Electricity
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In October 1894 the residents of Chagrin Falls first experienced a new technology, electricity, that would change life in the village. At first the change was small, only street lighting and then only from 5 pm to midnight.
Almost immediately however, businesses began to use electric lights. The H. C. Tenny Novelty store being one of the first, followed by individuals bringing electric lights into their homes. No longer would people have to put up with the smoke, odor and fire danger of kerosene lamps. Farmers electrified their barns and milking parlors, making milk production more efficient. They put lights in the hen house resulting in more eggs in the winter.
When the electric railroad came to town, making Cleveland only 30 minutes away, people could live in Chagrin and work elsewhere. Farmland became more valuable as land for housing developments. The farms ultimately disappeared, as did the water powered factories.
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