Saffold Dam
Seguin, Guadalupe County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named for William Saffold, who owned land here in the mid-1800s, Saffold Dam is typical of many mill dams built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally a natural rock outcropping, the dam was first improved by Henry Troell in the late 1800s when he added rock to the dam to raise the water level to power a cotton gin. The city of Seguin bought Troell's property in 1907 to further develop the river's hydroelectricity, and subsequent improvements have led to the establishment of a hydroelectric plant on the dam's south side. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for landowner William Saffold, this dam on the Guadalupe River began as a natural rock outcropping. In the late 1800s Henry Troell built it up with added rock to raise the water level and power a cotton gin, a classic small-scale mill dam of its day. Seguin bought the property in 1907 to develop the river's power, and later improvements grew into a hydroelectric plant on the dam's south side.
Why it matters
Saffold Dam charts the evolution of American water power — from a gin-turning mill dam of the frontier economy to municipal hydroelectricity in the new industrial century.
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Related people
- · William Saffold
- · Henry Troell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Henry Troell
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A young immigrant from Wichmannshausen, Germany, Henry Troell settled near Seguin before 1860 and, after service in the Confederate Army, parlayed a freighting business into a web of local enterprises. His dam and grist mill on this site grew into something remarkable for a small Texas town — he added hydroelectric generation and, in the 1890s, gave the city its first municipal water and electric systems.
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