A New He for an Old New Era

Wayne D. Rowell
November/December 1993
The shop building
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The shop building today; John Rex's truck in foreground.
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P.O. Box6 Wilmington, Vermont 05363

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About the year 1880, in Wilmington, Vermont, Henry Adams, a farmer, maple sugar maker, and carpenter, designed and built a wooden tank to hold maple sap. A neighbor, Clinton Haynes, provided money to obtain a patent and start a manufacturing business known as Adams and Haynes. Other types of tanks for holding liquids were designed. A tank designed to gather maple sap was called a 'Tomahawk.'

The first patent was issued on November 15, 1880, and a second on July 8, 1884.

Henry Adams, assisted by his two sons, Walter and Leslie, built the tanks in a shop attached to the farmhouse. The lumber was sawed and planed at nearby water powered sawmills.

I had the privilege of knowing Leslie Adams, who told me that his father had a 'boy powered' bench saw that he used to cut the parts for the tanks. Leslie and Walter would sit on bicycle seats, and via bicycle pedals, run the saw while Henry made the cuts.

About 1900, Walter Adams took over the farm and business from his father.

In 1910, a new shop was built, separate from the house, and new equipment added. This shop was powered by a two horse treadmill. The shop with the original equipment, including the attached shed that housed the treadmill, still stands.

Later, a jointer was added to the shop equipment and a 5 HP Galloway engine was installed to replace the horse treadmill.

As business increased, the Galloway engine was replaced with a 5 HP New Era engine. Although much effort was used to install this engine properly, including pumping water from a nearby well for cooling, mounting the wet cell batteries needed for the ignition on the wall in the shop, and running the exhaust outside under the eaves, the engine was a disappointment. It was apparently difficult to start.

The Galloway engine that had been sold was re-purchased and installed in the shop again. This engine continued to run the shop until 1928, when a 7 HP electric motor was installed. The shop is still run by this motor, via the original system of line shafts and clutch pulleys.

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