Mountain School at Home “ACHOTUS” Ep4: J.D. Ross
Enjoy the fourth and final episode in our series on the Cultural History of the Upper Skagit Valley in the North Cascades, and get ready to meet a visionary businessman who is an inextricable part of the cultural history story here: The “Father of Seattle City Light,” James Delmage (JD) Ross.
His life story intertwined with the North Cascades when he set out to create a series of dams with hydroelectric power-generating stations on the Skagit River beginning in 1917. Throughout JD’s long career, which ultimately included being appointed by FDR to the Securities & Exchange Commission and being appointed as the first administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, he kept coming back to the Skagit River. JD ended up drastically changing the face of the North Cascades, perhaps more than any other person who ever passed through the area.
Learn more about…
JD Ross:
- Ross, James Delmage (JD) (1872-1939); biography from HistoryLink
- The “Father of Seattle City Light,”… – North Cascades National Park Service Complex; Facebook post from the North Cascades National Park Service Complex
Seattle City Light and the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project:
- City Light History from Seattle City Light
- Skagit River Hydroelectric Project from Seattle City Light
- Virtual Skagit Tours from the North Cascades Institute and Seattle City Light
- Building the Skagit by Paul Pitzer, Chapters 3-9
- Power for the People by David W. Wilma, Walt Crowley & The HistoryLink Staff
Glossary of Terms:
- Time Immemorial: The very distant past – longer than humans have been able to record time and historical eras, longer than what human memory allows
- Hydroelectricity: A form of renewable energy that harnesses the power of flowing water to generate electricity
- Horsepower: A unit of measurement of power; Horsepower is equivalent to 746 Watts or 550 foot-pounds per second. The measurement relates to the number of horses it would take to do the same amount of work. (Why horses? Check out this video!)
- Dam: A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir which is often used to generate electricity or as a water supply
- Powerhouse: A station or plant that generates electricity
- Public Utility: An organization supplying the community with electricity, gas, water or sewage (Find out more about Seattle City Light’s tradition of public power)
Thank you for helping us offer these at-home lessons for transformative learning experiences in nature by making a gift at www.ncascades.org/give.