Richardson-Wayland Electrical Company, LLC was founded in Roanoke, Virginia in 1913 by  J. M. Richardson, A. D. Miller, F. E. Maddox, O. F. Carmack and J. E. Wayland as an electrical contracting firm with a retail appliance sales showroom. At that time the demand for the convenience and labor saving uses of electricity and electrical appliances was growing rapidly, and Richardson-Wayland was created to meet this demand. From the beginning, the company steadily grew to include operations that constructed power lines and served the electrical needs of commercial and industrial customers.