It’s Electric! Early Electricity in Asheville and the Historic Boardinghouse
WO and Julia Wolfe saw an electric lightbulb for the first time on a trip to Philadelphia in 1885. The following year the Asheville Electric Light Company was incorporated to provide electric and services in Asheville. An electric power generating facility was built and located at the corner of Valley and Eagle Streets.
At this facility, electricity was generated using a steam-powered dynamo (like a generator), which initially provided current for four, 125ft. tall iron light towers, positioned around the perimeter of the downtown and the public square. The towers were first lit on October 21, 1886.
Electrical lines were soon extended to nearby homes and businesses. Many people were reluctant to embrace the new technology due the cost of converting from the common gas piping of the day. As a relatively newer concept, many may have also worried about the safety of electricity inside the home.
In February of 1889, the Asheville Street Railway Company began operating, as part of the Asheville Electric Company. The company provided the electrical current needed to run the new electric streetcars. Although hazy, the picture below, taken from S. Main Street (presently Biltmore Avenue) looking back up the hill toward Pack Square, seems to show one of the four original, 125ft. tall light towers, ca 1889.
The gas plant was located just south of the power plant. At the time, gas was manufactured from coal and then stored in a large underground gas reservoir. The use of the Valley and Eagle Street coal gas and electric plants were discontinued in 1905 with a move to a new location down by the French Broad River on Avery Street. By 1908, the original facilities had been torn down completely, and the Avery Street location continued to operate until 1954.
In Creating the Land of the Sky, Dr. Richard Starnes notes that Asheville had a municipal coal gas system by 1880 with the creation of the Asheville Gas and Water Supply Company. Research compiled by former Site Manager Chris Morton indicates that when the house at 48 Spruce Street was first constructed in 1883, it was outfitted with coal gas light fixtures, and some of this gas piping is still visible in downstairs portions of the home. By the early 1890s, with various additions to the home as it transitioned into a boardinghouse, electricity with knob and tube exposed wiring was added.
Although DC, or direct current was used at the time in facilities such as the Biltmore House, it fared better in smaller, confined areas. The vast expanse of the city’s electric streetcar system and its multiple lines required AC, or alternating current. AC was used in the historic boardinghouse. Today, while we have the older knob and tube wiring proudly displayed, everything has been brought up to code for the safety of the historic structure.
Special thanks to Thomas Calder with the Mountain Xpress for his diligent research on the topic! Read it here.
For more information about early electricity in North Carolina, check out NCPedia’s article.
