For decades after it was established in 1852, the Evansville Gas Light Company began to illuminate residences, stores, factories, and other buildings, which spurred the city’s rapid industrial and commercial growth in the latter half of the century.
Electric light was introduced in 1882, and local companies providing public utilities competed with each other until 1912, when several of them merged to form the Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company (SIGECO), which extended services to communities in the southwestern part of the state.
To keep pace with the rising demand for gas and electricity, this SIGECO power plant in Howell, seen here in January 1950, was built in the 1920s. (Note Reitz High School in the upper left of the image.)
