Place
William Douty Building
The commercial building remembered as Shamokin's first electrically lit business.
Local accounts call William H. Douty's Brownstone Front at Sunbury and Rock Streets the first Shamokin business to receive electric light.
A Store Lit by Electricity
The first floor was occupied by merchant Abe Strauss. Lighting an ordinary store let residents see the new system at work in a familiar commercial setting.
William Douty’s Role
Douty was president of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Shamokin, and the building also became associated with meetings among the investors who financed the project.
Why This Place Matters
The first-floor store made electric light visible to customers and passersby. Douty led the locally financed company as its first president. Edison corresponded with Douty about a station design that could expand as demand grew.
Location
Rock and Sunbury Streets, Shamokin, PA