Historic Oak View County Park Sheds Light on History of Electricity

2/19/2008

Travel back in time and learn what it was like to live in North Carolina before electrification. Wake’s Historic Oak View County Park will present the exhibit "Seeing the Light: How Electricity Changed Rural North Carolina" in the main farmhouse of Historic Oak View County Park, 4028 Carya Drive, Raleigh, beginning Saturday, February 23, 2008, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit will remain on display through June 29, 2008. Opening day activities are listed below.

10 a.m. Guided Tour of Seeing the Light: How Electricity Changed Rural North Carolina
11 a.m. Dr. Gail O’Brien – Historical Overview of the early 1900s
12 p.m. Dr. Tom Hanchett – Impact of the New Deal, specific impact of the radio
1 p.m. Dan Cook – Documentary "Here Comes Electricity," showing the impact of electrification on people’s lives
2 p.m. Guided Tour of Seeing the Light: How Electricity Changed Rural North Carolina
3 p.m. Guided Tour of Seeing the Light: How Electricity Changed Rural North Carolina

Like others around the nation, thousands of North Carolinians will never forget the first time they pulled the chain on their homes’ first electric light. Explore the dramatic impact this energy source had on daily life in rural North Carolina.

Exhibit hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

For more information on this free event, contact Historic Oak View County Park at 919-250-1013 or www.wakegov.com/parks/oakview.

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