The Year 1875
The latter part of the nineteenth century was rich with technological innovations from some of history’s greatest inventors. In 1875, Thomas Edison, while working on the telegraph, demonstrated
the existence of etheric force. Edison referred to etheric force as a mysterious power that was present throughout the atmosphere. Later, this force in the ether would be given the cumbersome
name of high-frequency electromagnetic waves. Today we know these as radio waves.
Some of the foods introduced to the nation in 1875 included three new fruits that remain as popular today as when they were introduced. The Bing cherry was developed in Oregon, and in the neighboring
state of Washington apples were grown for the first time in the fertile Yakima Valley. In Riverside California the first navel orange seedlings from Brazil were planted and have become a seedless
favorite for generations.
The Chesebrough Manufacturing Company marketed a petroleum-based product derived from a residue that accumulated on oil pumps. Robert Chesebrough learned that the workers would use the material to
treat burns and cuts. Chesebrough extracted and refined the medicinal residue and received a patent for the product he called Vaseline.
The first running of the Kentucky Derby was held at the new Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville. Aristides was first in a field of
15 to capture the title and the $2850 purse for the inaugural event. As the story goes, Aristides was not intended to win the race
and was to just provide an initial quick pace. His stable mate, Chesapeake, was believed to be the better horse, but failed to keep
pace with the smaller Aristides.
In March of 1875, the bill was signed for the introduction of a new denomination for our coinage. The United States twenty-cent piece, or double dime as it was affectionately called, became
a reality when President Grant signed the law authorizing its coining. In just eight short months, three mints would produce about a million and a half coins and place them into commerce.
By the end of the year, however, it was clear that the denomination would not last. Soon, what started out as an intriguing idea to provide the western states much needed coinage and the Nevada mine
owners an outlet for their abundant silver would be seen as a remarkable mistake.
