History

Henry P. Moore

president, Delmarvia Utilities Company · active 1913

Wilmington, Delaware, utility man who in May 1913 asked the Maryland Public Service Commission for permission to begin installing an electric lighting system for Ocean City, his company having acquired the town's electric-light franchise from John W. Brawner.

In the record (1)

  1. 1913

    Ocean City's electric light gets an owner: the town grants a franchise to John W. Brawner, and Delmarvia Utilities asks the state for leave to build the plant.

    The Messenger of 3 May 1913, under LIGHT FOR OCEAN CITY: "Henry P. Moore, of Wilmington, Del., president of the Delmarvia Utilities Company, Saturday asked the Public Service Commission to grant permission for his company to begin the work of installing an electric lighting system for Ocean City. The company has secured the franchise recently granted to John W. Brawner, of Washington, by the Mayor and City Council of Ocean City, for the establishment of an electric light plant, and the Delmarvia Company wants to prepare for business of the season about to begin. The commission will require the Delmarvia company to file a formal application explaining in detail what it proposes to do." This answers a question the 1908 pass left open. Ocean City had electric light by September 1908 — the *Messenger* noted the lights going out with the summer trains — but nobody had been named as its owner. In 1913 the franchise is a tradeable municipal grant, sold on from a Washington promoter to a Wilmington utility company before a lamp is lit.

    Delmarvia Utilities CompanyJohn W. Brawner

    Source · checked 2026-08-06