Rural Electrification
Standing Stone Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
In 1936 seventy-five percent of Pennsylvania farms had no electric service. During the next five years, with Federal support, 14 consumer-owned cooperatives were formed in the State. Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative, serving parts of eight northeastern Pennsylvania counties, was incorporated October 24, 1936.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In 1936, three of every four Pennsylvania farms still had no electricity, their families living much as their grandparents had. With federal backing from the New Deal, farmers banded together into consumer-owned cooperatives to string their own lines, and the Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative, incorporated that October, brought power to parts of eight northeastern counties. Within five years fourteen such co-ops had transformed rural life across the state.
Why it matters
Rural electrification closed the gap between country and city, bringing the machinery, light, and modern comforts of the twentieth century to America's farms.
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Related events
- · Rural Electrification Administration
Themes & tags
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