This interesting history article appeared in The Crittenden Press in 1959.
The first electricity was put in Marion, Kentucky in 1900 by R. W. Wilson. This small plant consisted of a 100 horsepower steam engine which would produce 1150 volts, single phase.
This was the best thing that ever happened to Crittenden County in an improvement toward its future business production.
This power plant was located on Depot Street near the railroad. It was a very small plant that only ran at night. There was a special time for people with electric washers to wash their clothes, which was on Tuesday morning.
The plant ran on Thursday morning until dinner so people with electric irons could iron their clothes.
The plant had a moonlight schedule, which meant they didn't burn the street light on a moonlight night.
In 1921 Mr. Marshall Jenkins, who had taken over the plant in 1915, put in two diesel engines. One hundred horsepower and one fifty horsepower, 1150 volts three phase. They ran steam in the day and diesel at night.
The only line going out South Main in 1900-1920 was one line going to Travis Street.
The Curry Nichols place (where the Crittenden Health Nursing Home is now) was the only one to have electricity in that neighborhood. Nobody had electricity on Cherry Street.
In 1926 the Kentucky Utilities Company bought out Mr. Jenkins. They ran lines to Mexico, Dycusburg, Frances, and Crayne.
This helped the natural resources very much, thus enabling the mines of that area to operate much better and they could get out more ore and ship out more.
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In 1942 the R. E. A. came into the county. The line ran down the Ohio River bottoms to Weston, to Dam 50, and to Tolu. From Tolu the lines of the R. E. A. went all over the county.
Thus electricity again helped the county for this enable farmers to have electricity on the farm.
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