Elgin Wind Power and Pump Company

Elgin Wind Power and Pump Company. Did you know that windmills were manufactured in Elgin for more than 60 years? , Elgin windmills were built on this site beginning in 1887. The company gained fame in 1906 as the first company to patent an automatic oiler, invented by Richard Nichols. In 1912, he developed an enclosed gear case-also an industry first. Both inventions decreased the need for windmill service to once a year instead of monthly. , , The name was changed in 1925 to Elgin Windmill Company. Surviving through the Depression years, windmill production declined as electricity came to rural areas. Woodruff and Edwards foundry, located just north of this location, purchased Elgin Windmill Company in 1943, and production ended about 1947. The company went out of business in 1948. , , Elgin's Industrial Secret... Sustainable Power , Elgin's founders recognized nature's sustainable power so the Fox River. Constructing a dam in 1839, they created a source of water power which remains in place today. The dam forced river water through the mill races, which furnished power for sawmills, the Woolen Mill, a flour mill, the foundry, and the windmill company. Elgin's industrial strength met the agricultural needs of Elgin area residents. , , Wind Power , Elgin's river power allowed the rest of the world to use wind power to pump water and generate electricity through the manufacture of Elgin windmills. , , This site was home to several long-lived manufacturing companies, including: , , Woodruff and Edwards Foundry , 1879-1987 , This sand cast iron works manufactured school and theater seats, as well as coffee grinders and bicycles. The foundry grew to four city blocks by the 1970s, but business steadily declined and the site was razed in 1990. , , Butter/Margarine Companies , 1907-2006 , Starting with Pearsall Butter Company in 1907, four different corporations produced margarine for national distribution at the south end of this park.