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HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WINDMILL
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In 1854, a machinist in Connecticut (USA) named Daniel Halladay was asked by a traveling salesman to invent a windmill for pumping water and other uses. At first, he was skeptical that such a device could be sold, but he began manufacturing his new invention in Connecticut. Soon, he moved his factory to Illinois to be closer to the rapidly growing western market. His windmill first demonstrated that a windmill could automatically turn to face changing wind directions without human attention and could control the speed of the wind wheel so that it did not destroy itself in the frequent storms by running too fast.
Halladay’s company, the U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., went on to become the largest manufacturer of windmills in America for a time.
Left: Early advertisement for Halladay windmills showed the greatly improved quality of life that came from the having an abundance of good water and from the extra time available for profitable activities when pioneering farmers were freed from the tiring work of pumping water with physical labor.
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Above: Wind powered agricultural mills like this one were found in many villages across the developing western region of America. Often farmers would use their savings to join a “cooperative,” like the one shown above, by purchasing shares. This gave them access to much more equipment and capability than they could ever hope to acquire on their own.
Halladay’s Windmills were widely used for both pumping water and operating farm and factory machinery. Other inventors developed countless variations and improvements. Windmill manufacturers usually provided all the pumps, accessories, tools, pipe and farm machinery necessary to improve farm productivity and increase the quality of life in rural western America. Farmers sometimes built mills similar to this one to provide various services for their communities.
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More than 1000 factories have manufactured windmills in the United States alone. Most were small factories that made windmills for local use. Many failed after the first windstorm showed the weaknesses in their designs. About 20 factories produced large numbers of windmills with one factory building 99,965 windmills in one year at the peak of the market. Some windmill manufacturers specialized in exporting their products worldwide.
Left: Catalog cover from the first large windmill factory in America. The famous American car builder, Henry Ford visited a large windmill factory as a young boy and was deeply impressed by the organized production of the windmill factory. One large factory produced one windmill every three minutes!
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The American west was well suited for the raising of livestock. The one serious problem most ranchers faced was access to a satisfactory supply of water. Cheap windmills made mostly of wood were sold in large quantities to solve this problem. Some of the larger wooden windmills could lift water 100M. It would take another 30 years for the large steel windmills to be developed that could dependable pump water from the deep wells that were necessary to reach water in some states. Eventually, after much development work, the American windmill was being used to successfully pump water from wells more than 1200ft (400M) deep.
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Wood windmills did not last long and required much maintenance and repair work and eventually had to be replaced. They also lacked the high pumping capacity and pumping lifts provided by the newer geared steel windmills. Manufacturers began replacing wood with more and more Iron and steel. Finally the first all metal windmill was produced. The all steel windmill was unpopular at first, because of expense and the perception that an all metal windmill would be much more difficult to maintain and repair than a wood windmill. In a few years with a large marketing effort, they were finally accepted and eventually, only all metal windmills were offered for sale. Those manufacturers that did not make the change to the all-metal windmill in time found themselves without a market for their products.
Left: The first all steel windmill and tower produced in America by the U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co. This work was the result of a great amount of testing and refinement by the famous windmill engineer and designer, Thomas O. Perry. It led the way for all other successful manufacturers. U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co. gave up on the marketing of all metal windmills after disappointment caused by poor market acceptance. They continued to produce their wooden windmills. Eventually, the steel windmill won popularity and went on to dominate the market ¨C but by other manufacturers. U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co. went on to close its doors. Like many other manufacturers, they were not able to keep up with a rapidly developing market and technology, even though they were the ones that developed the technology at all other successful manufacturers were to eventually use.
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Improving on the design work originally done by the U.S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., the windmill shown on the right was produced by LaVerne Noyes with the help of Thomas O. Perry at the famous Aermotor works in Chicago. Aermotor went on to dominate the world windmill market. The windmill shown on the right is their first commercially produced model. |
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Aermotor began building an improved form of the original all metal windmill developed by the U.S. Windmill & Pump Co. and the race was on. The age of the wooden windmill began coming to an end. Countless improvements were made and competition was fierce in this large and rapidly growing market. In an effort to increase the edge on the competition, Aermotor began offering a popular tilting tower so that the owners could oil the windmill from the ground instead of climbing the tower every several days, sometimes in below freeing weather. Other manufacturers offered graphite bearings or oilers that could be operated from the ground using wires or chains. The tilting tower model disappeared from the market when windmills with completely enclosed gearboxes started being offered. Companies manufacturing enclosed windmills correctly advertised that they only needed oiling once a year. |
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After a great amount scientific testing and trial and error development, the age of the modern windmill arrived. Many hundreds of newer windmill designs appeared on the market. Many disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Manufacturers continued to offer new and improved models. The American Windmill had reached a stage of technical perfection.
2004 marked the 150th anniversary, of the invention of the first commercially successful self-controlled windmill in America.
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CONTACT: IRON MAN WINDMILL CO. LTD
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