New Holland Machine Company
|
New Holland Machine Company
|
|
New Holland Machine Company building, c. 1895
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | 146 E. Franklin St., New Holland, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°6′3″N 76°5′19″W / 40.10083°N 76.08861°WCoordinates: 40°6′3″N 76°5′19″W / 40.10083°N 76.08861°W |
| Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
| NRHP reference # | 00000846 |
| Added to NRHP | August 9, 2000 |
The New Holland Machine Company was founded in 1895, when a young man by the name of Abram Zimmerman purchased a horse barn in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and established a blacksmith shop. Zimmerman was the third of seven children born to the Martin W. and Anna (Martin) Zimmerman. The Zimmermans were a very conservative Mennonite family. Abram Zimmerman was a mechanical genius who brought his talents to bear in the new blacksmith business as he began repairing and making farm machinery for the local farmers.
The New Holland Machine Company building located at 146 E. Franklin St. in New Holland, was built in eight sections between 1903 and 1952. It is a two-story, irregularly shaped, evolutionary industrial brick building. The facility closed in 1992.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Abram Zimmerman began retailing the German Otto four-cycle engine as part of his new business. The Otto was a single-cylinder dual flywheel stationary engine which was manufactured in Philadelphia. After a short while of selling the Otto, Abe Zimmerman switched to selling another single-cylinder dual-flywheel stationary engine called the Columbus. Retailing these engines added income to the Zimmerman blacksmith shop. By 1896, the Zimmerman blacksmith was employing three employees. However, Zimmerman's innovative nature soon had developed a "better idea".
Zimmerman thought that he could build and manufacture his own stationary engine which would be lighter in weight and would be easier to repair and operate. By 1900, he had designed his own stationary engine and built prototypes of the engine.
Like most stationary engines of the time, Zimmerman's new engine was water-cooled - a jacket around the cylinder was filled with water to keep the engine cool while the engine was in use. Generally, the water evaporated as the engine was operated and more water had to be added to the water jacket of the typical engine throughout the day.
In the wintertime, the water jacket had to be drained of water when the farmer was through working with the engine. If not drained, the water would freeze in the water jacket, the ice would expand when freezing and this expansion would crack the cast iron engine.
...
Wikipedia