Gas lighting was invented by William Murdoch in 1792, and cities in Britain began lighting their streets with gas at that time. The United States adopted gas lighting soon afterward with its introduction on Pelham Street in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1803. Its use increased throughout the 19th century, and some places in the U.S. still use gas lights. In Avalon, an agreement between the borough and the Pennsylvania Globe Gas Light Company was reached on July 17, 1894, to provide light and service for no fewer than 25 lamps at a cost of $19.50 per lamp per year. These lamps provided warm street lighting for many years until electric lighting arrived in 1911. During the 1890s, Avalon's gas street lamps were typically removed, cleaned, painted, and stored for the winter, but the council decided the town needed some light during the cold, dark winter months, so lamplighter J. Howard Preston was hired to light eight lamps during the winter while the rest were stored until summer. The Penn Globe company has provided gas lamps in the United States since 1877.