O.T. - Light after Pearl Street
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:10 pm
September 4, 1882 was a busy day for Thomas Edison as he brought the promise of electric illumination to the world when he turned on the lights at Pearl Street, New York. A steam driven generating plant provided the world's first use of commercially generated electricity to Edison's new invention: the incandescent lamp.
Yet just 26 days later on the evening of September 30, 1882 in the small Midwest town of Appleton, Wisconsin history was also made. Lights came on in the well-appointed Victorian home of Henry J. Rogers, and two nearby paper plants.
While Mr. Edison's plant used steam power to generate electricity for the light, Mr. Rogers small plant made use of water power from the Fox River to drive a 12.5 KW Type K Edison generator. This feature makes the H. J. Rogers house the first residential home in the world electrified by a centrally-located hydroelectric power plant using the Thomas A. Edison electric system. One month later, another Type K generator was placed into operation and by December of 1882, three more residences, a blast furnace and at least five more mills were glowing from the light of bamboo filaments in the Edison lamps. The world's first central hydroelectric station was providing electric service to more buildings than any other city in the country.
Today, the house Rogers house, known as Hearthstone Historic House Museum, is the only house museum to contain original 1882 working light switches, original wooden cleats with exposed wiring, an original wooden raceway for electrical distribution and original electroliers equipped for gas and electric lighting including Bergmann fixtures.
The house represents an era when a daring entrepreneur together with the genius of the world’s greatest inventor forever changed the way the world would perceive darkness. This Saturday, September 16, 2017 the Hearthstone Museum will be celebrating 135 years since the successful lighting of the Rogers House which took place on the evening of September 30, 1882. Yours truly will be reenacting the historic event as Mr. H. J. Rogers brings Edison’s incandescent lighting to Appleton. Visit: http://www.focol.org/hearthstone/
Thanks for reading this shameless promotion.
Robin & Joan
Yet just 26 days later on the evening of September 30, 1882 in the small Midwest town of Appleton, Wisconsin history was also made. Lights came on in the well-appointed Victorian home of Henry J. Rogers, and two nearby paper plants.
While Mr. Edison's plant used steam power to generate electricity for the light, Mr. Rogers small plant made use of water power from the Fox River to drive a 12.5 KW Type K Edison generator. This feature makes the H. J. Rogers house the first residential home in the world electrified by a centrally-located hydroelectric power plant using the Thomas A. Edison electric system. One month later, another Type K generator was placed into operation and by December of 1882, three more residences, a blast furnace and at least five more mills were glowing from the light of bamboo filaments in the Edison lamps. The world's first central hydroelectric station was providing electric service to more buildings than any other city in the country.
Today, the house Rogers house, known as Hearthstone Historic House Museum, is the only house museum to contain original 1882 working light switches, original wooden cleats with exposed wiring, an original wooden raceway for electrical distribution and original electroliers equipped for gas and electric lighting including Bergmann fixtures.
The house represents an era when a daring entrepreneur together with the genius of the world’s greatest inventor forever changed the way the world would perceive darkness. This Saturday, September 16, 2017 the Hearthstone Museum will be celebrating 135 years since the successful lighting of the Rogers House which took place on the evening of September 30, 1882. Yours truly will be reenacting the historic event as Mr. H. J. Rogers brings Edison’s incandescent lighting to Appleton. Visit: http://www.focol.org/hearthstone/
Thanks for reading this shameless promotion.
Robin & Joan