National Register Listing

Municipal Power Plant

a.k.a. Welhausen, Carl and Mary, Library

810 Front St., Yoakum, TX

The 1931 Municipal Power Plant in Yoakum, DeWitt County, Texas, in named after its original historic function as the power plant for the city of Yoakum. A modest contemporary building representing the development and modernization of Yoakum in the early 20th century, the property meets Criteria C in the area of Architecture at the local level of significance as a good example of an industrial energy facility. Electrification issues associated with its construction also add to its historic significance on a local level. Now a library, the building remains an important and remarkably well-preserved public building in Yoakum.

Early Anglo settlement in the area now known as Yoakum began in 1835 when settler John May received a land grant from the government of Coahuila and Texas. Like most small Texas towns, however, significant growth did not occur until the arrival of the railroad. When the San Antonio and the Aransas Pass Railroad arrived in the town in 1887, the event was important enough for the young town to be named after the Vice President and General Manager of the line, Benjamin F. Yoakum. Over the next few decades, business and industry in the town grew quickly and by 1914 the population reached 7,500. New technologies such as electricity no doubt helped facilitate this growth during the early 20th century.

The 1931 construction of the Municipal Power Plant building represents not only the growth of the city during these years but also Yoakum's modernization which was ahead of many other rural Texas communities. Yoakum had electricity even before 1930 through the Texas Louisiana Power Company. Between November 20, 1930, and September 9, 1932, the Yoakum City Commissioners held numerous meetings regarding the planning and construction of the Municipal Power Plant (see the following outline of significant dates for details). In 1931, Montgomery and Ward Engineers from Dallas made plans for a power plant for Yoakum, some three years before the Texas Legislature established the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). Yoakum completely constructed its own power facility without the outside help of the LCRA, as many other towns had to do. Electrification in rural communities did not become widespread until 1936 with the Rural Electric Cooperatives. In 1938, the city of Yoakum signed a contract with the LCRA, four years after its establishment. This public agency, which operates on revenues, was not therefore the original source of electricity in Yoakum, only a continuing one.

The Municipal Power Plant represents a type of industrial energy facility built in Texas during the early 20th century. This type was a modest version of an industrial building type that developed in Europe and the East in the previous century. As electrification and modernization evolved in Texas, so did basic ideas for industrial construction. Buildings served the function of protecting machines from weather conditions. Although primarily functional facilities that housed machines, these buildings were often visible to the public and therefore employed simple architectural decoration. Many buildings consisted of a tall single story to reduce the problem of moving people and machines vertically. A high ceiling allowed a moving overhead crane to help assemble and maintain equipment. Trusses stabilized the high, broad roof. Although industrial energy buildings varied in type (hydroelectric, electric, etc.), these similar basic elements existed.

The Municipal Power Plant in Yoakum featured an open interior. A common industrial feature, this open space housed the machines of the power plant and allowed for easy access on one level. The importance of natural light as a method of saving on electricity is evident in the large, multi-light windows on each side and the gabled clerestory above. The overhead crane, also common in many industrial buildings, is still intact. The walls and supports for the building remain uncovered. Metal overhead trusses help hold up the large roof. Brick walls and arches remain in place. These industrial interior features and purposes are also evident from the exterior of the power plant.

Simple architectural details define this power plant that was a centrally located and publicly prominent building. The location of the power plant near the center of town and across the street from the railroad tracks reminds one of the building's importance to Yoakum's modernization. Examples of its architectural simplicity include squared corner columns and front stepped parapet, all made of multi-colored brick. The large windows and tall, single-story structure allude to the interior appearance. The style of the Municipal Power Plant is industrial, public, functional, simple, and modern. It not only represents an energy facility during this era but also historical trends involving electrification and the evolution of Yoakum.

From 1964 to 1989 the building served as the city's machine shop. Today, the Municipal Power Plant building functions as a library, continually serving the function of a vital public building in the city of Yoakum. The library is named after Carl Welhausen and his wife Mary-a family that not only helped in the revitalization of this building but in the original construction of it. Carl Welhausen spoke at a City Commissioner Meeting on November 20, 1930, in favor of the plant and matched local contributions for its renovation in 1989. Its renovation affected the historic integrity of the building very little, with the only major alteration being the addition of a small window on the rear facade. In 1991, the building received a Best Adaptive Reuse Building in Texas award and in 1993 was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL). In excellent condition, the building continues to be a significant landmark in the city of Yoakum, representing industrial building types built in the early 20th century.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1996.