Municipal workers lit and extinguished gas street lamps by hand. Electric distribution networks eliminated the daily route and created electrical maintenance work instead.
Lamp lighter no longer exists as a living trade. Here is what erased it, and which profession took on the work.
What else was happening then
1882
Hydropower lights Appleton
The Vulcan Street Plant demonstrates local hydroelectric generation in Wisconsin.
Where that work lives now
Designs, builds and improves wind, solar, storage and grid systems that turn renewable resources into dependable electricity.
🌬️ Renewable Energy Engineer →