The Vulcan Street Hydroelectric Central Station began operation on November 25, 1882. Featuring a direct-current Edison “K”-type dynamo, it lit the homes of A. L. and H. D. Smith, five or six mills, a blast furnace, and other nearby homes with Edison bulbs. It represents an early use of hydropower to generate electricity and perhaps one of the earliest examples of a hydroelectric plant that sold electricity commercially and provided incandescent lighting service to the public. In 1932, on the fiftieth anniversary of the original plant's opening, a replica was constructed by the Wisconsin-Michigan Power Company. Like the original, it houses an Edison “K” dynamo. In 1987, the building was moved here from (now Olde) South Oneida Street.