I remember when the northern part of the Dublin City Park was solid Mesquite trees in the 1960s. Twenty years later, local civic organizations wanted to add another baseball field on that property, but there was no record of who owned it. They approached Jim Mulloy, an attorney in town who volunteered his time searching for the owners of the property. It was found that the Frank Weiser family, a once prominent business family owned the land and a long forgotten electric power plant. That property had been passed down to their heirs. Jim approached them, and they agreed to donate the land to the City of Dublin. That portion of the park was named Weiser Park in honor of that important business family.
Volunteers and the city workers started clearing the trees and while the work progressed, the old power plant rock walls that had been hidden from view were discovered. Ike Wade took his ax and cut tree limbs. Pat Leatherwood discovered a surface reservoir while bulldozing trees in the middle of the property. The rocks in the reservoir were taken and used on the side of the creek at Joe Henderson Park to prevent erosion.
Dublin getting electrical power may have started as early as 1891 when the Dublin Electric Light Company received a dynamo. At that time they didn’t have a engine to power it so they arranged to use the steam engine at the Wasson and Miller Mill. Wasson and Miller may have been the name at that time for the grist mill still standing in Wright Park. The original dynamo was in operation by August 4th 1891 for general use and for the veterans re-union grounds at the old Dublin City Park on Clinton Street. A steam engine eventually was intended to be purchased to run the new dynamo. (Dublin Progress, August 1, 1891) “In 1897, the company was known as the Dublin Water and Light Company with H.A. Smith, president, R.H. McCain, Vice-President, W.B. Davis, Secretary Treasurer. J.H. Latham was the manager. R. W. Higginbotham, G.W. Andress and J.E. Chapman were the directors ( Museum file note from Mary Yantis) By 1902 The Dublin Light and Power Company’s electric plant and pumping station had been established in what is now the city park. It had a 50 horsepower engine and a 30 kilowatt generator. It was capable of pumping 60,000 gallons of water from a 60 foot by 15 foot deep well using a Cook Deep Well Pump. It was powered by coal. (1902 Sanborn Map information) Wade Cowan some years ago said that the electricity from the plant was not metered. Each house had one 60 watt bulb. Everyone would pay just one monthly fee. He suggested that the generator would operate each night until midnight, then the operation would be shut down. If the operator was sick, people might not have electricity that night.
By 1907 the Dublin Light and Power Company’s electric light plant and pumping station had changed dramatically. The station generated electricity day and night. It had both a 119 horsepower and an 80 Horsepower engine and dynamo. The original well had dried up. A new 100 foot well, was capable of pumping 45 gallons per minute into a surface reservoir and from there it was pumped into the stand pipe that was located on Mesquite Street. The surface reservoir was 30 feet in diameter and 10 1/2 feet deep. The power company’s engines and dynamos were housed in a building that was enlarged to 18‘ x 50‘. (1907 Sanborn Map information) By 1912 the Dublin Electric Light & Gas Company was still in continuous operation. It had 2 power plants in the middle section of the building. One was 125 horsepower engine with a 75,000 watt dynamo and the other was a 56 horsepower steam engine with a 60 kilowatt dynamo. (1912 Sanborn Map information) In a 1913 article, the Weiser Light and Power Plants in Dublin and Hico were working to string electric lines so that a central power plant could power both towns. Since Weiser also had a plant in Hamilton, it was also considered a possibility to locate a central power plant near Alexander or Carlton. (Dublin Progress, September 12, 1913) An article in the 1989 Dublin Progess said the Dublin Independent Power Plant was operated 1912-1913 by Roy H. Russell. The steam powered generators provided electrical power to Dublin places of business and a few homes. He said the monthly rate was $2.50. Russell would check the steam pressure every hour to make sure it was holding the proper power. He worked the night shift for several years. During that period of time the plant was operated by the City of Dublin. (Dublin Progress, September 7, 1989) The Dublin Light and Power Station was used until wires from the generating plant in Brownwood reached Dublin. In February, 1917, Texas Power and Light signed a contract with Dublin businessman Frank Weiser buying the Dublin Light and Power company. Texas Power and Light provided a more dependable power source also allowing Dublin to join the electrical grid that still serves the state. ( Dublin Progress, February 23, 1917) Cleaning up the Dublin City Park electric plant was a project local civic clubs engaged in 1989. The native stone the power station was made of was restored as much as possible. Ike Wade and Wayne Thiebaud poured concrete. Picnic tables and a seating area was created by the Lions Club. (Dublin Progress, Wilma Hall, September 7, 1989) This year the rock walls have been enhanced and the Lions Club is wanting to include a cover over the picnic tables. If you would like to help with this picnic area overlooking the baseball fields, contact the Lions Club for information on how you can help.