My own house in Quincy was built in 1916 and had no gas piping. The original wiring was still intact in 1978. Knob and tube wiring with steel City switch boxes and mother of pearl single pole push button Holtger-Cabot switches and a thoroughly confusing circuitry where the neutral was switched from one entrance to the dining room and the hot wire switched the other entrance. The ceiling light operated like a three way circuit provided one came and went by the same traffic pattern. Cut into the floor under the dining room table was an old work box with a foot switch which operated a bell in the kitchen powered by a dry cell battery. This would allow the woman of the house to signal the cook that they were ready for the next meal course.

There were five of six more different sized and toned bells connected to switches in each bedroom upstairs to alert the maid as to which room was ringing her up, as well as the front and back door, and no attempt was made to hide these unsightly batteries and bells in 1916. They were considered state of the art for those without electricity to be in awe of. The pewter six light chandelier in the dining room was the only fancy fixture in the house. Two wall sconces lit the living room on either side of the fireplace and two more in the master bedroom on either side if the only wall where a bureau and mirror could be placed. There was only one closet on the second floor and the lights in these rooms were controlled by single pole switches for brass chain single lamp fixtures. The bathroom had a wall sconce brass fixture over the sink and the single pole switch was in the bathroom. There was a single receptacle in the second floor corridor mopboard which was outside the bedrooms and bath, it must have been used for cleaning rugs and runners. There were two lights in the attic. Control of these lights were from two 15 A circuits from a 30 A service; one circuit for the left side of three floors and the other 15 A circuit for the right side. If a fuse was blown, the other half of each floor was still providing light.

I rewired this house to provide for 1978 appliances and codes but the knob and tube system I removed was as good and functional as the day it was installed. There was no deterioration of the insulation or the conductors. I attribute this to the ability of the knob and tube wiring system to dissipate heat into the air around the conductors. Quite a bit of deterioration occurred at lamp terminals on brass fixtures though.