| Quoddy Dam Museum |
| Quoddy Dam/Craft Shop Committee Janet Battista Scottie Boyle Ruth McInnis Co-Chairman-Lisa Garvin Susan MacNichol Co-ChairmanEleanor Norton |
| 72 Water Street |
The Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project/"Quoddy Dam" Project
A proposed development project for eastern Maine, envisioned by
hydroelectric engineer Dexter Cooper, involving the construction of
a tidal harness for electricity generation was initiated in 1935
under U.S. Public Works Administration funding and with the
blessing of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose summer
home was on nearby Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Also known as the Quoddy Project, it proposed impounding
Cobscook Bay and part of Passamaquoddy Bay with a series of
dams and control structures to exploit the resulting water level
difference to generate electrical power. The electric turbines for
power generation would have been located at the isthmus on
Moose Island, Eastport, with the water passing between
Passamaquoddy Bay and Cobscook Bay, with the "used"
generating water released from impoundment at low tide.
Part of this project was completed by the construction of dikes built
between Pleasant Point-Carlow Island-Moose Island. The project
was suspended one year later after the United States Congress
refused further funding, thus the actual barrier dams never being
built. The dike barriers now underlie the former Maine Central
Railroad and the current Maine Highway 190, as well as between
Treat Island (in Eastport) and Dudley Island (in Lubec, Maine).
Several iterations and variations on the project later ensued, but
never began construction.
A proposed development project for eastern Maine, envisioned by
hydroelectric engineer Dexter Cooper, involving the construction of
a tidal harness for electricity generation was initiated in 1935
under U.S. Public Works Administration funding and with the
blessing of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose summer
home was on nearby Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Also known as the Quoddy Project, it proposed impounding
Cobscook Bay and part of Passamaquoddy Bay with a series of
dams and control structures to exploit the resulting water level
difference to generate electrical power. The electric turbines for
power generation would have been located at the isthmus on
Moose Island, Eastport, with the water passing between
Passamaquoddy Bay and Cobscook Bay, with the "used"
generating water released from impoundment at low tide.
Part of this project was completed by the construction of dikes built
between Pleasant Point-Carlow Island-Moose Island. The project
was suspended one year later after the United States Congress
refused further funding, thus the actual barrier dams never being
built. The dike barriers now underlie the former Maine Central
Railroad and the current Maine Highway 190, as well as between
Treat Island (in Eastport) and Dudley Island (in Lubec, Maine).
Several iterations and variations on the project later ensued, but
never began construction.
Passamaquoddy Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the
U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick,
at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within
Canada, with its western shore bounded by Washington County,
Maine. The southernmost point is formed by West Quoddy Head
on the U.S. mainland in Lubec, Maine; and is then bounded
northeastwardly by Campobello Island, New Brunswick and Deer
Island, New Brunswick; thence, running to shores by mainland
Charlotte County, New Brunswick.
U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick,
at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within
Canada, with its western shore bounded by Washington County,
Maine. The southernmost point is formed by West Quoddy Head
on the U.S. mainland in Lubec, Maine; and is then bounded
northeastwardly by Campobello Island, New Brunswick and Deer
Island, New Brunswick; thence, running to shores by mainland
Charlotte County, New Brunswick.
The Quoddy Dam Museum houses a
working scale model of the Passamaquoddy
Bay Tidal Power Project which was built for
the original project. The model, formed of
concrete and weighing thousands of pounds,
shows the locations of the proposed dikes
and gates, as well as the turbine-powered
generating station. When operating, you can
observe how the tides flow into the area's
bays, and how these tides could have been
harnessed to generate electricity.
working scale model of the Passamaquoddy
Bay Tidal Power Project which was built for
the original project. The model, formed of
concrete and weighing thousands of pounds,
shows the locations of the proposed dikes
and gates, as well as the turbine-powered
generating station. When operating, you can
observe how the tides flow into the area's
bays, and how these tides could have been
harnessed to generate electricity.
