179 No. 9th Street
Address: 179 North 9th Street
Legal Description: North 47.66’ of the South 116’ of Lots 63 & 64
Building:
1872 Vacant lot through 1902
1904 G. F. Skinkle purchased the Pardue property across the alley north of the Signal office and planned to use a portion of it for his electric light station.
1904 Work began on the Geneva Electric Power Plant. The Skinkle Electric Powerhouse was built equipped with a three-ton dynamo. M. C. Scott was employed as the engineer.
1905 F. H Halibrican was the superintendent of the Skinkle Electric Company. The current was turned on through the street lamps for the first time on January 22.
1907 Skinkle proposed pumping water with electricity. They installed a new 100-horse boiler. A new dynamo was installed.
1908 Chet Coleman was the engineer at the electric plant.
1909 The Sanborn maps showed the Geneva Electric Co.
1909 Full day electric service began May 1st.
1910 Skinkle’s began furnishing steam heat for several businesses. They contracted to furnish steam heat for the courthouse.
1912 The work of digging the ditch on Court Street west from Center Street began.
1916 The city and the Electric Light Plant signed a contract for 24-hour electric light service.
1916 G. F. Skinkle sold the Geneva Electric Company to the Continental Electric Company of Cleveland, which owned plants at York and Aurora. The name was changed to Public Service Company.
1922 The original power plant was put on standby and replaced by power from other areas brought in over transmission lines.
1922 The Sanborn maps showed this location to be an electric plant.
1924 Frank Sutton bought the Nebraska Gas and Electric Co.
1926 Nebraska Gas & Electric prepared to rebuild the electric system in the business section of Geneva.
1933 The Sanborn maps showed this to be vacant.
1941 Public power became the law in Nebraska. Privately owned power companies were bought out by regional public power districts set up by the legislature. Consumers Public Power District was the regional public power company for the Fillmore County area and began service here.
1943 The Sanborn maps showed this to be vacant.
1945 The old steam electric plant was dismantled, but the building continued in use.
1951 Consumers Public Power District began work remodeling the original power plant building, which was to be its new home in Geneva.
1952 The old powerhouse north of the Lauber Buick Building was remodeled to make a garage area for trucks and supplies and the front area was made into offices.
1954 Consumers Public Power District moved its offices from 886 G Street to this location.
1963 The name was changed to Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD).
1990 NPPD purchased the Eller building next door to the south. It was remodeled into offices and a large meeting room. The storage area was made into additional garage space.
1999 The Nebraska Public Power District closed the business office in Geneva. A line crew remained in Geneva.
2006 Attorney Frank Heinisch purchased the NPPD property and moved his office here from the Geneva State Bank building. The original part of the electric generating plant had been used as a garage, and the west end was remodeled into three offices while the east was used as storage. Joe Bixby purchased part of the south part of the building in order to expand his office space.
2006 The one-man NPPD line crew, which had continued to use the shop area in the north building, moved to a building at the corner of 7th and G Street, where the original Geneva Water Works was located.
2012 Christin Lovegrove joined Frank Heinsich to form the Heinisch & Lovegrove Law Office.
This was ongoing as of the last posting.