A hundred twenty five years ago, just nine years after Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, Farmer City, celebrated their 125th celebration this year. Not that there wasn’t some dramatic debate at some time in its history, such as the citizens were in an uproar in the 1930s over the town’s plan to convert from steam- to diesel-powered engines because they feared their furniture would be ruined by oil dripping from lightbulbs.
The sole proof that Farmer City’s first light plant was built in 1888 is a bronze plaque on the plant that took its place in 1945. That’s proof enough, according to a local historian, who wrote in 1962, “We are sure that date is correct because thorough investigation would have preceded the casting of a bronze tablet in 1945.”
Better established dates are 1886, when Abraham Evans bought the property where the original plant was built, and 1891, when Evans signed a franchise with the city to provide electricity. A local law of 1890 authorized fines for people caught climbing the electric poles.
The first time electric lights were lit on Main Street, “a platform and a chair-like throne was built and Evans was carried down Main Street on the shoulders of delighted citizens,” a history book reports. Electricity was a luxury then-but one not everyone wanted. “Many people declined to have lights in their homes, as they believed the oldtime kerosene lamps were plenty good enough,” according to Farmer City historian C. Clive Burford. Kerosene lamps were cheaper, he said, although electricity cost only 50 cents a month. Burford described Farmer City as “one of the most progressive small cities of its population class in Illinois,” but noted “a strong note of conservatism which permeated even among the best citizens.”
Water Tower Guided Travelers
Travelers approaching Farmer City by horse and buggy used the electric plant’s water tower as a landmark.. The brick standpipe was the tallest structure around. To Burford as a boy, it “seemed to me high enough to reach the throne of Heaven.” A person mounting the tower could walk up stairs inside the lower half of the tower, but then faced a narrow iron ladder ascending to the toop. “I shuddered when I saw brave men climbing up that ribbon of iron bars,” Burford recalled.
The city bought the plant from Evans for $9,000 in 1892, setting electric rates at 75 cents per month for each 16-watt bulb and $1.25 per month for a 32-watt bulb. City records show that in 1907 two men operated the steam plant, each working a 12-hour shift seven days a week. They each earned $90 a month.
By 1910 six miles of wire supplied 1,5 00 incandescent lamps. The municipal plant kept the students busy, too: some of those students recalled that classes at Franklin School were never dismissed for lack of heat in winter because the electric plant supplied steam to the school.
Diesel Controversy Erupts
A Farmer City Journal report says engineer Charles McMurphy blew the steam whistle for the last time in 1933, signaling the beginning of the steam vs. diesel controversy.
“The argument raged for more than a year with fearful householders declaring that if diesel engines were installed the oil would drip from the lightbulbs
44 September-October 1988 onto their carpets and furniture,” according to the Journal.
The City Council was also harassed by problems with leaky boilers and inferior coal, the newspaper said. One meeting became stormy when Dr. H.T. Clarno, chairman of the light and water committee, yelled at the council members, “You’re all a bunch of robbers and thieves!”
Meanwhile, advocates of diesel fuel prevailed and the city bought its first diesel engine in 1935 for $34,841. The plant grew over the years. The present building was erected in 1945 at a cost of$30,200 and a new engine was installed for $48,023. A new generator was added in 1951, a cooling tower went up in 1959 and two new engines were installed in the 1960s.