Edison Illuminating Company
Encyclopedia
The Edison Illuminating Company was established by Thomas Edison
on December 17, 1880, to construct electrical generating stations, initially in New York City
. The company was the prototype
for other local illuminating companies that were established in the United States
during the 1880s:
In 1891, Henry Ford
became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893.
The Edison Illuminating Company was purchased by Consolidated Gas some time between 1899 and 1901. In 1936, with electricity sales far out pacing gas sales, the company changed its name to Consolidated Edison
.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
on December 17, 1880, to construct electrical generating stations, initially in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The company was the prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
for other local illuminating companies that were established in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the 1880s:
- September 4, 1882, ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
- Edison's first central station, Pearl Street StationPearl Street StationPearl Street Station was the first central power plant in the United States. It was located at 255-257 Pearl Street in Manhattan on a site measuring 50 by 100 feet, just south of Fulton Street. It began with one direct current generator, and it started generating electricity on September 4, 1882,...
opened at 257 Pearl StreetPearl Street (Manhattan)Pearl Street is a street in the Lower section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running northeast from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge, then turning west and terminating at Centre Street...
. - Fall 1882, Shamokin, PennsylvaniaShamokin, PennsylvaniaShamokin is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region. At the 2000 census the population was 8,009 residents...
- the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Shamokin was established. - July 4, 1883, Sunbury, PennsylvaniaSunbury, PennsylvaniaSunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
- the opening of the central station for the first three-wire (DC)Direct currentDirect current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
Edison incandescent electric light (village system), which was attended by Edison himself. - October 1, 1883, Brockton, MassachusettsBrockton Edison Electric Illuminating Company Power StationBrockton Edison Electric Illuminating Company Power Station or "Brockton Edison Company - Old Power Station" is an historic power plant at 70 School Street in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was one of the earliest power plants built by Thomas Edison....
- a three-wire plant capable of supplying about 1600 lamps. Now listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. - November 17, 1883, Mount Carmel, PennsylvaniaMount Carmel, PennsylvaniaMount Carmel is the name of a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6390 at the 2000 census. It is located 88 miles northwest of Philadelphia and 71 miles northeast of Harrisburg, in the Anthracite Coal Region...
- the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Mount Carmel was founded. This was the first isolated electrical plant in the world (i.e., Mt. Carmel was the first town lighted exclusively by electricity); 38 arc lampArc lamp"Arc lamp" or "arc light" is the general term for a class of lamps that produce light by an electric arc . The lamp consists of two electrodes, first made from carbon but typically made today of tungsten, which are separated by a gas...
s and 50 incandescent light bulbIncandescent light bulbThe incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
s were erected in the downtown business district. It was also the fifth electrical plant constructed upon the Edison system. - 1885 - Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Tamaqua furnishes Tamaqua, PennsylvaniaTamaqua, PennsylvaniaTamaqua is a borough in eastern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The borough, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Coal Region, had a population of 7,107 as of the 2010 U.S...
with the nation's third incandescent municipal lighting system.
In 1891, Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893.
The Edison Illuminating Company was purchased by Consolidated Gas some time between 1899 and 1901. In 1936, with electricity sales far out pacing gas sales, the company changed its name to Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $36 billion in assets...
.