It was founded as the
Laclede Gas Light Company, as the invention of
gas lit street and home lamps was a primary, and innovative use of natural gas. In the 1800s, gas lighting began to displace candles and lamps that burned
whale oil,
camphine, burning fluid (a blend of
turpentine and
alcohol) and
kerosene. It predated the invention of
electric lighting and gas cooking and heating. Laclede Gas Light Co was chartered in Missouri on March 2, 1857, named for
Pierre Laclède, the founder of the city of St. Louis. In 1905,
North American Company, a public utilities conglomerate, acquired St. Louis United Railways, the consolidated streetcar company in St. Louis, which operated as St. Louis Transit Company. North American reported they owned
Union Electric and Laclede Gas See
Streetcars in St. Louis. In 1909, North American decided to sell Laclede Gas after lawyers advised they might be in violation of Missouri's antitrust law.
American Light and Traction was under consideration as a possible buyer, but they were outbid by a consortium of St. Louis capitalists led by
G. H. Walker and
Adolphus Busch. They paid $7 million for the seven elevenths of outstanding shares owned by North American. Walker was a broker who planned to resell his shares. Busch's share was $1 million ==See also==