Near Vermilion in Erie County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lester Allan Pelton

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 23, 2014

1. Lester Allan Pelton Marker

Inscription. Lester Allan Pelton, "the Father of Hydroelectric Power," was born on September 5, 1829, a quarter of a mile northwest of this site. He spent his childhood on a farm a mile south of this site and received his early education in a one-room schoolhouse that once sat north of this site. In the spring of 1850, he and about twenty local boys, left for California during the great gold rush west. Pelton did not find gold, but instead invented what was commonly known as "the Pelton Water-Wheel," which produced the first hydroelectric power in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California in 1887. The Water-Wheel was patented on August 27, 1889. Currently variations of it are still commonly used to generate electric power throughout the world. Pelton died in California on March 14, 1908. He is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Vermilion.

Erected 2009 by Vermilion Area Archival Society and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 27-22.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection

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series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 14, 1908.

Location. 41° 24.41′ N, 82° 24.406′ W. Marker is near Vermilion, Ohio, in Erie County. It is at the intersection of West Lake Road (U.S. 6) and Risden Road (County Route 143), on the right when traveling east on West Lake Road. This historical marker is located in Vermilion Township, in the northeast corner of Cuddeback Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Vermilion OH 44089, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Simon Kenton (approx. 2.3 miles away); Days of Wooden Ships (approx. 2.3 miles away);

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 23, 2014

2. Lester Allan Pelton Marker

A close-up view of the picture of Lester Allan Pelton that is displayed on this historical marker.

The Days of Steel Boats (approx. 2.4 miles away); A Brief History... (approx. 2.4 miles away); Vermilion / Erie County (approx. 2.4 miles away); Vermilion's Founders Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); Holland-Bond Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7576 Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); Frederick William Wakefield / Harbor View (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vermilion.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 23, 2014

3. Lester Allan Pelton Marker

View, looking south along Risden Road, of the historical marker.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 23, 2014

4. Lester Allan Pelton Marker

View of the historical marker looking north towards the West Lake and Risden Road intersection.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 23, 2014

5. Lester Allan Pelton Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2014, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 928 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 23, 2014, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.