SUMMER, 1896: Henry Holderman, the first man to envision a dam across the Grand River Valley, floats down the river with his brother, Bert, and two classmates from the Spaulding Institute in Muskogee, OK. The trip is to survey the possible locations for the dam. Although he would try time and again to get funding to build the dam, Holderman would die before construction began.

APRIL 1935: The Grand River Dam Authority is created when the 15th Oklahoma legislature passes State Senate Bill 395 (the Grand River Dam Authority Enabling Act). Not only does this authorize construction of the Pensacola Dam, but it also creates a state agency that will someday help to bring thousands of jobs to Northeastern Oklahoma.

SEPTEMBER 1937: With authorization for construction of the "Pensacola Project" a group of Vinita and Grove businessmen make several trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby for funding for the project. They finally get official approval from the Works Progress Administration and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

DECEMBER 1938: Because of the hard times of the Great Depression, thousands of workers flock to the Pensacola Project site, making the small towns of Langley and Disney instant boom towns. Massman Construction of Kansas City (chief contractor on the dam project) begins pouring the first of 510,000 cubic yards of concrete. Driven by depression-era labor and surprisingly mild weather, the 24-hour-a-day continuous pour of concrete is completed 20 months later.

MARCH 1940: Although Oklahoma Governor Leon C. Phillips opposed closure of the dam because of controversy over state highways inundated by the new lake, the last stop log was dropped into place late in the month, sealing the dam.

AUGUST 1940: Controversy aside, Governor Phillips opens the road across the dam on the 13th of the month. By the end of the summer, thanks to heavy rains, the reservoir is full, and the Grand Lake O' the Cherokees is a reality.

NOVEMBER 1941: With the threat of World War II looming on the horizon, the federal government, via the Federal Power Act, takes control of Pensacola Dam. All the country's resources, including electricity, will soon be directed toward the war effort.

JANUARY 1945: With World War II coming to an end, GRDA officials begin the long and grueling process to regain control of the dam from the government. By July of 1946, after a year and a half of struggles, the U.S. Congress passes a bill authorizing the return of the dam to GRDA and the people of the state of Oklahoma. President Harry S. Truman's signature makes it official. (During government control of the dam, many of the minor contracts on the project are completed.)

AUGUST 1946: GRDA officially takes control of the dam. The towns of Disney and Langley hold huge celebrations.

JANUARY 1962: After much controversy, GRDA wins the authorization tug-of-war with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and is allowed to begin construction of the Markham Ferry Project (Robert S. Kerr Dam).

MAY 1964: GRDA completes the Markham Ferry Project on Lake Hudson. Not only does this add to hydroelectricity production of Pensacola Dam, but it also furthers flood control for Grand River. With the completion of these two dams, only one site, near Fort Gibson, OK, remains as a viable location for the Grand River's third and final dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets authorization to build this final facility,

AUGUST 1966: Still needing generating capability, but unable to further develop Grand River resources, GRDA turns to the idea of a pumped-storage project, to be built on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson. Using a reservoir high in the hills east of Salina, OK, this 'experimental' power plant, which critics said would "break the Authority," is becoming a reality.

MAY 1968: After months of blasting, dredging, dirt work and construction work, stage one of the Salina Pumped Storage Project is completed. While GRDA officials learn the ins and outs of pumped-storage operation, stage two construction begins. By 1971, it is completed, and the entire project adds 260 megawatts of production capability to the GRDA system.

APRIL 1977: Although it has three facilities for hydroelectricity production, GRDA must still rely on purchased power to meet its customers' growing needs. That, coupled with a projected energy shortage for the early 1980s, turns GRDA's attention toward thermal generation. The Oklahoma State Legislature aids in the process by approving a debt ceiling that will allow GRDA to sell bonds to begin construction of a coal-fired, thermal-generation facility.

SEPTEMBER 1977: "GRDA is officially in the business of generating electricity from coal," was the message as the 11th amendment to the Markham Ferry Coordinating Agreement of 1957 was passed. Until then, GRDA had only been authorized to produce hydroelectric power.

JANUARY 1, 1981: GRDA begins operating in its own load control area for the first time.

JUNE 1978: A 1,245-acre site on the southern edge of the MidAmerica Industrial Park is suddenly bustling with activity as construction begins on GRDA 1, the first stage of GRDA’s thermal-generation facility.

JUNE 1981: GRDA 1's turbine generator spins for the first time, producing electricity.

DECEMBER 1981: Oklahoma Governor George Nigh officially dedicates the state-owned thermal generation facility known as the GRDA Coal-Fired Complex.

JANUARY 1982: Following the dedication and some fine tuning, GRDA 1 begins commercial operations.

MAY 1982: Construction on the second phase (GRDA 2) of the Coal-Fired Complex begins. (At times during construction, as many as 1,400 workers were on site.)

OCTOBER 6, 1985: GRDA 2 produces its first megawatts. On the 25th, it is officially dedicated. Like GRDA 1, GRDA 2 was completed on time and under budget.

JANUARY 1986: After some fine tuning, GRDA 2 begins commercial operations. Combined with GRDA 1, it increases total electric production capability by 1,010 megawatts.

SEPTEMBER 1997: GRDA begins the largest upgrade project in its history when Unit 3 at Pensacola Dam is disassembled for major rehabilitation. Over the next six years, the remaining units will undergo the same procedure. When completed in April 2003, the combined generation capacity of Pensacola Dam is increased by approximately 20 percent, while Oklahoma's oldest hydroelectric units are operating with many new turbine and generator components.