As one of the large strikes in the Lake Superior geological district, the Chapin Mine was located under a cedar swamp and unminable until it was drained by one of the largest pumping engines of the 1880s. Miners at the Chapin Mine, which began producing ore in 1880, soon tried to sink a deep shaft through 90 feet of quicksand, using enormous pumps driven by compressed air. The sand was frozen using two of the largest refrigeration compressors built, and a sectional cast-iron circular shell lined the D shaft. Mining continued for ten years using conventional pumps to dewater the lower levels.
1890-1899
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923
Image Caption:
Chapin Mine Pump
Era_date_from:
1893
1987
In 1894, Catawba County, North Carolina commissioners asked local landowners to build and maintain an 85-foot-long bridge across Lyles Creek. The community hired Andy L. Ramsour, who served as keeper of the Horseford covered bridge over the Catawba River in Hickory, North Carolina.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain (National Park Service)
Image Caption:
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge
Era_date_from:
1894
2001
A majority of the buildings, used originally in steam locomotive repair and maintenance, are still intact, including the backshop (erecting shop), roundhouse, flue shop, paint shop, and parts storage buildings. The 37-stall roundhouse is one of the largest remaining roundhouses in North America still in continuous operation. The site contains other significant buildings including the car repair shed, yard office, oil house, sand house, and wheel balancing shed.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
The Bob Julian Roundhouse, part of Southern Railway Spencer Shops
Era_date_from:
1896
2011
This run-of-the-river plant is a typical example of late nineteenth-century small-scale (750 kilowatt) low-head hydroelectric power technology. The Fries Manufacturing and Power Company began operating the Idol's Station on April 18, 1898, making it the first commercial hydroelectric plant in North Carolina involving long-distance power transmission, fourteen-miles distance at 10,000 volts. Idol's was an important power source for transportation, lighting, and industry in the Winston-Salem area.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
Idols Station, Fries Manufacturing & Power Company
Era_date_from:
1898
1984
This machine, which began operation on December 15, 1891, for the New York Edison Illuminating Company, represents the beginning of large-scale electric power generation in the United States. The generator was designed by chief engineer John Van Vleck, David Joy (known in England for his valve gear), and S. F. Prest.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
Engine-Driven Dynamo
Era_date_from:
1891
1980
In his search for a more economical way to make aluminum, Canadian inventor Thomas Leopold Willson accidentally discovered the first commercially viable process for making calcium carbide, which is used for production of acetylene gas, at a location in North Carolina. This chance discovery produced a series of products, from improved lighting in remote locations to the synthesis of a host of organic substances.
The plaque commemorating the event reads:
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Image Caption:
Photographed at the Den Hartogh Ford museum. Highest gas yield for carbide lamps. Sold by Union Carbide corporation, which was formed in 1898 to consolidate the interests of the Electrogas Company.
Era_date_from:
1998
Innovations
