.
Marker can be reached from Fall Hill Avenue near Normandy Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
