1929 U. S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., Factory View
Image courtesy of Brian D. Szafranski.
"On March 25, 1857, the first meeting of the U. S. Wind Engine and Pump Company was held in the office of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in Chicago. For three years, windmills invented by Daniel Halladay had been manufactured by the Halladay Windmill Company in Ellington, Connecticut. John Burnham was the company’s general sales agent. He made his headquarters in Chicago to be nearer the windmill market." (Quote from Batavia Historical Society)
"Daniel Halladay patented the first commercially successful self-governing windmill in 1854. His windmill not only turned to face changing wind directions automatically, but it also automatically regulated its speed of operation, preventing it from destroying itself from centrifugal force during high winds. This self-governing feature remains a unifying design element in windmills made to the present." (Quote from The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture)
Information Sources