{"nrhp_refnum":"83004001","name":"Narrows Dam and Power Plant Complex","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Yadkin River and SR 1704","address_restricted":false,"city":"Badin","county":"Stanly County","state":"NC","lat":35.418382590500045,"lon":-80.09232152800102,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-10-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of industrial structures on the Yadkin River at Badin, Stanly County, North Carolina, made up of the Narrows Dam, its power house, a truss bridge and the remains of an earlier French aluminum plant, built mainly in 1917.","why_significant":"When finished in 1917, the Narrows Dam was the world's highest overflow type dam. It was designed by Alcoa's chief hydraulic engineer and supplied power to the aluminum smelter at the Badin Works. The reviewer recommended acceptance under Criteria A and C.","narrative":"The Narrows complex sits on the Yadkin River near Badin and includes a concrete dam, a power house, a steel truss bridge and the foundations of an earlier French aluminum smelter and power house from 1912-14. The dam was completed in the summer of 1917 and was then the world's highest overflow type dam. James W. Rickey, Alcoa's chief hydraulic engineer, designed it. It is 216 feet high and 1,654 feet long, creates a head of 177 feet, and forms Badin Lake, a reservoir of over 5,300 acres. The one-story steel-framed power plant has brick walls, a terra cotta tile roof and large arched windows that give it a Spanish Revival look. Three penstocks feed turbines driving five generators with a capacity of 96,500 kilowatts. Power travels to the Badin Works smelter, one and one-half miles away, where it is converted for use in aluminum production. A Warren lattice truss bridge links the west bank to the plant.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James W. Rickey, chief hydraulic engineer of the Aluminum Company of America (dam design)","architectural_style":"Power plant described as having a Spanish Revival appearance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Alcoa is described as generating power at the plant, and Badin Lake is described as a popular recreational center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.417188-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/75/7184/47718475/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83004001.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004001/6b9f19c1c2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004001/6b9f19c1c2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Wasrts","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narrows_Dam_and_Power_Plant.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wasrts</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narrows_Dam_and_Power_Plant.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718475","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrows_Dam_and_Power_Plant_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19946132"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/stanly-county/narrows-dam-and-power-plant-complex-83004001/"}