Electric current turned on in Amherst 124 Years Ago Today

View up the middle of Main Street, circa 1885, taken by John Lovell, 1825-1903
(four years before the introduction of electricity to Amherst's town streets and ways)
 Digital Amherst, Item #401, http://digitalamherst.org/items/show/401 

There is no better source for the minutia of Amherst life in the 1700's and 1800's than The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, Volume 1, written and self-published by Edward Wilton Carpenter and Charles Frederick Moorhouse in 1896. At 903 pages (62 chapters plus numerous appendices), the book chronicles everything from the purchase of land that would eventually become Amherst from the "Norwottuck" Native Americans in 1658, to the final chapters that describe the establishment of the Agricultural College and Experiment Station. Although the book is not exactly a page-turner, one of its many charms is the way less significant information (how many people owned silver plate in 1784) is given equal footing alongside grand historical events (account of Shays Rebellion). Also, there's nothing like a little history lesson to remind us that Town Meeting has a tradition of convoluted proceedings and that, as long as colleges have been in the area, some students have caused mayhem from time to time. Recent Select Board members are also sure to appreciate the photographic tribute to their most esteemed predecessors - the assemblage of somber, suited men is sure to elicit a chuckle.

Not surprisingly, my favorite chapter in the book (Chapter 52) is entitled Old Houses - Town Politics - Amusements and Celebrations - Amherst Centennial - Weather Phenomena - Storm and Flood - "The Blizzard." Devastating thunderstorms, hail wiping out crops, snowstorms that deliver snow up to the second story of buildings - this chapter has it all, including how each passing weather event upended some aspect of life in Amherst. I also like that "Town Politics" and "Weather Phenomena" go hand in hand, of course. 

An entire chapter is devoted to public improvements, including street lighting, the introduction of gas, electricity, water supply, sewers, etc.  Before I stumbled across this book, I had never given any thought to how electricity might have come to Amherst. As you might expect, it was a laborious process of fits and starts, machinations between local businesses, and countless meetings. What you might not imagine is the degree to which "moonlight” was a factor in decisions about how much electricity to buy or how many small companies were at the center of the action.  Here’s how Carpenter and Morehouse capture that pivotal day, 124 years ago:

In December 1888, the Amherst selectmen granted permission to the Thomson-Houston company to erect poles and string wires in the town streets and ways, on condition that they should maintain, free of expense to the town, one arc-light of 1200-candle-power, to be located by the selectmen. The plant was put in in the spring of 1889, and the electric current was turned on for the first time April 13. The company furnished for several months four arc lights without expense to the town.

Five months later, in September 1889, the Amherst Gas Company voted to buy the plant of the Thomson-Houston company for $17,000, and “on October 8, the gas company voted to offer the town system of incandescent lights of 25-candle-power, to burn, except on moonlight evenings, until 11pm, for $12 per light per year. On October 22, this proposition was voted on again, with the added specification that 50 lights be taken, that if used until morning the price should be $16 per year, and that the company should give the town free of expense 10% of the lights contracted for lighting.” (I did warn you that this history is not a page-turner, did I not?)

One hundred and twenty-four years ago, on April 13, 1889, electric current was turned on for the first time in Amherst, to light “town streets and ways.”  If you want to read more about it, just power up your e-book, upload here, and flip to page 417. There - wasn't that easy?