Central Bridge: Birthplace of George Westinghouse

The hamlet of Central Bridge in the Schoharie Valley is easy to drive through without a second thought, but it is the birthplace of one of the most consequential inventors in American history. George Westinghouse was born here in eighteen forty-six. He grew up to invent the railroad air brake in eighteen sixty-nine, a device that made faster, heavier trains far safer.

He later built the Westinghouse Electric Company and championed alternating current against Thomas Edison's direct current system in the so-called War of the Currents, a battle Westinghouse ultimately won. The alternating current system he championed helped shape how electricity reaches homes today, and he began life in this small Schoharie Valley hamlet.