The history of Olmsted begins with the entry of Lucien L. Nunn into the mining business. In the 1880's, Nunn acquired the Gold King Mining Company in Ames, Colorado. Due to the high price of coal ($40 to $50 a ton), which was needed to operate the ore processing mill, Nunn and his brother, Paul N. Nunn, along with George Westinghouse, began to experiment with a 6-foot Pelton water wheel to generate alternating current. In 1890, Nunn put the first commercial alternating current plower plant, which transmitted 3000 volts three miles, into operation at Ames. In 1894, the Ames plant was furnishing power to all the mines in the Telluride area. With this success, Nunn formed the Telluride Power Company, which would eventually service more than twenty towns and cities in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.
In 1895, Nunn constructed his first hydroelectric power plant in Utah. Located in Logan Canyon the plant was named the Hercules Power Plant. At the same time, he began building another facility three miles up Provo Canyon, named Nunn's Power Plant. The line from the Nunn plant to the gold mines at Mercur, Utah, carried 44,000 volts of electricity to the mills and was charged on January 7, 1898. However, as the demand for more power by the mine owners increased, the need for a larger facility became apparent.
In 1903, Nunn started construction on Telluride's new hydroelectric power plant at the mouth of Provo Canyon. Completed in 1904, this facility contained not only a modern power plant but the Telluride Institute, a laboratory, company offices and his own personal residence. The new plant was named in honor of Fay Devaux (Fred) Olmsted, an assistant to Paul Nunn, who died of tuberculosis before the completion of the plant.
The power plant is still in use, generating enough energy to power 3,000 homes. It is located at 1018 N 1630 E, Orem UT 84097 and is private property owned by Pacificorp.