Gas Works, 1909, The Snow Collection, The Museum of Old Newbury
The Gas Works - Union Street
Gas became a popular method of outdoor and indoor lighting, it was made from coal.
Gas Works, 1909, The Snow Collection, The Museum of Old Newbury
Newburyport Gas Works
The Newburyport Gas Company was chartered in 1850. An 1852 deed shows that the land at the end of Union Street that the Gas House was built on was sold to the company in 1852 by Moses Pettingell. In the deed it states that a building had already been erected on the land by the company, so one can assume that the land had most probably been leased for a short period of time.
The gas was made from coal, it was manufactured by heating coal in an oven that was sealed to keep oxygen out. Then the gas was purified, filtered, pressurized and piped into homes, churches, businesses and street lights. It was made by the process we know as “coal gasification.” There is a long description of the process is the Newburyport Daily Herald on November 11, 1879.
An article in the Newburyport Daily Herald on Sept 6, 1872 describes the gas house as a “nuisance,” coal tar is described as draining from the gas works into the river and “besmearing” the boats of residents and killing the clams and driving the fish from the river. It also describes the “sense of smell no one who visits that quarter of the city can deny.”
1872 map courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
1884 map courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
Gas became a popular method of outdoor and indoor lighting in cities and suburbs. Gradually in the very late 19th century and early in the 20th century, electricity replaced gas as the source of illumination. Gas was supplied to homes, businesses and streets through underground pipes, just as it is today. The photograph from the Museum of Old Newbury, The Snow Collection shows one of the gas holding tanks, and on the 1872 map and on the 1884 map two gas holding tanks are depicted.
In 1853 the Newburyport Gas Company advertised their store at 37 Pleasant Street, where a “variety of all the different styles of GAS FIXTURES required for Public Buildings, Churches, Dwelling Houses and Stores, will be kept constantly on hand and for sale as low as can be purchased elsewhere.”
1860 advertisement for gas fixtures, the Newburyport City Directory, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
The advertisement goes on to say that, “The Company is also prepared to do GAS FITTING in all its branches - and persons wishing to have premises fitted for the introduction of Gas are requested to leave their orders at the Office of the Company.” Over the years the Newburyport City Directories have advertisements for indoor and outdoor gas lighting fixtures, they start out in Newburyport and gradually there are only advertisements for fixtures in Boston.
1886 advertisement in the Newburyport City Directory, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
Lamp Lighter illustration
Outdoor scene with gaslight, courtesy of the Library of Congress, the Brady Collection
Indoor gaslight fixtures were installed well below ceiling height. The light was a flame, so the lighted bowl had to be kept a safe distance from any materials that it might ignite. Early gas lights were lit manually, but many later designs were self-igniting. The gas to the fixture was turned on and off with a valve, or valves, that were built into it. The fixture needed to be reasonably easy to reach, either from the floor or with the use of a small step-stool if needed because the flame had to be lit after the gas was turned on.
At first outdoor gas street lights were lit by hand, and there is an illustration of a lamp lighter, a young man with a ladder going from one outdoor lighting post to another. Eventually systems were developed which allowed the lights to operate automatically. The Library of Congress has a photograph of men standing by a 19th-century street lamp.
Street Light, Downtown Newburyport today, courtesy of Mary Baker Eaton
Street Light, Downtown Newburyport today, courtesy of Mary Baker Eaton
The historic street lamps are replicated in downtown Newburyport today.
The gas works was razed in 1926, by that time it was owned by the Haverhill Electric Company. National Grid, who then owned the site, started a clean-up of the contaminated soil in 1998 and finished in 2011.
History from Salem Deeds, the Newburyport Archival Center digitalized newspapers, John J. Currier, the History of Newburyport, Mass, 1764-1905, Volume 2, the Newburyport Archival Center’s Newburyport City Directories, The Newburyport Daily News, Wikipedia and The Spruce, “The Gaslight Era.”
Check Out The Interactive History Map
More information about Newburyport and its history can be found on the interactive history map, “Newburyport – Keeping the Story Alive.”
Solve The Gas Works Puzzle
Press the icon to play the puzzle on a full screen or tap here to expand the image.