Nashville Electric Service public relations records, ca. 1866-1989 (bulk 1900- 1989)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

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Special Collections - Upon Request
Flat file room cabinet FF NESPRR dra
1 available
Special Collections - Upon Request
Workroom range 5 section 5
1 available

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Special Collections - Upon RequestFlat file room cabinet FF NESPRR draLibrary Use Only
Special Collections - Upon RequestWorkroom range 5 section 5Library Use Only

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Subjects

LC Subjects
Advertising -- Electric household appliances -- United States.
Advertising -- Electric industries -- United States.
Advertising -- Posters.
Advertising -- Street-railroads.
Advertising and women -- United States.
African Americans -- Employment -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
African Americans -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
African Americans -- Tennessee -- Nashville -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Agricultural laborers -- Tennessee.
Agricultural machinery -- Electric equipment.
Agriculture -- Tennessee.
American Public Power Association -- (8th annual convention : -- 1951 May 7-9 : -- Chattanooga, Tenn.).
Automobile driving -- Economic aspects -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Blue collar workers -- Tennessee.
Buildings -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Buses -- Economic aspects -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Business enterprises -- History -- Sources.
Business enterprises -- Tennessee.
Businesspeople -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Central business districts -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Chattanooga (Tenn.) -- Description and travel.
Chattanooga (Tenn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Chattanooga (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Church Street (Nashville, Tenn.).
Cities and towns -- Tennessee -- Growth.
City and town life -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Commercial art -- United States -- 20th century -- Sources.
Consumer education -- Southern States.
Consumption (Economics) -- Social aspects -- Southern States.
Corporations -- Tennessee.
Cost and standard of living -- Tennessee.
Cumberland River (Ky. and Tenn.) -- Flood, 1926-1927.
Dams -- Alabama.
Dams -- Tennessee River Valley.
Dams -- Tennessee.
Disasters -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Dwellings -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Edison, Thomas A. -- (Thomas Alva), -- 1847-1931.
Electric apparatus and appliances.
Electric household appliances industry -- United States.
Electric industries -- Publicity.
Electric industries -- Tennessee.
Electric industry workers -- Tennessee.
Electric lines -- Tennessee.
Electric networks -- Tennessee.
Electric power -- Tennessee.
Electric power consumption -- Tennessee.
Electric power distribution -- Tennessee.
Electric power transmission -- Tennessee.
Electric railroads -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Electric substations -- Design and construction.
Electric utilities -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Electric utilities -- Tennessee.
Electricians -- Tennessee.
Electricity -- Economic aspects -- Southern States.
Electricity -- History -- Sources.
Electricity in agriculture -- Tennessee.
Electricity in transportation -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Electrification -- Environmental aspects.
Electrification -- Social aspects -- Tennessee.
Electrification -- Southern States.
Electrification -- Tennessee.
Employees -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Farm mechanization -- Economic aspects -- Tennessee.
Farm mechanization -- Social aspects -- Tennessee.
Farmers -- Tennessee.
Femininity in popular culture -- Sources.
Floods -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Glendale Park (Nashville, Tenn.).
Graphic arts -- 20th century -- Sources.
Hales Bar Dam (Tenn.).
Home economics -- United States.
Home economists -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Household appliances, Electric.
Household employees -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Housekeeping -- Social aspects.
Howse, Hilary E. -- (Hilary Ewing), -- 1866-1938.
Hydroelectric power plants -- Tennessee River Valley.
Hydroelectric power plants -- Tennessee.
Industrial publicity -- United States.
Industrialization -- Tennessee.
Industries -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Labor -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Labor and laboring classes -- Southern States.
Local officials and employees -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Local transit -- Tennessee -- Chattanooga.
Local transit -- Tennessee -- Memphis.
Local transit -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Mayors -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Municipal officials and employees -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Commerce.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Description and travel.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Economic conditions.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Flood, 1926-1927.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Politics and government.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Social conditions.
Nashville (Tenn.) -- Tornado, 1933.
Nashville Electric Service.
Nashville Railway and Light Company.
Neighborhoods -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Power resources -- Tennessee.
Power-plants -- Design and construction.
Power-plants -- Tennessee.
Public utilities -- Tennessee.
Rivers -- Tennessee.
Rural electrification -- Tennessee.
Rural public utilities -- Tennessee.
Street-railroads -- Employees.
Street-railroads -- Safety measures.
Street-railroads -- Tennessee -- Chattanooga.
Street-railroads -- Tennessee -- Memphis.
Street-railroads -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Tennessee -- Description and travel.
Tennessee -- Economic conditions.
Tennessee -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Tennessee -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Tennessee -- Politics and government.
Tennessee -- Social conditions.
Tennessee Electric Power Company.
Tennessee River Valley -- Power utilization.
Tennessee Valley Authority.
Tornadoes -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Transportation -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Trolley cars -- Tennessee -- Chattanooga.
Trolley cars -- Tennessee -- Memphis.
Trolley cars -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Watkins Institute -- Buildings.
Watts Bar Reservoir (Tenn.).
West, Ben, -- 1911-1974.
Women -- Social life and customs -- Tennessee.
Women -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Women -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Women employees -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
Work -- Tennessee.
Working class -- Tennessee -- Nashville.
World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- Tennessee -- Nashville.

More Details

Format
Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material
Physical Desc
13.2 cu. ft.
Language
English

Notes

Organization & arrangement of materials
Organization: Four series: I. Business Records; II. Photographs; III. Reports and Publications; IV. Newsclippings;,Arrangement: Original order is maintained in each series, except for Series III which is arranged in alphabetical order by author or publisher.
General Note
Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.
Restrictions on Access
In library use only. Available by appointment.
Description
Abstract: The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records (NESPRR) includes approximately 16 linear feet of material covering a range of subjects relating to the history of the electrification of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, spanning the time frame of circa 1866 to 1989, with the bulk of the collection concentrating on 1900 to 1989. The materials found in the NESPRR collection help demonstrate how the use of electricity evolved from its minimal, early forms to becoming an "essential" utility that shaped the growth of cities, impacted farms and rural landscapes, and affected the lives of its users over the course of the twentieth century. Formats include: photographs (primarily black and white); negatives (a minimal number); color transparency film; business records, correspondence, newsletters, brochures, reports, publications, posters and other oversize materials, and news clippings.The collection is divided into four series: I. Business Records; II. Photographs; III. Reports and Publications; and IV. Newsclippings.
Description
Scope and content: The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records (ca. 1866-1989) illuminates over 100 years of history -specifically the development and promotion of electricity for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural use in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The collection provides ample evidence of electric light and power's gradual yet transformative influence on both the city of Nashville's economy and the lives of its residents during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A key feature of the collection is material relating to the history of streetcars (both electric and non-electric, including horse- and mule-drawn cars) as a means of mass transportation and as a contributing factor in urban and suburban growth. The collection also includes materials on hydroelectric power generation, household electrification and early appliances, and the role of advertising and public relations in the development of electricity.
Description
Other topics include: the history of the companies originally responsible for providing electric power to the city, such as the Nashville Railway and Light Company (1903-1939) and the Tennessee Electric Power Company (1922-1939), also known as TEPCO; the transition from privately-owned to publicly-owned power and the resulting creation of the Nashville Electric Service (1939-1989), also known as NES; and the history of hydroelectric power development in both Tennessee and the southern region of the United States, and the role the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) played in this process.
Description
The impact of electric power and lighting on Nashville's downtown businesses is evident - images of early street lights and early lighted storefronts are included among the over 1,000 photographs found in the collection. The collection also includes numerous photographs and printed materials relating to the history of downtown Nashville: the Nashville Railway and Light Company offices were located in the Watkins Building on the 600 block of Church Street on the present-day site of the Nashville Public Library.
Description
The collection reveals the impact of electric household appliances on women's work within the domestic sphere. Electric appliances such as irons, stoves, furnaces, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners - displayed in the front windows and lobby of the Nashville Railway and Light Company - were presented as clean, modern conveniences that would revolutionize women's work in the home. Electric appliances were promoted as a means for relying less on domestic servants and more on "electric servants." The company sponsored cooking classes to teach women how to use these new electric kitchen appliances.
Description
The collection offers insights into the role of advertising and public relations in the development of electricity. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric power providers engaged in vigorous sales and promotion activities intended to increase the use of electricity by a somewhat reluctant consuming public. Inventive sales campaigns, promotions and special events were devised to increase appliance sales and electricity consumption. Data on ever-increasing electric usage rates can be found in the collection materials.
Description
The collection provides clues in to the history of graphic design and printing before the computer age. Promotional or informational talks given by TEPCO staff at local meetings or regional conferences also contain helpful information.
Description
In addition to topics mentioned above, labor history is another theme within the collection. Materials providing information about employees of the Nashville Railway and Light Company, the Tennessee Electric Power Company and the Nashville Electric Service are found throughout the collection. Street car operators, electrical linemen, repairmen, engineers, draftsmen, customer service clerks, advertising and sales employees, appliance demonstrators, cooks and kitchen workers, domestic servants, housewives and others are among the occupations included. Items such as employee newsletters provide insight in to worker culture.
Preferred Citation of Described Materials
Cite as: Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Sylvester Chambers;,Gift;,2004.,Acc. 2004.022.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Associated Materials: Metro Archives of Nashville and Davidson County houses the Nashville Railway and Light Company Records.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Related Materials: The Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library holds the David H. Steinberg Papers, which also contains information about Nashville and Chattanooga transportation in the first half of the twentieth century, and the involvement of electric power companies in the creation of transportation systems.
Biographical or Historical Data
Administrative history: The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records (NESPRR) collection sheds light on many complex topics, including but not limited to: the history of the companies originally responsible for providing electric power to the city of Nashville such as the Nashville Railway and Light Company (1903-1939) and the Tennessee Electric Power Company (1922-1939); the transition from privately-owned to publicly-owned power and the resulting creation of the Nashville Electric Service (1939-present); and the history of hydroelectric power development in both Tennessee and the southern region of the United States, and the role the Tennessee Valley Authority played in this process.
Biographical or Historical Data
The Nashville Railway and Light Company was incorporated in June-July, 1903. The move was significant because it united under one entity the city's electricity (light and power) and street railway systems (transportation). In December 1908, the Nashville Railway and Light Company moved its railway and lighting department sales room offices from the Wilcox Building across the street to the Watkins Block and/or Watkins Building at 605 Church Street.
Biographical or Historical Data
On May 27, 1922, the Tennessee Electric Power Company was incorporated. Based in Chattanooga, TEPCO consolidated the assets of 45 Tennessee companies, including those of the Nashville Railway and Light Company. On May 18, 1933, President Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933. From 1936-1938, TEPCO fought the TVA Act. TEPCO and 18 other southern power companies filed a "bill of complaint" testing the constitutionality of the TVA Act, and challenging its authority to interfere with the business practices of these local companies. TEPCO complained in its 1936 annual stockholders report of "the continuing threat of unregulated competition which the Company faces from this subsidized Governmental agency."
Biographical or Historical Data
In 1939, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuits against the TVA and the Tennessee Valley Authority purchased TEPCO's properties. That same year, the Electric Power Board and the Nashville Electric Service (NES) was created by a special act of the state legislature. During the late 1940s, planning began for the construction of a new NES building. During the week of May 12-17, 1952, the city of Nashville's Electric Power Board held dedication exercises for the new Nashville Electric Service "Electric Center" building erected at Church Street and Thirteenth Avenue. The new facility combined all NES services under one roof.
Biographical or Historical Data
Further details of the complex history of these organizations and related topics can be found in the timeline and reference sources portion of the finding aid, as well as in the collection materials.
Language
In English
Cumulative Index/Finding Aids
Finding aid available in repository;,folder level control,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_NESPublicRelationsRecds.pdf.
Ownership and Custodial History
The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records were donated to Nashville Public Library in April 2004 by Sylvester Chambers of LaVergne, Tennessee. Mr. Chambers acquired the materials at a public auction.
Action
Process;,2008-2010;,Tracey Howerton,with assistance provided by volunteers: Raymond Proctor; Marty O'Reilly; Rose Mary Reed; Harvey Bennett.
Accumulation and Frequency of Use
No further accruals are expected.
Exhibitions
Selections,Exhibited: "Electrifying Times: How Power Transformed Our City," Nashville Public Library, curated by Tracey Howerton and Beth Odle of the Special Collections Division, with funding from the Nashville Public Library Foundation, Jan. 29 to June 5, 2011.

Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Nashville Electric Service. Nashville Electric Service public relations records .

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Nashville Electric Service. Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records. .

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Nashville Electric Service. Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records .

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Nashville Electric Service. Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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