by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016
Jayce Ahmann
Power is essential to our progress as a society, without it we would be stuck in the dark. If we are stuck in the dark how could we possibly progress beyond where we are? The old power plant by Woodlawn Park in Moorhead was an interesting site to see while it was still standing. It sat up on a hill overlooking the downtown residential area of Moorhead. It was almost a scene from a movie, a huge, derelict power plant resting atop a hill overlooking the river. The reality was not that pretty, the building was run down, broken. It was a health department nightmare, there was failing infrastructure and asbestos all over the plant, not only that but almost a half of it was slumping into the river. This wouldn’t be that big of a deal. A run down building that isn’t that important, who cares. The catcher is that it was over 100 years old. It was constructed in 1895 when Moorhead was just starting it. It was the original power and water treatment plant for Moorhead, until the new ones were constructed many years later. Today it’s a nice place, on top of that hill overlooking everything, it’s an art garden and amphitheater now.
In 1895 this plant was a staple of human ingenuity and the progressing industrial revolution. The small rectangular plant with one smoke stack and one generator was state of the art for the time. The plant also contained wells out front of the walk way due to the fact that it also supplied all the clean water for Moorhead from the river. It was at the time a state of the art facility that employed many people. Over time the original plant would be added on to and improved as technology did, the original smoke stock was destroyed and replaced with a much larger one as the building got bigger. It was the only power plant till the 70’s when the new power plants in north Moorhead were created and used as the primary source of energy.
The later years of the ancient power plant saw neglect and futility, by 2005, the 100 year anniversary of the building it was no longer in effect. There was only one working generator and many people saw the crumbling building as an eye sore. Many parts of it were falling apart and the exterior metal was a gross rust color. The tall, barbwire fence surrounding it to keep intruders out didn’t help how imposing it was or how isolated it was. The only benefit to the society it provided at this point was that the city recycling dumpsters were parked inside of the fenced in area by it. It also represented an example of change, and how everything ages. The once great building in all its glory was now up for debate, destroy the piece of history or contribute billions of dollars to a restoration project. The city council debated about it for a while, before finally deciding that it was best to let it go. So they did, in 2010 it was finally torn down after over 100 years of its residence on that hill. The proposed plan was to turn it into a garden with an amphitheater.
Today a lot has changed since 1895, Moorhead has grown from just a small farming community, to a rapidly growing metropolitan area. We have moved on from dirty coal and oil burning like that of the late 19th century and early 20th, we’ve moved to more renewable sources, such as hydro, wind and solar. As the times have changed so have people and their mindsets and everything revolving around those two things. Although one of the oldest buildings in Moorhead had to fall, a building that had seen more of history than most people. It’s a nice area now though. It is now a gorgeous landscape, for running, biking or picnics. The building as torn down and turned into an art garden and an amphitheater. It was cleaned up rather well and the hill it was on is now a sloping plane of grass overlooking the river and the sidewalk at the bottom of it loops all around downtown Fargo-Moorhead.
In conclusion, this is one of the most historic sites in Moorhead, although it’s not the way it was over 100 years ago it’s still a reminder of the slow and steady march of time and how everything changes. For all those in the area who remember what was there then they can tell stories about it, inform people of the history. For all those who didn’t know it was there then they have the chance to enjoy what’s there now and be intrigued by the history of the area. Keeping track of history isn’t necessary just so we don’t repeat ourselves. It’s important because it keeps us aware of who we are and what we were as a society. History is the collective memory of the world, and it’s our duty to learn of it and preserve it so that we may never forget about it. Something isn’t truly gone till it’s forgotten and lost from that collective memory. So to never forget about and to continue to learn about a historical structure or a historical person is the best way to truly keep them in existence.