If you have been in the Industrial History Center, you may have noticed the largest object on display—our steam engine! Although it does not chug along to produce power for manufacturing anymore, it was once an important tool for industry.

Our engine (called a horizontal mill engine) is from Cape Cod, where it was used to provide power for an ice-manufacturing company. When the company switched to electrical power, the steam engine became obsolete. It was made by the Porter Manufacturing Company of Syracuse, New York, in 1890. 

How much power could the engine produce?

The Porter engine could produce 8 horsepower, which would have been too little for a building like Mill 2. An engine three times this size would be able to produce 20 horsepower, and there are records of steam engines in the millyard producing 100 horsepower! Although we would love to be able to run the steam engine for visitors, we would need an entire engine house, complete with a boiler, to get it going. 

In fact, the building that now houses Flatbread Co. (built around 1856) served as the engine house. A boiler filled with water was heated by coal and produced steam. This steam was piped to the engine, which pushed a piston in the engine. That piston turned a crank connected to the large flywheel, making the power needed by the mills. This rotating power was transmitted through the mills by a series of metal shafts, pulleys, and leather belts. If you look closely when you are in Flatbread, you can see the bricked-over openings in the walls of the building.

To be able to demonstrate running steam engines at the IHC, we enlisted the help of our industrious volunteer Mike Harrold. Mike sourced and built three mini steam engines operated by pressurized air and demonstrated the machines' mechanics for our visitors. The engines made their debut at our Going Places: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles event, and both kids and adults alike tried their hand at operating the engines with the use of bicycle pumps.

Click here for an in-depth analysis of the Porter steam engine. If you are interested in the mechanics of our mini steam engines and what it would take to build your own, click here! We would like to extend a special thanks to Mike Harrold for his work on this project and for helping us bring our dreams of operating steam engines to life!

On your next visit to the IHC, we welcome you to take a renewed look at the Porter steam engine. To see the mini steam engines in action, join us for our September 14th Open House as part of Essex Heritage Trails and Sails!