SUNBURY - Although Thomas Edison's famous experiment at the former City Hotel was the first time the three-wire, overhead system was installed and tested anywhere in the world, the inventor himself likely considered it one of his lesser accomplishments.
In a presentation to the Northumberland County Historical Society, Louis Carlat explained that Edison walked away from the city of Sunbury frustrated and disappointed.
"It didn't turn out to be a clear model for success," the special guest speaker, a researcher of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project at Rutgers University, said Tuesday night at the Hotel Edison.
As an inventor, Edison wasn't suited for architecture and building design, and his company cut corners and used cheap materials when constructing the light company building in the city. He was also not often on site, therefore problems were often left in the hands of employees and managers who knew little of the new electric lighting, resulting in broken bulbs and damaged systems.
Obviously, Carlat explained, Edison's inventions were the building blocks of modern lighting, and he was overall successful in his creations.
"We can learn not to be deterred by failure. We should press on," he said, noting that even though Edison had myriad amounts of information, he still miscalculated the first experiment.
It's humbling for people to see such a brilliant man's struggles, he said.
The ambitious Thomas A. Edison Papers Project, which began in 1978, consists of a team of editors/scholars digging through 5 million pages of documents that chronicle the life and achievements of Edison. A major goal of the Edison Papers is to produce a selective, 15-volume book edition of transcribed and annotated documents. The book volumes provide not only an overview of Edison's life and career, but also significant resources for understanding the development of electrical and other technology, as well as the emergence of new technology industries.
Volumne 7
Carlat's invitation to speak at the dinner coincides with the release of Volume 7 of the edition, which covers the period when
Edison established the Edison Electrical Illuminating Companies of Shamokin, Sunbury and Mount Carmel and conducted his successful three-wire experiment in Sunbury on July 4, 1883.
Edison registered 1,093 patents in the U.S. and about 200 more in foreign countries during his lifetime, a feat no one else ever accomplished.
Carlat's gave an overview of this particular volume, which was formed with information from approximately 14,000 documents between April 1883 and December 1884. Carlet's slide presentation showed original designs and patents and photographs of Edison and his wife.
The preparation for the testing on July 4, 1883, didn't go smoothly, as someone forgot to oil the engine sufficiently and one of the bearings burned through, requiring a full night's work to fix it in time for the next day. Although Edison was successful in lighting the City Hotel, he feared his biggest problem would be to get people to use electrical lighting in their homes and businesses.
It was never quite clear why Edison chose Sunbury, as well as Shamokin and Mount Carmel, as a testing ground for his new system, which included not only the hotel, but later the train station, bakeries and private residencies.
It has been suggested that Northumberland County offered an abundance of anthracite coal, an inexpensive fuel source needed to produce electricity, that there was a connection to a family member in the area, or the proximity to New Jersey.
Top of the list
Sunbury Mayor David Persing said the city's promotion of history has Edison on top of the list. He also stated that the city is attempting to figure out the appropriate way to display Edison's original dynamos, which are currently stored away in city buildings.
Teri MacBride, the Susquehanna Regional Community Relations Director for PPL Corporation, said it seemed like a natural fit for the utility company to sponsor and have a presence at the dinner.
"Myself, my colleagues, we would not have a job if not for this great inventor," she said. The dinner was also supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities' We the People initiative on American History.