Let there be electric light

It was a 19th century technological marvel upstream of Glens Falls that “a goodly concourse of people” had been expected to witness.

The illumination from the new electric lighting being tested at VanDusen & Freeman’s Mill at the Feeder Dam on May 5, 1883 was brilliant enough on a “far from clear” night that Parley Gray was able to see to count change at the Ferry Landing, an eighth of a mile away on the opposite side of the Hudson River.

Six lighting fixtures of 2,000 candle power each were installed, four inside the mill and two outside, one to light the mill pond and the other the railroad and wood chutes.

The Morning Star deemed the first “local” use of electric lighting a “pronounced success.”

“It is not improbable that other mills will adapt the same means of illumination. The new light is found specially useful in illuminating the mill pond, adding greatly to the safety and convenience of handling logs at night.”

The lights continued to be an attraction for curiosity seekers.

“A party of young people contemplate going to the Feeder Dam this evening. The attraction is said to be the electric light at Van Dusen’s Mill,” The Morning Star reported two weeks later.

Sources: The Morning Star May 5, 8, 9, 19, 1883