In the early 1900’s, the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was launched by the Mt. Hood Railway and Power Company. In 1912, the powerhouse was completed and the company merged with the Portland Railway, Light, and Power Company. It was this combination of business interests that amplified the reasons electricity would be generated in the Bull Run.
For instance, it was decided the energy created here would transform the twenty-two miles of rail line that once connected Portland to the Bull Run from a rumble of steam locomotives to a bustle of electric trolleys.
In addition to powering rail lines, the powerhouse also transmitted electricity directly to the Portland area and helped spawn the city’s first period of urban and technological development. While trolley service to the Bull Run was taken off line in 1930, our turbines continued generating electricity until the powerhouse was decommissioned in 2008. At the height of production, our four Westinghouse turbines churned enough power to feed the needs of roughly 26,000 homes.
In fact, industrial efforts in this rural enclave illuminated entire city streets, neighborhoods and business districts for the very first time. While the electricity generated in the Bull Run was just a fraction of what hydroelectric plants are capable of producing today, this remote powerhouse still played a major role in driving the city of Portland and the state of Oregon towards a new modern age.
