WABASH, INDIANA — August 2026
Nearly 100 years after a Delco-Light plant brought electricity to an Indiana farm home, a team at Bulldog Battery in Wabash, Indiana, is helping bring the historic machine back to life.
The restoration project was brought to Bulldog Battery by Steve Ulery, owner of Live Oak Electric in Culver, Indiana, who entrusted Bulldog’s team with rebuilding the original battery system for the historic 1927 Delco-Light plant.
Bulldog Battery is currently hand-building sixteen new lead-acid battery cells for the plant. The new cells are being installed into the machine’s original glass battery jars, which have remarkably survived nearly a century.
The restoration represents a unique connection between the history of electricity, rural America, lead-acid battery technology and Wabash’s long manufacturing heritage.
From the First Electrically Lighted City to Rural America
In 1880, Wabash became the first electrically lighted city in the world, demonstrating that electric lighting could be used on a community scale. For decades afterward, however, electricity remained largely a feature of cities and towns. Farm families across Indiana and the country continued to rely on kerosene lamps because electrical infrastructure had not yet reached many rural homes.
Delco-Light helped change that.
Manufactured beginning in the early 20th century, Delco-Light plants provided rural families with a self-contained source of electricity. The systems used a small gasoline engine, a DC generator and a bank of lead-acid batteries to generate and store electricity for homes that otherwise had no access to an electrical grid.
The 1927 plant being restored is a 32-volt system that originally utilized sixteen glass-jar lead-acid cells. When the generator was running, electricity could be used to power the home and charge the batteries. The stored energy could then provide electric lighting and other electrical needs when the engine was not operating.
Nearly 100 Years Later, the Original Glass Jars Remain
This Delco-Light plant was removed intact from a home along with its original battery bank. While the original lead-acid cells were beyond their useful life, the original glass jars survived.
That’s where Bulldog Battery came in.
After Ulery brought the project to Bulldog Battery, the company’s team began the process of recreating the sixteen lead-acid cells and installing them into the original 1927 glass jars.
“The history behind this project is what makes it so special,” said Blaine Deeter, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bulldog Battery. “We’re rebuilding the technology that brought electricity to rural America nearly 100 years ago, and we’re doing it right here in Wabash, Indiana.”
The project also creates a direct connection to Bulldog Battery’s own manufacturing history. The company has been manufacturing lead-acid batteries in Wabash since 1977.
“It’s not often that you get the opportunity to work on something where the history of the product, the history of your company and the history of your community all come together,” said James Brown, Chief Operating Officer of Bulldog Battery. “Our team is proud to be able to use the skills we have here in Wabash to help preserve a piece of early electrical history.”
A Unique Wabash Connection
Ulery’s decision to preserve the original components also helped make the restoration possible. By bringing the historic plant and its original battery jars to Bulldog Battery, the project allows the completed system to retain much of its original appearance while receiving a newly rebuilt battery system.
“This story that really caught our attention,” Deeter said. “Wabash has played an important role in the history of electricity, and Bulldog Battery has been building lead-acid batteries here for nearly 50 years. To be able to connect those two histories through a nearly 100-year-old Delco-Light plant is incredible.”
About Bulldog Battery
Bulldog Battery is an employee-owned manufacturer of industrial lead-acid batteries based in Wabash, Indiana. The company has manufactured lead-acid batteries in Wabash since 1977 and serves customers across the material handling and industrial battery markets.
About Live Oak Electric
Live Oak Electric, owned by Steve Ulery and based in Culver, Indiana, brought the historic Delco-Light restoration project to Bulldog Battery.
