Weber County Heritage Foundation | Devil's Gate - Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant

Devil's Gate - Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant

Intersection of I-84 and US 89

Welcome to our tour of the Devil's Gate - Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant Historic District as it appears in fall/winter of 2022. With improvements and the removal of several outbuildings on the horizon in 2023, the photos are video are extremely important in preserving a visual history of the area. We're grateful to Pacificorp for commissioning the project!

Devil's Gate

Devil's Gate is a gap in the mountainside east of Ogden, Utah, through which flows the Weber River (not to be confused with Devil's Gate in Wyoming or Devils Slide farther down Weber Canyon). The narrow, rocky canyon is beautiful but posed great problems for early travelers - in 1847, Devil's Gate was such an obstacle that the Mormon Pioneers decided to enter the Salt Lake Valley through Emigration Canyon instead.

Today, this maze of roads, rails, and the river continue to make Devil's Gate an extremely important part of Weber County History!

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-9104.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-4083.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-5601.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-3796.jpg

Weber River near Devil's Gate east of Ogden, Utah. September 2022.

Photo by Lorin Kartchner

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-5618.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-4093.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-4120.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-4028.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-3974.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-3987.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-3990.jpg

WCHF-devils-gate-power-plant-deniane-kartchner-9294.jpg

merganser ducks on a rock in the Weber River

Devil's Gate | Photos by Lorin & Deniane Kartchner

History

Early History

The Devil's Gate-Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant was built in 1910 along the Weber River in northeastern Utah about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Ogden. Constructed by the Utah Light and Railway Company, it was as one of the first powerplants in Utah designed to feed an electrical grid.

Special Collections, University of Utah

The powerhouse is located in Weber County, while the dam is in Morgan County.

Special Collections, University of Utah

Click photo to browse collection of Devils Gate photos at Oakland Museum of California.

In the 1960's, I-84 was constructed around the Weber Hydroelectric Project. Most of the original pipeline and penstock is buried under fill to allow the freeway to be built in the steep narrow canyon.

The powerhouse, dam, and all the associated structures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Now, some of the outbuildings need to be removed to allow for modernization of the facility, because this modern-day miracle of electricity remains a vital part of the future, AND the past.