Wabash's Blinding Light: First Electric City

On March 31, 1880, thousands gathered in Wabash, Indiana to witness something no one had ever seen: an entire city lit by electricity. But these weren't gentle light bulbs—they were arc lights so bright they could damage your eyes, operated on the same principle as arc welders, and required carbon "pencils" that had to be constantly replaced. Dr. Charles Brush offered to pay the town to test his experimental lighting system, but the city council nearly voted it down in favor of gas lamps.

The Wabash County Courthouse became the testing ground for this dangerous experiment. When four arc lights burst to life atop the courthouse dome, witnesses reported reading newspapers a mile away and seeing the Wabash River glow "like a band of molten silver." Farmers worried their cows would never sleep and chickens would stop laying eggs. The Chicago Tribune declared it world history, but no photograph exists—the light was too bright for cameras of the era.

Discover how a contentious town hall debate, a close vote that may have been rigged, and one experimental night changed municipal lighting forever—even though arc lights were so dangerous they'd eventually be replaced by Edison's safer technology.

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In This Episode:

• How a heated town council debate over gas lamps led to a revolutionary experiment
• Dr. Charles Brush's arc lights that were bright enough to damage eyes
• The historic moment 10,000 witnesses saw electricity light an entire city
• Why farmers worried their livestock would never sleep again
• The surprising places arc lights survived after losing to Edison's bulbs

Key Figures:

• Dr. Charles Brush - Inventor of the arc light system from Cleveland, Ohio
• TJ Honeycutt - Collections Assistant at Wabash County Historical Museum
• Wabash County Commissioners - Nearly voted down the experimental lighting

Timeline:

• 1870: Original Wabash courthouse burns down
• 1880: Dr. Brush searches for a town to test municipal arc lighting
• March 31, 1880, 8:00 PM: Four arc lights illuminate Wabash, observed by 10,000+
• 1890: Arc lights removed after a decade of use, replaced by other lighting systems
• Present Day: Original arc light preserved in Wabash County Historical Museum

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