Coal gas lights Seattle streets, homes, and businesses for the first time on December 31, 1873.

  • By Greg Lange
  • Posted 11/04/1998
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 199
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On December 31, 1873, coal gas is used for the first time to light Seattle streets, homes, and businesses. Charles E. Burrows was awarded the franchise on June 6, 1873, and built a coal gas plant in the (present-day) Pioneer Square area.


Sources:

Myra L. Phelps, Public Works in Seattle: A Narrative History; The Engineering Department, 1875-1975 (Seattle: Seattle Engineering Department, 1978), 148.


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