On an isolated gravel road southwest of Hampton, Iowa, a hulking, gray building emerges from the cornfields. While the blocky 1930s structure hints at a bygone era, this is no forgotten relic.
It’s now the REA Power Plant Museum, one of the country’s newest National Historic Landmarks.
“This is the only plant of this era left in its original condition,” said Darwin Meyer, a member of the Franklin County Historical Society, which owns the museum. “It’s a national treasure.”
NHLs are sites that the U.S. Department of the Interior has determined to be nationally significant in American history and culture. Originally called the Reeve Power Plant, the facility was owned by Federated REA, which was the first electric co-op to receive a generation and transmission loan from the Rural Electrification Administration.
Federated REA was incorporated on Feb.10, 1937, and was approved for a $222,000 loan from the REA days later. Construction on the Reeve Power Plant began in September of that year during a brutally cold winter.
Concrete was mixed and poured by hand, and innovative measures using steam and tarps helped overcome freezing temperatures during construction.
“It amazes me that they built this plant during the winter,” Meyer said. “They were motivated.”
On March 23, 1938, at 8:30 a.m., the 3.7-megawatt Reeve Power Plant began producing electricity, making Federated REA the first cooperative west of the Mississippi River to both distribute and generate member-owned power.
In 1947, Federated REA merged with Central Electric Federated Cooperative Assoc. in Pocahontas, Iowa, and formed Corn Belt Power Cooperative. At the time, the Reeve Power Plant was used to meet overflow demand. As regional demand continued to soar, Corn Belt transitioned the plant to standby mode in 1950, using only the site’s substation.
In 1974, the plant—now located in the territory of Franklin REC—was officially decommissioned. In 1988, it was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society, and the REA Power Plant Museum opened in 1990 with exhibits showcasing life before and after electrification and artifacts like the plant’s original three-cylinder engine, circuit panels, transformers and iconic REA-engraved concrete blocks.
In December 2024, Reeve Power Plant received National Historic Landmark designation as the last remaining original plant built following the 1936 Rural Electrification Act.
Corn Belt now runs a 1.5-MW battery system next to the plant, which kicks in during peak usage times.
Rick Whalen, an FCHS board member, said a team of local volunteers is currently working to get the facility designated as the National REA Museum.
“Our work,” he said, “is just beginning.”
Darcy Maulsby is a freelance writer, author, speaker, historian and farmer from Lake City, Iowa, and a board member of Calhoun County Electric Cooperative in Rockwell City, Iowa. Visit her website at darcymaulsby.com.