Skip to main content

USA

Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Food Processing Era: 1890-1899 DateCreated: 1892 8801 Citation Road Essex State: MD Zip: 21221 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/food-processing/-174-crown-cork-and-soda-filling-machine-%281892%29 Creator: Painter, William
Although bottled carbonated beverages were popular by the 1880s, sealing the bottle was a constant problem. Most "stoppers" were of metal and intended for reuse. None sealed adequately, and contact with the cap often contaminated the drink. In 1892 (Feb 2), William Painter (1838-1906) patented a cheap, single-use metallic cap, crimped over a lip formed on the bottle neck and lined with a thin cork wafer that both formed a leakproof seal and separated drink and metal.
YearAdded:
1994
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/KMJ (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Crown Cork and Soda Filling Machine Era_date_from: 1892
Croton Water Supply System
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Water Supply & Control Era: 1840-1849 DateCreated: 1842 Croton River New York State: NY Zip: Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/project/croton-water-supply-systems/ Creator: Jervis, John

Inferior water and the lack of a sufficient water supply prompted public pressure to find a significant water source for the 360,000 of people living in New York City at the time. Studies determined that the Croton River, 40 miles north of the city, was the best available source. The original system served as a prototype for large-scale water supply projects across America. 

YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Otterman56 (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Croton Water Supply System Era_date_from: 1842
The Cotton Module Builder
Society: ASABE Main Category: Agricultural & Biological Sub Category: Equipment, Harvesting and Baling Era: 1970-1979 DateCreated: 1971 Scoates Hall College Station State: TX Zip: Country: USA Website: http://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/cotton-module-builder-40.aspx Creator: Wilkes, Lambert , Jones, J.K. "Farmer"
Cotton was once transported from farms to gins by wagons, trucks or trailers. Long waits to unload at the gin stalled harvests until haulers could return to the fields. Professor Lambert Wilkes of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, developed the Cotton Module Builder between 1971 and 1974 with the support of J.K. (Farmer) Jones of Cotton Incorporated. The modules created by the Cotton Module Builder withstood weather, and after transport, the cotton could be easily fed into the gin. Dr.
YearAdded:
2002
Image Credit: Photo by Beaver (Thomas John Macartney) Image Caption: The cotton module builder revolutionized the cotton industry. Era_date_from: 1971
Cortland Street Drawbridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1900-1909 DateCreated: 1902 River Chicago State: IL Zip: 60642 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/Cortland-Street-Drawbridge/ Creator: Ericson, John , Wilmann, Edward

In 1899, engineers from the City of Chicago's Division of Bridges and Viaducts performed a survey of moveable bridge design in the U.S. and Europe. Their study led to the conclusion that the unusual trunnion bascule design would best meet their needs.

YearAdded:
1981
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Matthew Black (CC BY-SA 2.0) Image Caption: Cortland Street Drawbridge Era_date_from: 1902
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Minerals Extraction & Refining Era: 1700-1749 DateCreated: 1742 94 Rexmont Rd Lebanon State: PA Zip: 17042 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-106-cornwall-iron-furnace-%281742%29 Creator: Grubb, Peter
When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself was enlarged; the blast-air bellows were replaced by a pair of wooden cylinder "blowing tubs"; the waterwheel that had powered them was replaced by a 20-horsepower steam engine; and a pair of waste-heat boilers to supply the engine was built into the open stack of the furnace.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Wherring (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Cornwall Iron Furnace Era_date_from: 1742
Cornish - Windsor Covered Bridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1860-1869 DateCreated: 1866 Windsor Covered Bridge Cornish State: VT Zip: 03745 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/project/cornish-windsor-covered-bridge/ Creator: Town, Ithiel

The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge is the longest wooden bridge in the United States and the longest two-span, covered bridge in the world. It is also a classic example of wooden bridge-building in 19th-century America. With copious supplies of timber at hand and a generous reserve of carpentry skills available, bridge builders in early America quickly discarded the masonry arches prevalent in the Old World. Instead, they opted for a revival of timber-truss designs dating from 14th century Europe.

YearAdded:
1970
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/aussiegtl (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Cornish - Windsor Covered Bridge Era_date_from: 1866
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1920-1929 DateCreated: 1926 The Henry Ford Museum Dearborn State: MI Zip: 48124 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-81-corning-ribbon-machine-%281926%29 Creator: Woods, William , Corning Glass Works
While Thomas Edison perfected the first practical and durable filament in 1879, it was not until much later that electricity left the laboratory to become the universal source of light. This required a tremendous number of glass envelopes for light bulbs. In the 1890s the top speed of the finest glass-blowing team produced two bulbs a minute.
YearAdded:
1983
Image Credit: Original Image: Courtesy Flickr/ellenm1 (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Corning Ribbon Machine Era_date_from: 1926
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Research and Development Era: 1920-1929 DateCreated: 1928 Waukesha State: WI Zip: Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-50-cooperative-fuel-research-engine-%281928%29 Creator: Waukesha Motor Company

The Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine is used extensively throughout the world for testing, research, and instruction in the performance of fuels and lubricants for the internal combustion engine. Principal design work on this prototype engine was accomplished by engineers of Waukesha Motor Company, now a division of Dresser Industries, who served on a Cooperative Fuel Research Committee with representatives of the American Petroleum Institute, Society of Automotive Engineers, Automobile Manufacturers Association, and the National Bureau of Standards.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Courtesy Colorado State University Image Caption: Cooperative Fuel Research Engine Era_date_from: 1928
Cooper Steam Traction Engine Collection
Society: ASME Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Agriculture Era: 1860-1869 DateCreated: 1860s Knox County Historical Society Mount Vernon State: OH Zip: 43050 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/agriculture/-201-cooper-steam-traction-engine-collection-%28late, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/4071fc96-7a0c-4d14-8f4e-5d9371c259b2/201-Cooper-Steam-Traction-Engine.aspx Creator: Cooper & Co.

These engines, built by Cooper & Co., of Mount Vernon are among the oldest surviving agricultural steam engines to show the evolution from the portable, skid-mounted engine (ca. 1860) to the horse-drawn engine (1875), through the self-propelled but horse-guided engine (1875) and finally to the self-propelled, self-steered traction engine (1883). Such engines powered the conversion to mechanized farming, which was a great hallmark of the Industrial Revolution.

YearAdded:
1998
Image Credit: Courtesy ASME Image Caption: Cooper Self-Propelled, Self-Steering Traction Engine Era_date_from: 1860s
Cooper-Bessemer Type GMV Integral-Angle Gas Compressor
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Minerals Extraction & Refining Era: 1940-1949 DateCreated: 1944 Knox County Historical Museum Mount Vernon State: OH Zip: 43050 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-240-cooper-bessemer-type-gmv-integral-angle-gas-e, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/9e28281d-2403-4337-9ec3-df2251a26ede/240-Cooper-Bessemer-Type-GMV-Integral-Angle-Gas-E.aspx Creator: Boyer, Ralph , Cooper-Bessemer Corporation

This compressor was a product of the combined technology and design heritage of both the C. & G. Cooper Company of Mount Vernon and the Bessemer Gas Engine Company of Pennsylvania, which had merged in 1929. Ralph L. Boyer, the chief architect of the GMV, worked for Cooper-Bessemer from 1926 through 1965.

YearAdded:
2006
Image Credit: courtesy www.osagcd.com Image Caption: Cooper-Bessemer Type GMV Integral-Angle Gas E Era_date_from: 1944
Subscribe to USA

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.