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Page Thirty-EightCity Served byLong List ofPower PlantsHistory of Electricity Here Goes Back to Infancy Of IndustryForerunners of the Wisconsin, Michigan Power Co., which pioneered the various methods of manufacturing electricity and power are many, and served as the foundation of the present Power Co. Even the romance of the first electric street car in. the world which made its initial run in Appleton in 1886; the history of the first electric light plant which began operations in 1882, and the first gas plant erected here in 1877 mre closely linked, forming the first foundation of the power company.The Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. which formerly was the Peninsular Power Co. received Sts name on May 7, 1927, and shortly afterward, on June 27 of the same year, merged the Wisconsin, ‘Traction, light, Heat and Power Co, successors of all former electric, gas and street railway and. bus companies operated as public utilities in Appleton and nearby communities.Appleton Edison Light Co. v/as organized late in. 1882 and began operations the same year. About four years later the Appleton Electric Street Railway Co. was operating its line between Riverside cemetery and Appleton Junction. The Appleton Edison Electric Co. was successor to the Appleton Edison light Co, and about the same time the Citizens Electric Light and Power Co. came into being, and the Neenah-Menasha Electric Railway Co. began operations.The Appleton Gas Light and 'Fuel Co. was organized on Oct. 20, 1894. On Jan. 29, 1896 the Appleton Electric Light and Power Co. was organized and began operating the plants of the former Appleton Edison Electric Co. and the Citizens Electric Light and Power Co. on Feb. 1, 1896.The Fox River Valley Electric; Railway Co. was organized on July 21, 1897, taking over the Neenah-Menasha Electric Railway Co. as a subsidiary. The company started operations on Feb. 4, 1898,Appleton Gas Light and Fuel Co. organized in 1897, and the Neenah-Menasha Gas and Electric Co. on March SO, 1901 became the property of the newly organized Fox River Valley Gas and Electric Co. This company started operations on' April 1, 1901.The Seymour Electric Co. organized on May 17, 1917 later became the property of the Wisconsin Traction, Light, Heat and Power Co. which' began operations on Jan. 1, 1902. The Inter-City Bus Co. was organized as a subsidiary of the Traction Co. in January, 1924.On June 24, 1927, the Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. acquired the properties and franchises of the following firms: Iron MountainElectric Light and Power Co., Alpha Lighting Co, Amasa Lighting Co., Dickinson County Public Services Co., Loretto Light and Power Co. and the Powers Spalding Light Co., all Michigan corporations. On June 4 of that year the company acquired all of the assets and property of the Utility Realty Co.On May 31, 1927 the company merged the following Wisconsin corporations: Niagara Light and Power Co., Weyauwega Electric tight Co., Aurora Electric Light and Power Co., Star Electric Lignt, Heat and Power Co, and the Badger Utility Co.Assets of the Walla Walla Electric Co., a small rural distribution system near Weyauwega, were acquired by the Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. on Aug. 9, 1927. Gn June 29, 1930, the Inter-City Bus Co., a subsidiary operating a bus line from Neenah to Green Bay was dissolved. This operation was taken over by the Wisconsin Light and Power Co. of Madison.The Powers-Spalding Light Co., successor to the Powers-Spalding Light and Power Co. of three counties in Michigan became the property of the Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. on June 6, 1927, The founder of this firm was William H. Needham and the capital stock investment aggregated $100,000. The company served patrons in Dickinson, Menominee and Delta counties m Michigan before it was taken over by the new Fowers-Spaldmg Light Co. on July 13, 1925.The White Lake Electric Co. was taken over by the Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. on Dee. 1, 1927. ThisIt vstatmigsF. Edi; a n maxroo]live his of 1 crit—a183'Iring,Insigracr(talksagteenbeg.IrhimJarrdcrwfirs in 1 disl wo:anccarthanutLatCarnotWO'fooa I studrtedersenllt;enve:m:th«how!lyve:crjthlt;lifipestifirgaer.MieaCcW:PcGiNtea;tbpnityPc
Newspaper Details
Appleton Post Crescent
Appleton, Wisconsin, US
Thu, Sep 29, 1932
Page 35
Full Page
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Winnefox L.
WI, USA 03 Aug 2021
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