From kerosene to kilowatts: The story of rural electrification
By David Ray Cyber City Circuits
A nation divided
The lights of the city Electricity, a new technology, grew by leaps and bounds in the late 1800s. The Centennial Exposition of 1876 attracted inventors, mechanics, and engineers from all around the world to Philadelphia. This exposition featured gadgets and gizmos a plenty, including the first demonstration of the telephone, all sorts of arc lamps, and fancy new telegraph equipment lined the rows for months. There were steam powered engines on one side, gas powered engines on the other. This really was the golden age of innovation. Thomas Edison founded Edison Electric Light Company in 1878, and by 1882, he had opened the
first commercial power plant, Pearl Street Station, in New York City.Within thirty years, the city would have over thirty-five thousand streetlights. Cities hummed with industrial factories running around the clock, demonstrating the transformative potential of this new technology. Urban centers were already buzzing with the inventions of Edison, Westinghouse, Brush, Bell, and others. Their pioneering work laid the foundation for modern electrical networks. However, these systems had one major flaw: they were not built for distance.
America in the early 20th century was a nation divided. Not by war, not by politics, but by light. In the cities, electricity illuminated streets, powered factories, and fueled the Second Industrial Revolution. While in rural farm areas, darkness persisted. Electricity is taken for granted today, as it should be, but that was not the case a hundred years ago. The story of rural America’s emergence from the darkness is one of ingenuity, determination, and the people's collective will to bring electricity to every corner of the nation. It’s the story of rural electrification, beginning in the dim glow of the 19th century.
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