In 1903, Freelan Oscar Stanley arrived in Estes Park. He was 54 years old and in poor health, suffering from tuberculosis. Stanley's doctors told him the dry, Rocky Mountain air of Colorado might do him good. They were right: after a three month stay in Estes Park, which had a year-round population of 55 and a summer population of 655 in 1903, Stanley had regained his health and fallen in love with the small town.

Stanley soon began to dream of creating a world-class resort. Estes Park's proximity to the railheads in Lyons and Loveland made it an ideal location. Stanley could find a way to get visitors up to Estes Park with the use of his famous steam cars. But what was really to set the Stanley Hotel apart from the rest of the retreats in the nation was Stanley's ambitious goal of making his hotel the first all-electric hotel in the country.

Imagine a hotel powered completely by electricity! At a time when most kitchens were powered by coal or wood, the kitchen at the Stanley used electricity for its roasting, frying, broiling, and toasting. Cooking temperatures could be changed simply by turning a switch, allowing for quick, slow, or medium cooking. The Stanley Hotel was a leader in the nation--one of the first with steam and hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms, and the first steam laundry in the world where the power was electric, instead of coal.

The electricity for Stanley's hotel came from the Stanley Power Plant. Stanley chose a plot on an 80-acre site on the Fall River, about three miles northwest of town. Stanley decided to use hydropower instead of a coal and steam plant because the cost of coal in 1907 was prohibitive, as high as $12 a ton. In addition, coal would have to be transported up the poorly maintained mountain roads.

The original hydroplant consisted of only one of the three rooms that make up the plant today. It was a 28 by 26 3/4 foot room built to house the Hug water wheel and a 200 kilowatt Western Electric Generator. Once installed, the generator demanded constant attention to ensure the production of correct and consistent voltage, so an operator's cottage was built at the same time as the plant.

The hydroplant was built to provide electricity for the Stanley Hotel. The Hotel was designed as a summer resort, and was never intended to be a year-round facility. If Stanley could have foreseen the amount of interest his plant would generate or predict how rapidly the town would grow and need his service, he probably would have chosen a different location for his plant. The flow of the Fall River never produced adequate power. Almost immediately, the 1909 hydro unit was unable to keep up with demand.

By 1912 there were 45 customers. Word quickly spread about the wonders of electricity, spurring greater demand. In 1913, Stanley built a coal powered steam plant in the Stanley Hotel to heat it so he could free up  more electricity for sale. By 1918, demand for electricity could not even be met in the summer months, when the flow of the Fall River was high. In 1919, Stanley began to make alterations. He replaced the penstock, which carried water from the diversion dam upstream at Cascade Lake to the hydro unit. The new penstock had a larger diameter so more water could reach the Hug water wheel and in turn generate more energy. This improvement was not enough to meet demand. In 1920, one hundred new customers were added.

Photo courtesy of Byron Hall

In October 1921, 12 years to the month that ground was broken on the plant, Stanley broke ground once more. A 15 by 15 foot room was added to house the 900 horsepower Worthington Francis turbine with a General Electric 680 kilowatt generator. This unit only ran between May and September because of low stream flows in the Fall River, but it was enough to solve the problem which existed during the warmer months of peak demand.

By 1926, Stanley was ready to sell the plant. The plant was a tremendous source of pride for both F.O. Stanley and the town of Estes Park, but in his 77th year, Stanley was ready to step back from the endless battle to keep production in line with demand. The Stanley Power Company became the owners of the plant in 1926.

The original hydro equipment, arriving in downtown Estes Park in 1907.
A team of horses pulled the stage, and mules in the back added stability on the curvy mountain roads.