Exhibitions

Rural Electrification

May 1, 1985 – July 30, 1985

National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

1st Floor, East Corridor

See on Map Floor Plan

See 16 photographs, documents, and objects highlighting the 50 years since the Rural Electrification Administration was established from plans developed by Morris L. Cooke. On view are a lantern used by Harry S. Truman in his youth to light his way to feed the horses; a sadiron heated on wood stoves; and a 1930s electric vacuum cleaner. Rural American women, daily affected by inconveniences, were a driving force behind the movement to acquire electricity, which transformed farm life.