A little About Ohio Valley Agricultural Works

Mr. Spence also made portable steam engines -6, 8 and 10 horse power. The description of them says they are graceful and attractive. There is one shown on the preceding page. We shall give you the privilege of that statement. It is stated that the boiler is made of the best charcoal iron. Most of us know that these early boilers were good ones.

The above two pictures show a patch being installed on a Baker boiler. The patch was 28 inches wide by 99 inches long. As you can see the boiler now has two butt strap seams. This was done at the Solomon Boiler Works, Moberly, Missouri, and is the courtesy of L. D. Solomon. As most of you know they make new boilers and repair old ones. Boilers is their business and they do a good job.

(I wrote Mr. Emery C. Forman of Tacoma, Ohio, concerning the Spence history. Following is a part of his reply we thought would be of interest to you.)

'Regarding the Spence of Martin's Perry, this county, our old farm was some 12 miles east of Tacoma where one could see the smoke rolling off his vast plant at that time. He had a wonderful future ahead had he lived to see it, but he died. His younger generation wanted to see how quickly they could use it. So the outcome of a wonderful plant of a wonderfully honest man in workmanship and dealings ended.

'Back in 1879 or 80 he made his first portable engine. I well remember it. The first one to replace Horse Powers. The engineer neglected to tighten the set screw on the beam and weight used as a safety valve. Everything went fine until the pressure threw up the weight which flew off the beam where the steam escaped. Everybody run for their lives thinking it an explosion.

'I have quite a history of Spence concerning his start with building machines in Martin's Ferry in 1840 and building Threshers for the Pitt Bros., on royalty when

their plant was in Winthrop, Minn. If I am informed right I think Spence, who came from Switzerland, worked for Pitts before going to Martins Ferry. The Russells of Massilon, Ohio, had a similar contract with O. S. Kelly of Springfield, Ohio. The Chicago Pitts and H. H. Taylor of Aultman Taylor, who worked for Chicago Pitts, used Pitts Patents and, it seems to me, the Leader of Marion, Ohio. Then the last of the Pitts was the wonderful Buffalo Pitts Plant at Buffalo, N. Y.

'I believe it is on record that Pitts Bros, started a plant at Schenectady, N. Y., later taken over by Westinghouse.

'What a wonderful past all the Thresher Manufacturers had - confined mostly to nine states (Ohio had the most plants of any, thirteen or fourteen different makes).'