In One Ear: Mark that
A dandy history find: The Historical Marker Database. There are 42 markers just in the Astoria vicinity.
A prime example is the Site of Astoria’s First Electric Generating Station Marker (near the Rivershore Motel): “On Christmas Eve, 1885, direct current flowed from a small dynamo in a planer shed of West Shore Lumber Mills to light Astoria’s first electric lamps. Wires strung across housetops connected the dynamo to 30 arc lamps.
“Customers paid $16 a lamp per month to enjoy the novel service instituted by J.C. Trullinger (inset), proprietor of West Shore Mills and an Oregon pioneer of 1847. Out of his early venture grew Astoria Electric Co., which in 1910 became an original part of the Pacific Power & Light Co. system. This commemorative marker contributed by Pacific Power in recognition of pioneers of the electric industry.”
All of the Astoria markers are at tinyurl.com/AstMark.
