The National Carbon Company / GrafTech International

Side A: On April 29, 1879, using arc carbons from the forerunner of The National Carbon Company, the City of Cleveland was illuminated by the world’s first practical electric street lamp. The National Carbon Company was established in Cleveland, Ohio in 1886 by Brush Electric Company executive W.H. Lawrence in association with future Ohio Governor Myron T. Herrick, James Parmelee, and Webb Hayes, son of United States President Rutherford B. Hayes. Well known for its batteries, The National Carbon Company also earned recognition for breakthrough research and products, including lifesaving carbon-filtered gas masks used by soldiers in World War I and reentry parts on the spacecraft that captivated the nation in the 1960s. Side B: The National Carbon Company acquired property in southeast Lakewood in 1891 for its factory complex and has remained here ever since. The company became GrafTech International in 2002. Throughout its history in Northeast Ohio, GrafTech has been recognized numerous times for its innovations, including a 1956 Academy Award for motion picture photography and a display of the first alkaline battery at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Today, GrafTech continues to innovate through pioneering research in a diverse array of scientific industries, including advanced energy, electronics, chemicals, aerospace, and transportation.