In this concluding column, we look at Thomas Edison’s vision to construct an all-concrete home.

After the construction of his New Village, N.J., cement plant, he decided to experiment with total concrete homes. He felt they could provide cheap housing, replace wooden homes and lessen the chance of fires. The price of a home would be $1,200.

The project would be complex. A mold would be made containing 2,300 pieces, which proved to be very expensive. These homes would also create a great demand for Edison Cement.

Edison said, “They would change American life - fireproof, insect proof, easy to clean.”

He saw homes furnished with concrete furniture, too.

When the first homes were constructed, the contractors had a difficult time assembling the forms. It was time-intensive until the technique was mastered.

Remember the Ingersoll-Rand Company in Phillipsburg? Many local residents traveled there for employment. Charles Ingersoll constructed a few concrete homes in Phillipsburg. There are some on Congress Avenue.

Over the years, their facades have changed with a variety of colors, vinyl and brickcote. The homes are very sturdy, but the rooms are not very large.

Can you imagine pouring a one- or two-story home in one day?

The concrete must be consistent and flow freely to mold and settle around door and window frames, yet a number of homes were constructed using this method.

Mass production of the homes never materialized. The public was not attracted to the look-alike structures, so they just did not sell.

Edison’s most famous contract was won in 1922. The company was selected to construct the “House Ruth Built” - Yankee Stadium, a house of Edison Cement.

Our friends at Wikipedia tell us the stadium was constructed in 284 days. I guess they had different contractors than today’s Hokendauqua-North Catasauqua Bridge has! Forty-five thousand barrels of cement, 3,000 cubic feet of gravel and 15,000 cubic yards of sand were mixed by 500 men who produced 35,000 cubic yards of concrete.

When the building was renovated in 1973, the walls were untouched because of the durability of the concrete mix. The stadium remained in use until 2008.

I hope the cement quality of the new Yankee Stadium meets the same standard as Edison’s!

Edison Cement, as many of our local cement plants, became a victim of the Great Depression, and another chapter of cement history ended.

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I’ll see you somewhere in two weeks!