Sources and further reading

Where this entry comes from

WVU, Vaughn L. Kiger Collection, A&M 3986; Historic American Engineering Record, WV-30; WVU, Harry S. Laird albums, A&M 3827

Research notes

What the evidence establishes

The exact operating date is verified to WVU’s A&M 3986 finding aid, which distinguishes first overflow on December 23, 1925, from operation beginning May 31, 1926. The federal HAER record corroborates the 1925–1926 completion phase. A contemporary operating report would further strengthen the exact-day attribution.

Construction occurred in separate early and later phases. The HAER narrative’s early dates are not completely consistent, while WVU photographs establish work underway in 1912. The linked November 3, 1912 photograph depicts actual early dam construction, not the 1926 opening.

The dam stands in Monongalia County, not Preston or Fayette County. The Laird collection identifies a Preston resident’s connection to documentation of the work, but does not establish his exact contractual role or authorship of every photograph. This entry makes no claim about a particular Preston town’s first electric service.

The linked construction image is WV History OnView 040051, Harry S. Laird albums, A&M 3827, West Virginia and Regional History Center, WVU Libraries. Photographer unidentified. The collection’s use statement requires copyright-holder permission for reproduction; this entry links to the catalog rather than reproducing the image. The additional LOC photograph by Jet Lowe dates to September 1980 and depicts the completed structure, not the 1926 opening.