The Abandoned Charles County Power Plant That Helped Electrify Southern Maryland

Watch the video below:

NEWBURG, Md. — Today, the old brick building along Popes Creek Road is quiet.

There are no generators humming inside. No workers moving through its doors. No electricity flowing out to homes across Southern Maryland.

But nearly 90 years ago, the building was at the center of an effort to bring electricity to rural communities that had largely been left in the dark.

Built in 1938, the former Popes Creek Generating Plant was the first power plant in Charles County, according to the Historical Marker Database. It operated for 15 years, helping provide electricity to hundreds of customers before its generators were finally shut down.

Bringing Power To Rural Communities

The story of the Popes Creek plant began with the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Maryland Historical Trust states the federal program provided loans to help bring electrical service to rural areas across the country.

In Southern Maryland, residents in Charles, St. Mary’s and Prince George’s counties came together to form the Southern Maryland Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative in 1937.

According to the History of SMECO, the cooperative received a $165,000 loan through the Rural Electrification Administration to construct 175 miles of power lines serving 600 customer-members.

But there was a problem. Southern Maryland was already served by multiple private power companies, including the Maryland Light & Power Company and the Eastern Shore Public Service Company. However, many rural sections of the counties remained without electricity because private companies were unwilling to extend their lines into those areas due to the cost.

So the cooperative decided to make its own.

Building The Popes Creek Plant

In January 1938, the cooperative received another $50,000 federal loan to build a generating plant at Popes Creek. The Maryland Historical Trust states the Lewis Electrical Co. constructed the plant for approximately $46,000. The building was completed that year, and on July 23, 1938, the plant began generating electricity.

Inside were three 100-kilowatt Ball-Muncie diesel generators. As the cooperative grew, two 250-kilowatt Fairbanks-Morse generators were added. The one-story brick building was Colonial Revival style, with arched window bays and a flat roof.

For the people connected to the system, however, the building was about more than its architecture. It meant electricity.

The plant initially provided power to about 400 customers as electrical lines spread through the surrounding rural communities.

When The Generators Went Silent

The Popes Creek plant continued operating as Southern Maryland’s electrical system expanded. In 1942, the cooperative changed its name to Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, or SMECO. A few years later, the cooperative began purchasing some of its electricity from the Potomac Electric Power Company, known as PEPCO.

By 1953, the need for the Popes Creek generators had disappeared. SMECO stopped generating its own electricity at the plant and began purchasing all of its power from PEPCO, according to the Maryland Historical Trust.

The generators went silent for good.

What Remains

The plant’s machinery and windows were eventually removed, and the building deteriorated over the years. Still, its brick walls remained.

The Maryland Historical Trust recognized the former plant for its connection to the early electrification of rural Southern Maryland. Its history also connects the building to the larger story of Popes Creek, an area shaped by the railroad, the Potomac River and generations of industry and transportation.

In 2017, the Charles County Board of Commissioners placed a historical marker at the site. The marker identifies the building as the first power plant in Charles County and recognizes its connection to the New Deal-era effort to bring electricity to rural communities.

Today, there is little indication of what once happened inside. The generators are gone. The plant no longer produces electricity. But the old brick building remains.

Nearly nine decades after it first powered up, the former Popes Creek Generating Plant still tells the story of a time when electricity was transforming Southern Maryland, one rural customer at a time.

---