Newark-Granville Electric Street Railway Company Bond
Record of the Month! This month we are featuring an 1888 investment bond from the Newark-Granville Electric Street Railway Company. In the latter 19 th Century the United States was a burgeoning electric power. The electric light bulb, invented in 1878 by Ohioan Thomas Edison, was slowly becoming more mainstream, along with a range of other electrically powered devices. One industry that jumped at the new technology was transportation. Railways were on the rise due to their comfort and speed for long-distance travel. Horse drawn streetcars (or trollies) were the primary form of public transportation for more local travel. On December 28, 1889, a new electric streetcar began its seven mile route from Newark to Granville. As a result, Ohio became one of the first states in the Union to have an interurban electric streetcar. Today there is some debate among historians as to whether or not the the Newark-Granville line can be rightfully called the first interurban route