Few People Know Ohio Was Home To The First Traffic Signal In America
By Sarah McCosham|Published April 07, 2023
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Sarah McCosham
Author
I write like it's my job - because it is! I have a Master's in English and love words: crossword puzzles, Scrabble games, Wordle, and, of course, good, old-fashioned books.
I'm a writer and editor at OnlyInYourState, and a contributing writer at Cincinnati Magazine. I love the Great Outdoors and am endlessly awestruck by this beautiful country of ours. Coffee keeps me going, yoga keeps me sane, my kids keep me grounded, and my writing keeps me inspired.
Traffic signals. They’re a ubiquitous part of modern life that we all take for granted. They keep motorists safe and traffic moving steadily. But they haven’t always existed; in fact, before 1914, America was conspicuously traffic signal-less. The world’s first electric traffic signal was put into place on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 1914. Curious about how the first traffic signal in America came to be… in Ohio? Read on!
It's nearly impossible to imagine a world without traffic signals -- or traffic, for that matter.
But at the turn of the 20th century, that's exactly the world in which Americans found themselves. Instead of automobiles, there were horse-drawn carriages. There were no traffic signals, no pedestrian crossings, no bike lanes.
But things were beginning to change. The automobile was invented in the late 1800s, and by 1914, there were more automobiles on the road than ever -- but they were still sharing the streets with streetcars, horse carriages, and merchant carts, creating a hazardous situation for everyone on the road.
At the time, traffic was controlled by the police. But traffic lights were about to come along and make road navigation easier, safer, and more efficient.
On August 5, 1914, what is considered to be the first electric traffic light in America was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, at the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. It had four pairs of red and green lights, one for each side of the intersection, and a warning buzzer that indicated when the light was about to change. It had to be manually operated at a nearby booth.
It was based on a design by James Hoge, who had previously applied for a patent for a "Municipal Traffic Control System." His patent -- #1,251,666 -- was approved in 1918.
While there were other early traffic signals and traffic lights, both before and after Cleveland's and James Hoge's lights, this forward-thinking Ohioan is credited with creating the first traffic signal in America.
Other early traffic signals were far less successful than Hoge's. In 1868, a gas-lit and manually-operated traffic sign was installed in London. It had two arms: one said "stop" and the other said "caution." Tragically, less than a month after its installation, it exploded and the policeman who was operating it was injured.
So the next time you're sitting in traffic, waiting for the light to change from red to green, say a silent "thanks" to Mr. Hoge, whose invention has had a profound and positive effect on modern life!
Did you know that Ohio was home to the first traffic signal in America? Crazy! In other firsts, Ohio was actually home to the world’s first concrete street — you can visit it today in bustling Bellafontaine.
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