|W,. C. Whitner Made
Carolinas History
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Pioneer in Original Development Of Hydro-Electric Power,
Leader In Development Of Portman Shoals Plant
and Power Transmission.
BY FRANK A. DICKSON.
ANDERSON, S. C., May 19. Death has closed the rcImarkable career of William C. Whitner, the man who in
[the early part of his life was responsible for Anderson's
well-known designation as "The Electric City." It was this
(native Andersonian, whose death occurred recently at his
home in Rock Hill, who was a leader in the development
of the hydroelectric plant at Portman Shoals, 10 miles west
of Andereon on the Seneca river, four decades ago a
plant that made history.
This waa used for the incandes
The dam was one of the pioneers
lot today's great hydro-electric inIdustry. and the whole world felt
the impulse of this work of con
struction. Here, on one of the two
11trearns that converge to form the
[Savannah river, was built the first
[plant for long distance transmission
(without step-up transformers. It is
(still in operation.
As a result of the construction of
I the dam, Anderson was the first
(place in the United States to oper
ate a cotton gift by electricity, the
|one operated by Oliver Bolt,
Furthermore, the Anderson CotIton Mill was the first cotton mill on
(the American continent to use the
(individual drive of that imponder
able and invisible agent, electricity.
1 Until now this milt employs the
(same source of power.
This dam robbed power from the
[river that had tumbled along for
[ages without any value except for
drainage purposes and turning an
occasional grist mill True, for half
la century before the erection of the
[dam. in 1897-98, men had thought it
[possible to transmit "white fire"
lover long distances, but they failed
|to put their dreams into reality?
|YOUNG ENGINEER DREAMS.
The possibilities of hydro-electric
(power were seen in the nineties by
[Whitner, then a young engineer of
|Anderson engaging in the electric
field. In 1890 he had established the
(Andersen waterworks and lighted
the city with 750 incandescent
lamps, generating the electric curfrent by steam power.
Four years later he became obIsessed with the idea of utilizing
some nearby water power for the
operation of the electric light plant
land waterworks. Such was his conIviction that he persuaded his com
pany to attempt the long-distance
(transmission of electric power on a
(small scale, as something of an ex
periment, at High Shoals, on Rocky
river, six miles distant from the
(city.
Leasing High Shoste. Whitner
[constructed there one of the first
practical hydro-electric power
plants in the world. The project
represented an investment of 125,000. a part of which was Anderson
money, and he actually succeeded
|in developing and transmitting 200
Lelectrical '
cent lights, which had been increas
ed to 2,000. and for the 70 arc lights
that were installed. It also served
the large power pumps at the water
works plant, while the remainder
were distributed to various smaller
industries in the city.
The plant at High ShoaU to
known u the first long-distance
transmission power established
In the Southern BUtes.
To Its further credit, the electrle generator in use then was
the first altenutlng current ma
chine In the world to be built
and operated for an Initial volt
age of 5.000 volts, despite the
opinion that it waa Impractic
able to operate this type of
dynamo at so high a voltage.
WHITNER 8 CONCEPTIAN.
and he gave to the citizens the mes
sage that the development of Port-1
man Shoals would endow Anderson
with a new spirit and transform the
city and county into a manufactur-f
ing center.
W. 8. LEE IN CHARGE.
The population expressed confid-l
ence in the ability of Dr. Orr, Whitner. and the rest, proceeding so far
as to subscribe $50,000 of the bonds
to be issued. Within a short period
there waa raised $100,000 outside the
city for the purpose of making pos
sible a hydro-electric plant which
would lift burdens from the shoul-|
ders of humanity,
One of the biggest questions was]
who should be selected as chief en-i
gineer for construction of the new!
dam. After a careful study, WhHner put an Anderson.bred engineer.
William Statea Lee, in charge.
Incidentally, in later years Lee)
rcame executive head of the great
Duke Power Company, the dams of
which generate a vaat volume of
electricity, turning the tumbling]
waters of the Piedmont section of I
the- two Carolina* Into yellow gold..
Although the alternating curren
was comparatively new and high
voltage was nothing more than an
experiment fraught with danger,
Whitner conceived the only practic
al method to run the machine at
low voltage and use step-up trans
formers to obtain the high voltage
necessary. Many regarded his views
as impractical and visionary, but he
visited various manufacturing com
panies to discuss the building of
such a machine.
At last the Stanley Manufacturing
Company, of Pittsfield. Massa
chusetts, supported Whitner in his
theory and constructed the ma
chines. Since that time all man
ufacturers have adopted gen
erators of high voltage, and to Whit
ner belongs the distinction of being
the pioneer in Uie use of high volt
age machine* 'and long distance
transmission.
By his plant at High Shoals. Whlt-1
ner proved to a Bkeptical civilisation
that electricity could be a powerful 1
and useful servant and could ac-j
compllah In an hour more than man
kind could perform In a month.
Convinced, the And re son Cotton
Mill soon reached a decision to use
electric power instead of steam, as]
did numerous other industries.
So Whitner began planning a i
larger, more useful plant. He and I
his associates selected as its site
Portman Shoals, and re-organized
the company, with several of the
leading business men as directors.!
Dr. S. M. Orr wa£'"elected president
Th* dam at Portman Shoals was!
built largely by native labor, with]
farmers, white and black, leaving
their farms during tha "slack" sea
son to make what then were un-l
heard-of wages. It waa the first in
stance In tbe history of Anderson i
county that common labor received
a dollar a day.
In the construction a feature was)
the harmony and co-ordination
among the workmen and their direc
tors. Lee himself often gave gav«
assistance to the linemen stringing
wires and to other employees. The
result was rapid progress, and at
length the dam was completed.
NEW DAY FOR ANDERSON.
The project ha* been off icially set
on record aa being the first hydro
electric plant to generate high*
transmitting voltage without thaj
use of step-up transformers. Whit
ner used generators furnishing 11,000 volts, which were operated with
absolute safety and met with per
fect satisfaction. In that period th«
plant ranked aa the only one in ex*
istence where alternating current
generators were operated with such
a high voltage u 11,000 volts direct
on the generators and switch boards.
The city of Anderson became the
chief receiver of power from the
dam. Wires were strung for ten
miles, from the location to the city,
and the power distributed for sev
eral purposes, including light and
textile manufacturing. With the
wonderful possibilities of hydro
electric power becoming realities,
the impression grew upon the peo-j
lie that a new age waa dawning.
William C. Whitner
Dies At Rock Hill
Pioneer In Hydroelectric Development of Carolinas Passes At
Home On Riverview Dairy Farm—Was First to
, Harness Catawba River.,
William Church Whitner, aged 76, of Rock Hill, S. C,,
[noted engineer and farmer, died yesterday at 5 p. m. at
his home on Oakland avenue, Rock Hill, after an illness
I of several months.
Mr. Whitner's life work was that
of building dams. He was the first
[man in the world to give an order
for a 10,000-volt generator in a
| power plant. It i« he who harinessed the Catawba river at Hock
I Hill, and the engineer who put
AnderRnnt S. C., on the map.
In more recent years he retired
to his 1,000-acre Riverview Dairy
farm near Rock Hill, one of the
most amazing and modern plants
of its kind in the South.
(BORN IN ANDERSON.
William Church Winter was born
vincing financiers that his project
was practicable, and he had to plead
for the money to finance it. But
st last he had the work done, and
Anderson had the first textile mill
powered by electricity transmitted)
over a considerable distance.
Later Mr. Whitener became asso-l
dated with the Southern Power
company, now the Duke Power
company, and had a determining
part in the. enormous hydroelectric!
developments in York county.
In farming, Mr. Whitner proved]
to be as much a pioneer as in|
engineering. The Riverview dairy
farm, which he started with a
few head of Guernseys in 1900. has!
been continurtusly improved from I
that time until today. He always
insisted upon purebred stock and
saw that his farm had only the|
finett o( dairy cattle.
. He built new barns, redesigned]
them, and equipped them with)
every modern mechanical device]
that goes with progressive dairy
ing, until at his death he had what!
wa* probably the most completely
dairy farm in the South.
iin Anderson, and he lived there
I until his connection with electri
cal development at Rock Hill. He
built dams at Elbertson, Griffin,
and Columbus, Ga.. three in South
Carolina and It in Virginia.
The Whitners are from a long
line nf"Southern families, His fa[ther. Major Whitner, fought in the
Civil war. His wife was the for
mer Miss Katherine Roddey of a
prominent famliy in Rock Hill. He
is survived by five children, three
|*ons and two daughter*. The ions
are William Church Whitner and
Lyle Roddey Whitner r>f Rock Hill,
and J. H. Whitner of Charlotte.
The daughter* are Mrs. Tom Henderson and Mrs. Hamilton McKay
I of Charlotte.
Mr. Whitner was closely related
Ito the Earle*. Harrisons. Hamptons
and Churches. The first three
families were Illustrious1 in the
(making of South Carolina history.
The last was one of the pioneer
president* of the University nf
Georgia. It is said that Mr. Church
rode on horseback from Vermont
to Eatonton, Ga., where he was
[ejected superintendent of city
^schools.
FBIEND OF DUKE.
Mr. Whitner wa« a friend of the]
late James B Duke, master mind
behind some of the operation" in I
which Mr. Whitner was tht chief)
|en|in*er.
Funeral arrangement* were not]
[completed last night.
When Mr. Whitner first broached)
this ides about n 10,000-volt gen
ie ra tor, his engineering associates!
told him h« "had wheels in his
head," In spit* of the fact that he
had already demonstrated the #» Jibility of hydroelectric generation
land transmission with two dams
biear Anderson, S. C. Even manufac
turers of electrical equipment were
fycluctant in attempt such i large]
device, but Mr. Whitener kept atftItr them until h« finally got nil or-]
Ider filled.
After the generator wan cornplet
td. he had further trouble in con
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