Grinding Stones

Grinding Stones. . , The grinding wheels around Kiddie Land Playground in Roberts Park were originally part of the manufacturing equipment in the Ansted Spring and Axle Company, located on the east side of Columbia Avenue just north of Mount Street. The Ansted industrial park included two main divisions, the Spring Works and the Axle Works., Steel springs were used on buggies, carriages and other horse drawn vehicles. The stone wheels were used to grind and shape those springs. The wheels were driven by a steel shaft known as an arbor. The arbor was pushed through a square hole in the center of the wheel and a pulley belted to a line shaft would rotate the stone. Physical pressure was required to hold the springs against the grinding stones during this process., At one time new buggies were shipped from Connersville factories by the trainload. The Ansted Company supplied its patented Swan Loop Buggy Springs to local carriage manufacturers and to other manufacturing companies throughout the United States.