FIRST REA PROJECT IN KANSAS
FIRST REA PROJECT IN KANSAS At this site the first power pole for the Brown-Atchison Electric Cooperative was dedicated in special ceremony on November 10, 1937. Brown-Atchison was the first rural electric project to energize in Kansas financed by loans from the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). On April 1, 1938, central-station electricity generated at the Horton Power Plant was sent into the first section of lines to farms in Brown and Atchison counties, signaling an end to darkness and drudgery for rural people. Thirty-eight other electric cooperatives followed in Kansas to deliver the wonders of electricity into every rural area of the state. Rural electrification became known as the best 'hired hand' the farmer/rancher could have. Few other occurrences have impacted so positively on rural areas as has the rural electrification program.
This marker is dedicated to all the rural electric cooperative pioneers in Kansas who proved that working together for their own and the common good, produces a better life for themselves and their neighbors.
This marker was refurbished in January 2013.
US-73, Brown County
Roadside turnout, east of Horton
Plaque via Kansas Historical Society, and is used with their permission. Full page