On September 30, 1882, the H.J. (Henry James) and Cremora Rogers residence became the first home in the world to be lit electrically from a central hydro-electric station using the Thomas Edison system. The station also electrified two paper mills, Van Nortwick’s Appleton Paper and Pulp Co. mill and Kimberly and Clark’s Vulcan mill, located below the bluff on the Fox River. At dusk, as the Edison K Dynamo inside the Appleton Paper and Pulp Co. gathered speed, carbonized bamboo filaments changed from dull red to bright red and then to incandescent light, and newspapers reported the illumination was “bright as day.” The residence still contains its original Edison electric light switches, wiring, cleats, and “electroliers.” H.J. Rogers, manager of the Appleton Paper and Pulp Co. and president of the Appleton Gas Light Co., drove the introduction of electricity to Appleton and became a founder of the Appleton Edison Electric Light Co. By December 1882, Appleton claimed more electrically lit buildings than any other city in the U.S. Lawrence University’s Main Hall became the first college building lit that way in 1886. Designed by architect William Waters, the residence features Wisconsin wood hand-carved by William Van Stratum and frescoes painted by Frederika Crane. Named for its nine fireplaces, it has been called Hearthstone since its operation as a tearoom in the 1930s, and it became a historic house museum in 1986.