The Historic Swan Falls Powerhouse Museum reopens to the public on Saturday with new displays that offer a window into the history surrounding Idaho Power’s oldest hydroelectric power plant.

The museum, located about 20 miles south of Kuna, is open for free self-guided tours each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Aug. 31. This Saturday, as part of the museum’s reopening, an Idaho Power archaeologist will be on hand to answer questions, and the first few dozen visitors will get cupcakes.

Over the winter, the museum received its first major makeover since it opened 30 years ago. A team of Idaho Power employees worked with Boise design company Catapult3 to create a series of visual and hands-on displays that will appeal to young visitors and long-time history buffs.

Swan Falls is the oldest hydroelectric dam on the Snake River. It started generating electricity in 1901 for the mines at Silver City and it played an important role in the early development of hydroelectric power. The powerhouse was upgraded three times over the next 12 years with the last upgrade fully replacing the original 1901 powerhouse. The resulting structure now houses the museum.

In 1994, Idaho Power built a new powerplant to the east of the historic powerplant which was decommissioned and became the museum. Today, the Swan Falls power plant has a generating capacity of 27,000 kilowatts (kW) – enough to power more than 20,000 homes.

Brad Bowlin
Communications Specialist
208-388-2803
bbowlin@idahopower.com