Rural Electrification
Mansfield, Tioga 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. Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, serving much of north-central Pennsylvania from Mansfield, was incorporated October 24, 1936.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the depths of the Depression, three of every four Pennsylvania farms still had no electric power—darkness that private utilities saw no profit in lifting. The New Deal changed that: with federal loans behind them, farmers banded together into consumer-owned cooperatives to string their own lines. The Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, incorporated in October 1936, brought light and modern machinery to much of north-central Pennsylvania.
Why it matters
Rural electrification transformed daily life for millions of American farm families and stands as one of the New Deal's most enduring achievements in closing the gap between city and country.
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