‘Power Dock’ Once Source of Power for Harrison

Saxton Park on the shores of Budd Lake received its nickname of “power dock” from the original power station located there. Pumps and wells for water hydrants for fire and other city services were housed there as well as steam power generated electricity for the town before services were delivered by larger power companies.

The power station mentioned in this 1938 Cleaver article cost the City of Harrison $10,000 in 1924.

The power dock was named after businessman and active citizen Jerry Saxton.

 Clare County Cleaver, 15 April 1932

Waste oil from the city power plant which seeps into Budd Lake is of little benefit to fish life or any improvement to the bathing beaches. Already some of the cottagers are reporting the oil film to be clinging about the shores. It might be wise for the council to take some action toward abating this nuisance.

Clare County Cleaver, 19 May 1938

Old Gas Engine Shipped to Denver The familiar “putt, putt, putt” of the Harrison power plant is definitely a thing of the past, as the old two-cylinder Fairbanks Morse engine, which beat out that familial tattoo for fourteen years, has been removed to Denver, Colorado, where it will produce electric power in a gold mine. Workmen were busy Friday and Saturday dismounting the engine and loading it for the long trip across the continent. The Consumers Power Company obtained it from the city of Harrison in April 1927, together with the entire local lighting system. The engine had been in use at the local power plant since 1923, producing electric power and pumping water for Harrison.