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Mount Union borough

The Night the Lights Came On

On August 20, 1905, the electric lights came on for the first time. Scott Dibert, president of the Mount Union Silica Brick Company, had brought electric light to the town through the Mount Union Light and Power Company. The two large dynamos sat in the engine room of the brick works itself, furnishing both day and night current to the streets.

It was a night long to be remembered. The electric lights glowed for the first time on Mount Union's streets. One man, one brick plant, two industries: the same works that burned to make fire brick across America also powered the lamps where families walked at night.

Did your family live here when those lights came on, or do you have stories passed down about the night Mount Union lit up?

Checked and confirmed. Published without a source list. Every claim has now been read against Welch's 1909 history and all of it holds, including the date, the two dynamos in the engine room of the brick works, the day and night current, and the phrase about a night long to be remembered, which is the book's own. Checked 1 September 2026.

Sources

  1. Charles Howard Welch, History of Mount Union, Shirleysburg and Shirley Township (1909), the Mount Union Light & Power Company section: the company was practically the same as the Mount Union Silica Brick Co., its plant in the engine room of the brick works with two large dynamos furnishing day and night current; the current was first turned on 20 August 1905, "a night long to be remembered by our citizens, when the electric lights glowed for the first time on our streets"; Scott Dibert president of both.

Checked 2026-09-24 · Historic Mount Union collection

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Photographs from Mount Union borough

A ferry on the Juniata near Mount Union, as Myer Souders describes itA ferry on the Juniata near Mount Union, as Myer Souders describes itShared by Myer Souders
Perspective View of House Looking North. Gable End Not Visible in Photograph Was the Canal Side. - John Sharrar House, West Water Street near Division StreetPerspective View of House Looking North. Gable End Not Visible in Photograph Was the Canal Side. - John Sharrar House, West Water Street near Division StreetLibrary of Congress · pa2853.photos.038950p
View of Office Looking South. - General Refractories Company, Office, Market Street, Mount UnionView of Office Looking South. - General Refractories Company, Office, Market Street, Mount UnionLibrary of Congress · pa2851.photos.038947p
“The New P. R. R. Station”, as Charles Welch's history of Mount Union captioned it in 1909.“The New P. R. R. Station”, as Charles Welch's history of Mount Union captioned it in 1909.Welch, History of Mount Union, 1909 · stg08
General Interior View of Packing Shed, No. 1 Works - Harbison-Walker Refractories Company, Packing ShedGeneral Interior View of Packing Shed, No. 1 Works - Harbison-Walker Refractories Company, Packing ShedLibrary of Congress · pa2727.photos.134465p
View of Grefco Houses Looking South Along Water Street - Town of Mount UnionView of Grefco Houses Looking South Along Water Street - Town of Mount UnionLibrary of Congress · pa2822.photos.038890p

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