When The Lights Came On - Graceville, FL
Posted by: 
hoteltwo
N 30° 57.124 W 085° 30.765
16R E 642060 N 3425238
Located in southeast Graceville along Peanut Road, this marker notes the beginnings of bringing electricity to rural Florida.
Waymark Code: WMKX0D
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 06/05/2014
Views: 13
Marker text:
This structure is a symbol of progress and a testament to those determined rural residents who, thru electricity, helped bring this area into the 20th century. On May 30, 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) signed into law the Rural Electrification Act which, 19 months later, would allow for the formation of West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) and supply electricity for several hundred rural Graceville area residents. This federal act created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provided low interest loans to rural groups desiring to form their own electric cooperatives. On December 10, 1937, over 700 rural residents around Graceville joined together and formed WFEC. They borrowed $194,000 from REA to finance construction of the initial lines, related equipment and office facility. The first office was located in Marianna in 1938. In 1939 the office was moved from Marianna to Graceville and electricity came to these rural residents during that year. WFEC purchased this property in 1946 where the building now stands. Construction began on the building in 1948, and WFEC opened for business here in 1949.
A Florida Heritage Site
Marker Number: F-484
Date: 2002
County: Jackson
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: the West Florida Electric Cooperative and the Florida Department of State.
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
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