The Rural Electrification Act, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936, provided loans to build rural electrical generating plants. On February 10, 1937, the Federated R.E.A. was incorporated, joining Butler, Franklin, Hardin, Grundy, Wright, and Hancock Counties in Iowa. The Reeve power plant was built during the long, cold winter of 1937-38 by the Welden Brothers Construction Company of Iowa Falls. On March 23, 1938, it became the first rural power plant west of the Mississippi River to energize farmer-owned lines. Through the REA-co-op partnership, rural America was brought out of darkness, and farms quickly modernized their operations and lifestyles as electric lights replaced lamps and lanterns and appliances and machinery reduced labor and increased farm productivity. American industry also grew stronger by manufacturing and selling more electric appliances and machinery to serve rural America.