Addition of Electricity
In 1896, the Town Council first proposed lighting the streets of Woodstock. Four years later, Dr. J I Triplett addressed the Town Council:
"At this meeting on April 26, 1901, the Council granted a franchise to Woodstock Electric Light and Power Company to light the town for a period of ten years, and gave the Company eight months (until the end of December) to complete the power plant. The Company evidently had trouble meeting its schedule, for in December it asked for an extension, whereupon the Council extended the time to July 1, 1902. Since the current Council was going out of office in a few days the matter was referred to the next council for action." |
Video Clip from Power and the Land (1940) on installation of electric poles.
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With a deadline of only eight months, Dr. J I Triplett tried to get Old Rush's Mill up and running. After suffering long delays, the project was completed in November of 1903 and Old Rush's Mill now provided electricity to the town of Woodstock.
Since this was a new electric grid, one of the many duties of Woodstock Electric Light and Power Company (WEP) was installing and maintaining the poles, lines, and connections from the electric plants to the town.
At first, electricity was used to light the streets of Woodstock, but within a few months, it was wired into the town offices and later into people's homes.
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"J I Triplett furnished electricity to the town public buildings beginning March 1904" |