File:Devils Lake Hydro Construction (564218b6-155d-451f-67c1-996c6fcd9efe).jpg

Black and white photo of a man standing in front of and several men digging rock on top of a large berm of rock parallel to a river

Hydroelectricity was a major factor in the economic development of the United States before, during, and after World War I. In the 1920s, southwest Texas was experiencing an ever-increasing demand for a steady supply of energy. By the mid-1920s, the Central Power & Light Company began looking to the Lower Pecos River region as an energy source for the state of Texas. The geography of the area made the Devils River the ideal choice because building on the Rio Grande would require international agreements with Mexico and the high canyon walls of the Pecos River made construction costs prohibitive. Therefore, the logical choice was the Devils River, it was near existing railway and highway corridors, it had a history of steady flow, and the topography would keep construction to a minimum. In 1927, Central Power & Light decided to construct three individual power plants along the Devils River: Devils Lake Hydro Plant, Lake Walk Hydro Plant, and Steam Plant. These facilities would become a major economic engine for regional development of the southwest region of Texas for decades to come. By this time, Del Rio, Texas was already the home to one of Central Power & Light’s top-rated power plants. However, as the population continued to increase, Central Power & Light made the decision to turn the Devils River into what would become the largest source of energy in southwest Texas. The company completed their preliminary surveys and acquired the land on which they would build in the last months of 1927. L.E. Myers Construction Company was contracted by Central Power & Light to build the three power plants on the Devils River. The company also established a camp and commissary to accommodate the builders and their families as the construction sites would be miles from Del Rio. Central Power & Light worked with West Texas Utilities to construct over two hundred miles of new transmission lines that would originate at the plants along the Devils River and connect to existing power grids about 70 miles east in Uvalde. The power grids in Uvalde connected to the San Antonio and Winter Garden districts located in Corpus Christi and San Antonio making Uvalde the hub for the largest electrical loop in Texas.

• Keywords: devils river; Plant One; Devils Lake Hydro Plant; construction; history; hydroelectric; hydro plant; dam