The Birth of a Utility Titan: The Stone & Webster Merger
A new $8,000,000 holding company, the Puget Sound Power Company, has been incorporated to consolidate regional electric and streetcar systems.
The story, cleaned up
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With a capitalization of $8,000,000, the Puget Sound Power Company has been incorporated as a holding company to take over all Stone & Webster electric light, power, and street railway systems in northwestern Washington. The merger aims to consolidate existing properties and facilitate the expansion of interurban rails from Vancouver, B.C., down to Portland, Oregon, with service extensions into Grays Harbor. Properties included in the transfer comprise the Tacoma Railway & Power Company, the Seattle Electric Company, the Seattle-Tacoma Power Company, and various other light and rail corporations throughout the region.
“Besides holding existing plants and properties it is the intention to continue interurban and power extensions now planned and promote other extensions.”
This consolidation marks the era when regional transit and electricity were captured by massive private syndicates. It serves as a reminder of how the infrastructure of the modern Northwest was built through aggressive corporate monopolization.
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