In May 2019 Kristen and I with our children visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California. While there I took an opportunity to go see an antique sawmill that is linked to our Trout family history.
The sawmill is displayed in the parking lot of the Ganahl Lumber Company located at 1220 East Ball Road in Anaheim. The plaque at the base of the structure is titled “The Big Saw” and reads:
“This nine foot band saw is among the largest log saws ever used in the sawmill industry. It weighs over 38,000 pounds and has a blade that stretches over fifty-six feet in length. This saw was used to cut Douglas Fir logs up to ten feet in diameter and fifty-six feet in length. The lumber from just one of these giant logs would be enough to build two houses of about 1500 square feet each.
The machine was manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Company in 1910 and put into service by the Jones Lumber Company located on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. For fifty-two years, it was used to cut Douglas Fir lumber that was loaded on seagoing barges and shipped into the growing California market. The iron giant was finally retired in 1962 when the mill was dismantled and sold at auction. Despite the age of the machine, it is in sound working condition. With a little grease, it could go back to work anytime. But our intention is to keep it on display here as a monument to the pioneers of the lumber industry.”
How is this sawmill linked to the Trout family?
William Henry Trout (1834-1917) worked as a draftsman and pattern-maker for the Edward P. Allis Company and later Allis-Chalmers from about 1885 until his death in 1917. He is credited with 34 patents while working for these companies, according to Trout Family History. I have positively identified 24 of these, all of which are related to the lumber industry, sawmills in particular. So at the very least we can say the Ganahl display is similar to the designs patented by William during his stint at Allis-Chalmers as chief draftsman. But upon closer inspection the mill may be the sawmill design William describes on page 227 of Trout Family History:
“In 1897, Mr. E. E. Fitzgerald, traveller for the Allis Company, met a Minneapolis mill superintendent, who wanted to have his mill with teeth on both edges of the band saw, so as to saw off boards on both the forward and backward movements of the carriage . . . and a contract was made accordingly . . . On the first day of trial it sawed twenty-two boards ten inches wide by sixteen feet long in one minute, and it made such a sensation among the lumbermen that many unsolicited inquiries came in regarding it . . . The new, double-cutting band mill proved to be a great commercial success.”
 |
| Note the teeth on both sides of the cutting blade. |
William goes on to describe in detail the process by which this design was patented. And though I don’t have the expertise to positively identify the actual patent, it appears to be the patent shown below, which was filed just a few months before his death in 1917 and was posthumously awarded in 1921. You can view the full patent HERE.
It should be noted there are some inconsistencies with William’s own recollections compared to the actual patent records, notably the dates. The Ganahl display states it was manufactured in 1910, while the double-cutting mill patent referenced here was filed in 1917. It’s possible I simply have not found the correct patent. It’s also possible that Allis-Chalmers began manufacturing and selling this design before it was actually patented. And though we have no reason to question the 1910 date found on the plaque, I have not been able to verify it either.
Further investigation is required.
No comments:
Post a Comment