Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company

Last updated
Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company
IndustryStationary Engine Manufacturing
Founded1881 in Freeport, Illinois, USA
Founder D.C. Stover
Defunct1942 (1942)
ProductsEngines, windmills, drag saws, portable sawmills, water tanks, and feed grinders.

The Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company was created by D.C. Stover in 1881. [1] An established inventor, he progressed through a profitable windmill business to, in 1895, the manufacture of kerosene and gasoline powered stationary engines for use on the American farm.

History

The Stover company began producing windmills in 1879. [2] "To Extend Field of Stover Engine". Freeport-Journal Standard. 15 March 1907. Retrieved 24 December 2021.</ref> It was incorporated in 1881 as the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company and by 1922 they had 600 employees. [3] [2]

Stover made more than 277,000 engines of various sizes and uses. [4] Stover licensed some designs to Sears, Roebuck and Co. under the Economy trademark.[ citation needed ]

In addition to windmills and engines, Stover made a line of cast iron waffle irons.

The main manufacturing plant was located at 301 N Henderson Road in Freeport, IL. Although in disrepair, much of the plant still stands.

Related Research Articles

Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from κηρός (kērós) meaning "wax", and was registered as a trademark by Nova Scotia geologist and inventor Abraham Gesner in 1854 before evolving into a generic trademark. It is sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasoline</span> Liquid fuel derived from petroleum

Gasoline or petrol is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formulated as a fuel for engines, gasoline is chemically composed of organic compounds derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum and later chemically enhanced with gasoline additives. It is a high-volume profitable product produced in crude oil refineries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tractor</span> Engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort

A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage, and now many more. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Deere</span> American agricultural and industrial auto manufacturing corporation

Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere, is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo Penta</span> Swedish engine manufacturing subsidiary

Volvo Penta is a Swedish marine and industrial engine manufacturer, a joint stock company within the Volvo Group. Volvo Penta was founded as Penta in 1907 with the production of its first marine engine, the B1. The Penta company soon became an established internal combustion engine manufacturer, which in 1927 delivered the engine for Volvo's first passenger car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Harvester</span> American manufacturing company

The International Harvester Company was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It was formed from the 1902 merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company and three smaller manufacturers: Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner. Its brands included McCormick, Deering, and later McCormick-Deering, as well as International. Along with the Farmall and Cub Cadet tractors, International was also known for the Scout and Travelall vehicle nameplates. In the 1980s all divisions were sold off except for International Trucks, which changed its parent company name to Navistar International.

Ethanol, an alcohol fuel, is an important fuel for the operation of internal combustion engines that are used in cars, trucks, and other kinds of machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fordson</span> Ford tractor and truck brand

Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to 1928, and by Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) alone from 1929 to 1964. The latter also later built trucks and vans under the Fordson brand.

Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, feed mills, locomotives, and industrial supplies. It was purchased by the Penn-Texas conglomerate in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avery Company</span> American farm tractor manufacturer

The Avery Company, founded by Robert Hanneman Avery, was an American farm tractor manufacturer famed for its undermounted engine which resembled a railroad engine more than a conventional farm steam engine. Avery founded the farm implement business after the Civil War. His company built a large line of products, including steam engines, beginning in 1891. The company started with a return flue design and later adapted the undermount style, including a bulldog design on the smokebox door. Their design was well received by farmers in central Illinois. They expanded their market nationwide and overseas until the 1920s, when they failed to innovate and the company faltered. They manufactured trucks for a period of time, and then automobiles. until they finally succumbed to an agricultural crisis and the Depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambert (automobile)</span> American automobile manufacturing company

The Lambert Automobile Company was a United States automobile manufacturing company which produced the Lambert automobile from 1905 to 1916. The company was founded by automotive pioneer John William Lambert and was based in Anderson, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Farm Equipment Company</span> Former American farm equipment manufacturer (1929–1960)

The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow Works of South Bend, Indiana; Hart-Parr Tractor Company of Charles City, Iowa; and Nichols and Shepard Company of Battle Creek, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holt Manufacturing Company</span> Defunct American tractor company, predecessor to Caterpillar Tractor Company

The Holt Manufacturing Company began with the 1883 founding of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, later credited with patenting the first workable crawler ("caterpillar") tractor design, incorporated the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1892. Holt Manufacturing Company was the first company to successfully manufacture a continuous track tractor By the early 20th century, Holt Manufacturing Company was the leading manufacturer of combine harvesters in the US, and the leading California-based manufacturer of steam traction engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buda Engine Co.</span>

Buda Engine was founded in 1881 by George Chalender in Buda, Illinois, to make equipment for railways. Later based in Harvey, Illinois, Buda from 1910 manufactured engines for industrial, truck, and marine applications. Early Buda engines were gasoline fueled. Later, diesel engines were introduced, utilizing proprietary Lanova cylinder head designs, injection pumps and nozzles. These were known as Buda-Lanova diesel engines. Buda Engine Company was acquired by Allis-Chalmers in 1953. The Buda-Lanova models were re-christened "Allis-Chalmers diesel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckeye gasoline buggy</span> Americas first practical gasoline automobile

The Buckeye Gasoline Buggy, also known as the Lambert gasoline buggy, was an 1891 gasoline automobile, the first made in the United States. It was also the first automobile made available for sale in the United States. It was initially a three-wheel horseless carriage, propelled by an internal combustion gasoline engine; it was later developed into a four-wheel automobile with a gearless transmission, and mass-produced during the first part of the twentieth century. The platform was later expanded into a line of trucks and fire engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Russia</span>

Automotive production is a significant industry in Russia, directly employing around 600,000 people or 1% of the country's total workforce. Russia produced 1,767,674 vehicles in 2018, ranking 13th among car-producing nations in 2018, and accounting for 1.8% of the worldwide production. The main local brands are light vehicle producers AvtoVAZ and GAZ, while KamAZ is the leading heavy vehicle producer. Eleven foreign carmakers have production operations or are their plants in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eclipse windmill</span>

The Eclipse windmill was one of the more successful designs of windmill used to pump water in the nineteenth century United States. It was invented by Leonard Wheeler, a Presbyterian minister who was working among the Ojibwe on the south shore of Lake Superior. Wheeler perfected the device on his missionary homestead over nearly two decades, unknown to the larger technological world. In 1866 health issues forced him to move to Beloit, Wisconsin, then a bustling industrial city, where he was persuaded to patent the basic function of the device. Although Wheeler died before he could witness the success of his invention, his sons carried on the legacy. Some of the companies that succeeded the original Eclipse Windmill Company remain viable in the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company</span> American bicycle manufacturer

Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company was a bicycle manufacturer in Freeport, Illinois founded by D.C. Stover. The company produced 20,000 bicycles a year in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D.C. Stover</span> 19th century industrialist

D.C. Stover was a 19th-century industrialist who was known for founding the Stover Wind Engine Company, the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company, the Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company and the Stover Engine Works. He was considered to be one of the wealthiest man in Freeport Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stover Engine Works</span> American engine manufacturer

Stover Engine Works was a manufacturer of stationary gasoline engines based in Freeport, Illinois. The company was started by D.C. Stover in 1898.

References

  1. American Gasoline Engines Since 1872, MBI Publishing, 1999, pp. 489-96.
  2. 1 2 "To Extend Field of Stover Engine". Freeport-Journal Standard. 15 March 1907. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  3. Farm Machinery, Farm Power (No. 1572-73 ed.). St. Louis MO: Midland Publishing. 15 March 1922. p. 30. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  4. "Keeping Track of Stover Engine Shipping Records". Gas Engine Magazine. Ogden Publications, Inc. Retrieved 25 December 2021.