The Marysville Power Plant, nicknamed the ''Mighty Marysville'', was a

Coal-Fired Power Plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...

Marysville, Michigan Marysville is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,959 at the 2010 census. The municipality was founded in 1919, first as a village, then became a city in 1924. Marysville is located on the western sho ...

on the shore of the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...

. The plant was demolished on November 7, 2015, after the land was sold to a developer.

History of the Property

The power plant was built on land that formerly housed a lumber mill. The mill was erected in 1690 and is claimed to be the first European settlement in present-day St. Clair County. In 1817 legislator, judge, and businessman

Zephaniah W. Bunce Zephaniah Webster Bunce (November 14, 1787 – October 8, 1889) was an early Euro-American settler in St. Clair County, Michigan and a member of the Michigan Territorial Council. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Bunce first came to St. Clair ...

came to the area. He named it "Bunceville" and the creek that ran through it "Bunce Creek". Bunceville, along with other small settlements along the St. Clair River would be consolidated into the community of Marysville in the late 1800s. The Bunce household was demolished for construction of the Power Plant and the creek was re-routed underneath the property. A rock and plaque mark the location of the Bunce homestead on the Detroit Edison property.

History of the Plant

Work on the plant began in 1914, as demand grew for electrical power north of

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

. The plant started generating electricity in 1922 with its first original two units. Two more units were added in 1926. During the mid 1940s, the "high side" was added to the power plant. The "high side" referred to higher pressure steam which could turn higher capacity 75MW generators. During this period nearly 300 people worked at the Power Plant. The plant also had a max capacity of 300MW when both the low and high sides were operational. Between 1988 and 1992 the plant was idled, and returned to service in 1992. For nearly the next ten years, the power plant would continue to run with the two "high side" units with a total of 150MW. In 2001 the plant was idled again. In 2012 the plant was officially decommissioned and the property was placed on the market.

Demolition and Implosion

DTE Energy placed the property on the market in 2012 and held an auction to sell any remaining equipment of value inside the plant. The property was sold to Commercial Development Corporation 2013. Contractors began demolition shortly after, demolishing the plant's turbine hall and historic club house. On November 7, 2015, the remaining boiler house was imploded. Plans for the site include a hotel, condos, and marina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marysville Power Plant Energy infrastructure completed in 1922 Coal-fired power stations in Michigan DTE Energy Buildings and structures in St. Clair County, Michigan Buildings and structures demolished in 2015 Former coal-fired power stations in the United States Articles containing video clips Former power stations in Michigan

History of the Property

History of the Plant

Demolition and Implosion

See also

References