Encyclopedia Dubuque
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BARKER AND SPILMAN: Difference between revisions
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The company faced many disputes with city officials over gas street lights and consumer rates but survived to construct a larger plant across the street. The main office at 57 Main Street was opened in 1863 for customer convenience. This later moved to Fifth Street between Main and Iowa. | The company faced many disputes with city officials over gas street lights and consumer rates but survived to construct a larger plant across the street. The main office at 57 Main Street was opened in 1863 for customer convenience. This later moved to Fifth Street between Main and Iowa. | ||
The company's ownership was taken over by M. Moberly, F. S. Jessup and Company, J. L. Langworthy and Brothers, W. J. Barney and Company and Cincinnati parties. Later [[BOOTH, Caleb H.|Caleb H. BOOTH]], [[CARTER, William|William CARTER]] and [[GRAVES, Julius K.|Julius K. GRAVES]] became the company owners and leased the plant to Howard and McArthur. Neither group made the company any more profitable and the [[KEY CITY GAS COMPANY]] assumed the franchise and properties in 1880. | The company's ownership was taken over by M. Moberly, F. S. Jessup and Company, J. L. Langworthy and Brothers, W. J. Barney and Company and Cincinnati parties. Later [[BOOTH, Caleb H.|Caleb H. BOOTH]], [[CARTER, William|William CARTER]] and [[GRAVES, Julius K.|Julius K. GRAVES]] became the company owners and leased the plant to Howard and McArthur. In 1867, the works were rebuilt at the corner of Bluff and Dodge streets with improvements costing $250,000. The new works were located opposite their former site. The purifying building was made of brick, 60x24 feet, containing four purifiers about eight feet square, connecting with pipes to a center " seal," divided into compartments. From this the gas passed into other purifiers, was condensed by a jet of cold water, which removed the carbonic acid gas and other impurities and left the gas ready for use. The retorts were ample, and the reservoir had a capacity of over one hundred thousand cubic feet. The reservoir was sixty-two feet in diameter, by twenty feet deep, and holding 16,800 barrels of water. The walls were three-feet thick at the base, twenty-one inches at the top, and water-tight. The meter was manufactured by the American Company, of Philadelphia, and provided quantity of gas produced and consumed each day. | ||
Neither group made the company any more profitable and the [[KEY CITY GAS COMPANY]] assumed the franchise and properties in 1880. | |||
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Revision as of 18:09, 28 March 2015
BARKER AND SPILMAN. In 1854 the company of Barker and Spilman was the first to receive a Dubuque gas franchise. First valued only for its ability to provide light, gas was introduced to the city on Julyy 18, 1855 from a plant constructed at the corner of Dodge and Bluff.
The company faced many disputes with city officials over gas street lights and consumer rates but survived to construct a larger plant across the street. The main office at 57 Main Street was opened in 1863 for customer convenience. This later moved to Fifth Street between Main and Iowa.
The company's ownership was taken over by M. Moberly, F. S. Jessup and Company, J. L. Langworthy and Brothers, W. J. Barney and Company and Cincinnati parties. Later Caleb H. BOOTH, William CARTER and Julius K. GRAVES became the company owners and leased the plant to Howard and McArthur. In 1867, the works were rebuilt at the corner of Bluff and Dodge streets with improvements costing $250,000. The new works were located opposite their former site. The purifying building was made of brick, 60x24 feet, containing four purifiers about eight feet square, connecting with pipes to a center " seal," divided into compartments. From this the gas passed into other purifiers, was condensed by a jet of cold water, which removed the carbonic acid gas and other impurities and left the gas ready for use. The retorts were ample, and the reservoir had a capacity of over one hundred thousand cubic feet. The reservoir was sixty-two feet in diameter, by twenty feet deep, and holding 16,800 barrels of water. The walls were three-feet thick at the base, twenty-one inches at the top, and water-tight. The meter was manufactured by the American Company, of Philadelphia, and provided quantity of gas produced and consumed each day.
Neither group made the company any more profitable and the KEY CITY GAS COMPANY assumed the franchise and properties in 1880.
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Source:
"Gas Introduced to Dubuquers Just One Hundred Years Ago," Telegraph Herald, Oct. 24, 1954, p. 20