History of oil lamps in Jacobstad

On Friday the 8th December 2000, there was an interesting article in the newspaper "Jakobstads Tidning" called "The importance of electricity-Jacobstad gets roadlights".

In this article is also some information about the period when they used oillamps to lighten up the roads, and we have desided to write down some of the things that we found in the article.

It was very dark in the evenings if the moon did not shine, and therefore people that wanted to go out often took a candle or some other light so that they could see where they were walking.

But in 1887 when the railway came to Jacobstad they installed two oil-lamps to lighten up area around the station. Not long after that, the city bought two kerosene lanterns of different types in order to test them out and the following autumn they purchased about twenty lanterns of the type "St, Petersburg". They were installed on the mainstreets in Jacobstad.

Henrik Sandvik became official lamplighter and it also was his responsibility that the lamps where burning bright and clear until 10 pm every evening, except when the moon was shining.

In 1896 there was 54 kerosene lamps on the roads in Jacobstad and they used them until 1901 when they finally installed electrical lights.

On this picture (from the same article) is one of the lanterns that lightened up the roads in Jacobstad between 1887 and 1901.