Wednesday, the Reeve REA Power Generating Plant was officially designated as Iowa’s 29th National Historic Landmark in a ceremony held at the plant museum south of Hampton.
Originally known as the Reeve Power Generating Plant, the site was the first facility west of the Mississippi River to provide electricity to rural homes under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1935 Rural Electrification Act.
Franklin County Historical Society Board Member, Rick Whalen, gave a historical overview of the plant and recognized those who helped achieve this distinction. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig was on hand to talk about the importance of the designation and why the history of the plant is significant to not only Franklin County but the state of Iowa.
“This was about the rural electric cooperatives, right? This was where the investor-owned utilities, it didn’t make business sense for them to electrify rural America, to go to the end of the line and connect the last farm. So it was the cooperative model that came together to allow for this kind of generation. And for the first time, lights went on, on farms in the area. And we were talking with several folks here about what that meant. Imagine the washing machine going electric. Imagine the milking equipment being electrified for the first time and what that could have meant for labor-saving quality of life. So the fact that this was the first REC to secure the loan to create this type of generation facility, and there aren’t that many in Iowa, and there aren’t that many that celebrate rural progress as well.”
Darwin Meyer is a member of the historical society, and says he has helped preserve the building for over 20 years.
“Several years ago this was put on the historical places in Iowa. Well, the National Landmark designation through the National Park Service is a whole different ballgame. And we hired a grant writer, Lexie McDowell from Des Moines, to help us write the grant. And it was a four year process of getting all the paperwork and documentation. If this was actually the only facility left in the country and the story that had to be written up to the National Park Service on it, it was just a wonderful process to be involved with.”
For more information on the Reeve REA Power Generating Plant, you can visit franklinrec.coop.
