In early 1882, U.S. industry was still heavily dependent on the water wheel, and many housewives cooked on wood-burning stoves. Power was made where it was used because there was no effective means of transmitting energy long distances. But 1882 was a year of dramatic changes. The world was just beginning to grasp the implications of a new, incredibly versatile form of energy—electricity.

POWER magazine was launched that year, not too long after introduction of the first practical steam engine by James Watt in England. The steam engine enabled development of industries based on mechanical—rather than human or animal—energy. Soon, just about every manufacturing plant had its own steam-engine power plant. During this paradigm-shifting period, POWER participated in the development of the engines that powered the Industrial Revolution.

From the beginning, POWER had to keep editorial pace with a fast-developing technology and a market strongly influenced by the fantastic economic growth of the post–Civil War period. New products and scientific advances proliferated, and the magazine’s pages reflected the changing world around it.…

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