In 1877, when the Niagara Falls Canal Company went bankrupt, Schoellkopf purchased the hydraulic canal at Niagara Falls at auction for $71,000, (equivalent to $1,705,000 in 2019) in order to develop a plan for utilizing the power of the Niagara river.
The canal was later conveyed to a corporation known as The Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company, which by 1882 was the first company to generate electricity from Niagara Falls.

He improved the canal and put the powerhouse to commercial use.
In 1881, the company completed Schoellkopf Power Station No.
1 (which would operate until 1904).
By 1882, Schoellkopf had seven mills along the high bank (the top edge of the Niagara Gorge north of the American Falls) all producing power from the hydraulic canal which made Schoellkopf incredibly wealthy.
In 1891, Schoellkopf Power Station No.
2 opened directly in front of the original, in the gorge below Niagara Falls, with a higher 210-foot (64 m) drop.
In 1904, the company built Schoellkopf Stations No.
3A and 3B. Schoellkopf was president of the company at the time of his death, after which each son found a place in Schoellkopf's various business ventures.

The Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was later shortened to "The Hydraulic Power Company," and during World War I, the company was consolidated with the Niagara Falls Power Company, owned by Edward Dean Adams, under the latter name, but with the Schoellkopf interests predominating, an enterprise involving some $62,000,000 (equivalent to $1,053,863,000 in 2019).

Following the formation of the Niagara Falls Power Company in 1918, Schoellkopf Jr. was elected chairman of the board for the corporation, a position that he held for eighteen years.
Jacob Frederick III, Paul Arthur (the son of Arthur Schoellkopf), and other third-generation members of the family also continued to be involved as directors and stockholders of the company.
In 1929, they organized the Niagara Share Corporation as a trust for all the stock owned by family members.
The company continued to hold stock in the power utility until 1956.
In 1877, when the Niagara Falls Canal Company went bankrupt, Schoellkopf purchased the hydraulic canal at Niagara Falls at auction for $71,000, (equivalent to $1,705,000 in 2019) in order to develop a plan for utilizing the power of the Niagara river. The canal was later conveyed to a corporation known as The Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company, which by 1882 was the first company to generate electricity from Niagara Falls.
He improved the canal and put the powerhouse to commercial use. In 1881, the company completed Schoellkopf Power Station No. 1 (which would operate until 1904). By 1882, Schoellkopf had seven mills along the high bank (the top edge of the Niagara Gorge north of the American Falls) all producing power from the hydraulic canal which made Schoellkopf incredibly wealthy. In 1891, Schoellkopf Power Station No. 2 opened directly in front of the original, in the gorge below Niagara Falls, with a higher 210-foot (64 m) drop. In 1904, the company built Schoellkopf Stations No. 3A and 3B. Schoellkopf was president of the company at the time of his death, after which each son found a place in Schoellkopf's various business ventures.
The Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was later shortened to "The Hydraulic Power Company," and during World War I, the company was consolidated with the Niagara Falls Power Company, owned by Edward Dean Adams, under the latter name, but with the Schoellkopf interests predominating, an enterprise involving some $62,000,000 (equivalent to $1,053,863,000 in 2019).
Following the formation of the Niagara Falls Power Company in 1918, Schoellkopf Jr. was elected chairman of the board for the corporation, a position that he held for eighteen years. Jacob Frederick III, Paul Arthur (the son of Arthur Schoellkopf), and other third-generation members of the family also continued to be involved as directors and stockholders of the company. In 1929, they organized the Niagara Share Corporation as a trust for all the stock owned by family members. The company continued to hold stock in the power utility until 1956.
Jacob F. Schoellkopf