VERMILION – A prophet without honor in his own land.

That old adage about worthy souls getting no notice in their own backyard could be applied to Lester A. Pelton.

Who?

That’s precisely why the Vermilion Area Archival Society is honoring the Vermilion native and inventor. Widely regarded as the father of hydroelectric power, Pelton came to fame for his groundbreaking, highly efficient water wheel that revolutionized mining operations in the western U.S.

“He’s a hero in California … he’s held in high esteem there, but few people here know anything about him,” Jean Beach said.

She and her husband, Tom, will host free tours of Pelton’s beautifully restored lakefront birthplace a short distance from Cuddeback Cemetery, where a new state historic marker honoring Pelton will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Located at the corner of West Lake Road, U.S. Route 6, and Risden Road, the cemetery is named for the family of Lester’s mother, Fanny Cuddeback.

The couple credit archival society member Rich Tarrant for his persistence and research over the years to get the state to honor Pelton with a historic marker.

“Rich was instrumental in pushing through all the paperwork to get this done,” Tom Beach said. “His work on this was invaluable.”

Born in 1829 in the home built by his grandfather, Capt. Josiah S. Pelton, in 1818, Lester spent the first 20 years of his life in the area before dreams of wealth took him to the California Gold Rush of the 1850s. Unable to strike it rich, the young man worked as a millwright and carpenter before achieving lasting fame with his water wheel in the 1890s.

According to Akron’s National Inventors Hall of Fame Web site, Pelton’s impulse water turbine was more than twice as efficient as those of the day. Using a series of divided buckets to split running water moving over a water wheel, Pelton was able to increase the force of the water, which in turn produced more power.

The revolutionary design proved crucial in mining operations in the western U.S., where streams rarely produced sufficient amounts of water to turn traditional water wheels.

“He wanted to come up with an easier way to power mining operations that would prevent deforestation,” according to Tom Beach, who retired in 2003 as a scheduling manager from the Lorain Ford Plant. “They were cutting down mountainsides to generate power for mining before this.”

One of Pelton’s water wheels can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., according to Beach.

Since purchasing the brick and wood home in 1971 – once a summer vacation inn and stop on the old Interurban line – the couple has amassed a wealth of information on Pelton and his family.

The Beaches are all in favor of a new generation learning about the past.

“All you have to do is Google his name,” Tom Beach said. “There’s a ton of information out there … Kids these days are more interested in texting and twittering and doing whatever they can with their two thumbs.

“We’re losing interest in history.”

But Jean Beach thinks all that history may prove interesting later in life.

“Maybe we don’t really appreciate (history) as much when we’re younger,” she said. “Maybe it takes being older to get a sense of perspective about things.”

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

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