Though electricity was quite common in cities by the 1930s, it remained rare in rural areas. Utility companies argued that it was not cost effective to put up power lines in thinly populated regions.
Kerosene lamps and lanterns like this one provided home lighting on many farms. In 1935 President Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to promote expansion of the electrical grid. Though power companies complained about unfair competition from the government, the REA was a success, and nearly every American farm had electricity by the mid-1950s.
Creator: P&A Manufacturing Company
Publisher: MHS 3-D Objects Collection
Dates: 1920–1929
Identifer: accession 1985.9.1.A,B
