The Centerior Energy Corporation was founded in 1892 in Cleveland, Ohio, as the Cleveland General Electric Company, with a franchise from the General Electric Company of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1893, assets of the Brush Electric Light and Power Company and of the Cleveland Electric Light Company were transferred to the Cleveland General Electric Company, forming the nucleus of a new organization. On July 21, 1894, the name of the company was changed to the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI). In 1926, the company purchased the Cleveland, Painesville and Eastern Railroad Company and its subsidiary, The United Light and Power Company. Other power companies in the northeastern Ohio region were purchased during this time. In 1947 control of the company returned to the hands of public investors, and new power plants continued to be added to the system. The company's first nuclear power plant, the Davis-Besse facility, became fully operational in 1978. A second nuclear power facility, the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, was subsequently added. In 1986 Centerior Energy Corporation, an affiliation between CEI and the Toledo Edison Company, was formed to become one of the largest electric systems in the United States. In 1996, Centerior Energy Corporation and the Ohio Edison Company merged into a new holding company, First Energy Corporation. The collection consists of individual portraits of CEI presidents, including Myron T. Herrick, Ralph M. Besse, and Elmer L. Lindseth, as well as presidents of the Toledo Edison Company. Individual and group portraits of employees, Board of Directors, retirees, and views of employee-related events form a large part of this collection. Materials used in marketing campaigns are included, as well as campaigns developed to promote the use of electric power and electrical appliances after World War II. The collection contains extensive visual documentation on the construction, acquisition, maintenance,and repair of infrastructure in a major metropolitan powergrid. Changes in electrical power generation and distribution equipment are depicted. Views of most CEI facilities, including offices, the Illuminating Building in downtown Cleveland, operating plants, sub-stations, and switching stations are included. Construction of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant is extensively documented.
