POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: Unfortunately this program is being postponed. Please check back for the rescheduled date, which we will post once the rescheduled date has been determined!

Meet Wisconsin authors Robin and Joan Rolfs as they discuss their newly published book, Hearthstone: America's National Electrical Treasure.

This book is a historical documentation of the earliest electric wiring and fixtures found in the historic house museum called "Hearthstone" located in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1882, industrialist and entrepreneur Henry J. Rogers built a lovely Victorian mansion for his wife, Cremora. He lit the home using a Thomas Edison system with a dynamo operated by water-power. Lights for the home were carbonized bamboo filament bulbs placed in fixtures called electroliers furnished by Bergmann and Company who was the exclusive source for lamp fixtures and hardware for Edison's new incandescent lamps. Installed only three years after Edison's breakthrough in perfecting the electric incandescent lamp, this house may contain the only remaining examples of these early lighting artifacts accessible to the public.

We will explore the rooms of the house containing these original electroliers and learn the unique history of the world's first hydroelectric central station. The origins of hydroelectricity and the entrepreneurs who dared to take a risk on the future development of this electrical technology will also be discussed.