Edison Illuminating Company
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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:
- September 4, 1882, Manhattan - Edison's first central station opened on Pearl Street
- fall of 1882, Shamokin, Pennsylvania - the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Shamokin was established.
- July 4, 1883, Sunbury, Pennsylvania - the opening of the central station for the first three-wire Edison incandescent electric light (village system), which was attended by Edison himself.
- November 17, 1883, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania - 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 lights and 50 incandescent lights were erected in the downtown business district. It was also the fifth electrical plant constructed upon the Edison system.
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.
