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In 1932 a tragic fire occured in Rochester which robbed Beaver County of a very historically imposing house. This fire may also have destroyed much material recording the early development of the electrical industry and the Westinghouse Corporation.
Standing at the top of Monroe Street, overlooking the town, this impressive Belgian block stone mansion was once the property of Oliver Blackburn Shallenberger. His workshop and laboratory was located on Reno Street and Connecticut Avenue.
Oliver Blackburn Shallenberger was born in Rochester on May 7, 1860 and was the son of one of the leading physicians of Western Pennsylvania. He received his early education in the Rochester public school and Beaver College. In 1877 he entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and for the first year stood at the head of his class. Several physical misfortunes including impaired eyesight seriously interfered with his work thereafter and he was compelled to abandon his studies. After his resignation from the Navy in 1884, he hitched his wagon to the Westinghouse star. Shallenberger then devoted his time to experimental work. His Shallenberger "Wattsmeter" was the answer to selling electrical energy and was the result of a fortunate mishap. By placing an object in the shifting electrical field of force, the object would rotate, hence the meter. Along with his co-workers, the dream of generating alternating current for public use became a reality. This came about shortly after Westinghouse moved his laboratory from Pittsburgh to Great Barrington, MASS.
The results of investigations made by Union Switch and Signal Company led Mr. Westinghouse to organize his own company and Shallenberger was appointed chief electrician of this and its successor, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.
On September 7, 1888, Mr. Shallenberger was elected an associate member of the Institute and was transferred to membership on December 4, 1888. In 1889 he went abroad visiting electrical companies in Europe. By 1891 his failing health made his resignation as chief electrician necessary. Unwilling to part with his services, Westinghouse retained him as a consulting electrician. The summer months saw him doing consulting work in his laboratory near his Rochester home but he spent his winters in Colorado.
In 1897 he organized the Colorado Electric Power Company and was its president until his death. During his short-lived 37 years, he helped found a mighty electrical empire and it is sad to think of the loss of his electrical genius. Oliver Shallenberger was buried in the Beaver Cemetery. His lovely home, built by the Westinghouse Corporation was later purchased by W.A. Parks. It remained a showplace for many years before being gutted by fire. Due to its size and the economic conditions of the time the house was never restored and has passed into history and Rochester memories.