Clark County History: From Ampere to Ross

On July 13, 1938, The Columbian’s front page announced, “Way Cleared for Building Power Lines” in a single-column block headline. Those power lines were particularly vital to Vancouver, turning it into a literal powerhouse that remains today.

Rural electrification was a major accomplishment during the 1930s. At Bonneville Dam, and eventually Grand Coulee Dam, turbines would spin, generating hydroelectricity for the region. But the power would need to be distributed to rural areas and towns. The July story about plans to stretch dual transmission cables from Bonneville to Vancouver confirmed the city would get a transmission substation, boosting the economy and enhancing its importance. Until 1941, the substation was named Ampere. Then, the BPA renamed it after J.D. Ross, making it the Ross Substation, today’s Ross Complex.

The Bonneville Power Administration would pump electricity from the dam 44 miles west to Vancouver, then flowing it to Aberdeen, and on to The Dalles and Eugene in Oregon. Like Vancouver’s Ampere, other BPA substations were under construction at Walla Walla, North Bonneville, Goldendale, Granger and Spokane, lighting up electrically impoverished areas of Washington and Oregon.

The BPA’s first supervisor, J.D. Ross, obtained nearly $11 million to build the power lines and Ampere, which was the transmission center. The BPA and Rural Electrification Association assisted citizens with creating public utility districts and electric cooperatives. In three years, more than 30 public utilities serving 40,000 rural customers were created in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Surveys of the intended transmission-line path began as early as 1936. A month before the Ampere announcement, the BPA had already acquired land, sometimes against the landowner’s wishes. One case involved the transmission leg through the Lincoln neighborhood to Fruit Valley. The federal government claimed parcels by eminent domain, including a parcel owned by Wilfred Johnson. The price for Johnson’s land was established at a federal trial in Tacoma.

To ease the maintenance of the dual cable and two sets of towers, Works Progress Administration workers built a road along the permanent right-of-way between the two points. This project was a boon for the region because it employed 430 people who either worked for the BPA or were contractors, making Ampere what The Columbian called one of the county’s “payroll leaders.”

By February 1941, dam workers had installed three massive turbines. Westinghouse won the bid for 160,000 insulators handling 115,000 volts along the dual lines. A month later, The Columbian reported $250,000 of the allotted funds would go into a special fund for Ampere’s buildings. The agency slated another $1.6 million for the two transmission circuits between the city and the BPA.

One of the largest construction projects in Southwest Washington at the time, work on Ampere began in late 1938. Ross had created a beautiful space in Skagit County before becoming the BPA head. For the substation site, he wanted to show utility and beauty in unison and serve as a public playground for the community. He conceived the 185 acre complex more as a public playground and the three tremendous transformers, large warehouse, giant switch banks and various special service buildings merely as a backdrop to the site’s beauty. Today, visitors can walk the Ellen Davis Trail or bring their dog to the Ike Memorial Dog Park.