Today in Wheeling History: February 27 — John B. Garden, pioneer utility executive and co-founder of the Wheeling Electric Company, was born in Wheeling (1860).
John Bridgeman Garden was born in Wheeling on February 27, 1860, the son of Alexander T. and Mary M. Bankard Garden. His grandfather, David Garden, a native of Scotland, had settled in the Wheeling district in 1816 and established a tannery in North Wheeling. John was educated in Wheeling's public schools and later attended a local business college. His first employment was with A. J. Sweeney & Sons, boat builders and foundry operators.
As a young man, Garden became fascinated with the emerging science of electricity. Along with his father and associates A. J. Sweeney and John M. Sweeney, he helped install Wheeling's first electric generating plant in the basement of Sweeney's machine shop at 10 Twelfth Street. On September 13, 1882 — just nine days after Edison turned on the lights in lower Manhattan — Garden pulled the switch that officially turned on Wheeling's first electric light. In 1886, he was promoted to general manager of the Wheeling Electric Company.
Under his leadership, the company ultimately merged into the American Gas and Electric Company and constructed a $10,000,000 steam turbine generator plant at Beech Bottom. Garden also helped introduce Wheeling's electric trolley system. In 1938, a new substation at Fifteenth and McColloch streets was dedicated in his honor with a bronze plaque.
Beyond his utility work, Garden served as president of the Community Savings & Loan Company and president of the Board of Trustees of the United Presbyterian Church for forty years. A charter member of the Wheeling Rotary Club, he also belonged to the Fort Henry Club and Wheeling Lodge No. 28, B.P.O.E. He married Mary Ralston Sweeney on June 17, 1885, and they had two children: G. Alan Garden, a Wheeling attorney, and Gertrude, wife of Russell R. Throp. Garden died on July 7, 1940, at his Warwood home, "Dalkeith Farm," and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Biography of John B. Garden (https://tinyurl.com/yzrwn7r7); Find a Grave – John Bridgeman Garden (https://tinyurl.com/3df9v2x2), WVGenWeb – Biographical sketch of John B. Garden (https://tinyurl.com/mrx5wkr2), History of West Virginia, Old and New (Callahan, 1923), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/4mew2xy3), The Clio - Garden Park (https://tinyurl.com/55mfdj2v), Archiving Wheeling - Village of Light (https://tinyurl.com/nhjevnn4)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, American Electric Power, The Clio, Historical Marker Database, Google Maps, WTOV9
John Bridgeman Garden was born in Wheeling on February 27, 1860, the son of Alexander T. and Mary M. Bankard Garden. His grandfather, David Garden, a native of Scotland, had settled in the Wheeling district in 1816 and established a tannery in North Wheeling. John was educated in Wheeling's public schools and later attended a local business college. His first employment was with A. J. Sweeney & Sons, boat builders and foundry operators.
As a young man, Garden became fascinated with the emerging science of electricity. Along with his father and associates A. J. Sweeney and John M. Sweeney, he helped install Wheeling's first electric generating plant in the basement of Sweeney's machine shop at 10 Twelfth Street. On September 13, 1882 — just nine days after Edison turned on the lights in lower Manhattan — Garden pulled the switch that officially turned on Wheeling's first electric light. In 1886, he was promoted to general manager of the Wheeling Electric Company.
Under his leadership, the company ultimately merged into the American Gas and Electric Company and constructed a $10,000,000 steam turbine generator plant at Beech Bottom. Garden also helped introduce Wheeling's electric trolley system. In 1938, a new substation at Fifteenth and McColloch streets was dedicated in his honor with a bronze plaque.
Beyond his utility work, Garden served as president of the Community Savings & Loan Company and president of the Board of Trustees of the United Presbyterian Church for forty years. A charter member of the Wheeling Rotary Club, he also belonged to the Fort Henry Club and Wheeling Lodge No. 28, B.P.O.E. He married Mary Ralston Sweeney on June 17, 1885, and they had two children: G. Alan Garden, a Wheeling attorney, and Gertrude, wife of Russell R. Throp. Garden died on July 7, 1940, at his Warwood home, "Dalkeith Farm," and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Biography of John B. Garden (https://tinyurl.com/yzrwn7r7); Find a Grave – John Bridgeman Garden (https://tinyurl.com/3df9v2x2), WVGenWeb – Biographical sketch of John B. Garden (https://tinyurl.com/mrx5wkr2), History of West Virginia, Old and New (Callahan, 1923), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/4mew2xy3), The Clio - Garden Park (https://tinyurl.com/55mfdj2v), Archiving Wheeling - Village of Light (https://tinyurl.com/nhjevnn4)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, American Electric Power, The Clio, Historical Marker Database, Google Maps, WTOV9
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