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Government & civic lifeCouncil Accepts a Bid for Thirty-Five Arc Lights
Reported February 1898
A February 1898 notice reported town council's acceptance of a five-year bid for thirty-five arc lights from the Shamokin Electric Light Company.
Some details remain uncertainShamokin's town council accepted the Electric Light Company's bid to furnish thirty-five arc lights for five years, according to a short item in the Pottsville Republican on February 3, 1898. The reported decision linked public lighting to a particular supplier, a stated number of lamps and a multi-year term.
The notice printed a price of forty dollars per light per month. It did not give a council meeting date, operating hours, lamp locations, maintenance arrangements or the competing bids. The printed monthly wording should not be turned into an annual rate simply because the figure appears unusually high.
Acceptance of the bid was a contractual step, not a report that every lamp had just been installed. The notice leaves the beginning of service undescribed. Its clear civic milestone is the council's reported commitment to obtain thirty-five lights under a five-year arrangement.