Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Introduction of Electrical Power
Today, most people take electricity for granted. Asked where it comes from, most would respond, "out of the wall." Yet before the 1880s, no one had access to electrical power, and until the 1930s very few Wisconsin farms had electricity. Constructing power lines and generating the energy that flowed over them were costly investments that few farmers could afford. Power companies were reluctant to subsidize rural electrification because it was more profitable to provide service to cities. The Depression only emphasized the large disparity between urban and rural life in Wisconsin. Electric power not only helped with farm work, but... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | The story of Wisconsin's first electric light. |
| Electricity is sold for the first time anywhere (Appleton, 1882) |
 | An electric mixer from the 1920s |
 | Catalogs of electrical equipment, 1920-1925 |
| The virtues of electric appliances described in verse and pictures, 1916 |
| Electric stoves and heaters made by a Milwaukee firm, 1929. |
| Rural electrification is given a boost in 1937. |
| Wisconsin waterways spell the future of electric power, 1918 |
 | Early fixtures in the first Wisconsin home to use electricity. |
| Images of Wisconsin's first electrical generating plant and its successors |
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