Existing comment:
Wheel House: [attached building this end]
Today, electric power makes it possible to locate factories in convenient places close to transportation. In the early 1800s, Stephen Vail built his ironworks not in the center of town but in a narrow ravine where the Whippany River could be dammed to provide waterpower. At Speedwell, the mechanical innovations fabricated at the ironworks and the invention of the telegraph helped bridge the gap between the age of waterpower and the world of today.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Stephen saw that he could harness the power of a nearby stream to create a separate business weaving cotton. He bought the property, revamped an older waterpower system and rebuilt an old mill into what was then a modern factory. To keep his new waterwheel turning during the winter, he added a wheelhouse to help prevent freezing. Although this business plan did not work, the Factory was kept in running order and the waterwheel was replaced in 1848 with the more efficient model that still survives today.
In the 1970s, the Wheel House was completely restored and the waterwheel was put back into working condition. The collapsed wheel pit was excavated and the wheel rolled out of the building while new foundations were constructed. The wheel was rebuilt using the original iron parts, replacing only the wooden spokes and sole boards. The upper pond was replaced by a recirculation system to supply the water. This wheel, originally installed in 1848, has been kept in repair and is now the largest in New Jersey still in operation. Since waterwheels require constant maintenance, another restoration project took place in 2005 to replace wooden spokes and sole boards as needed.
Water for the Wheel House was supplied by a pond located to the north near where the apartments now stand. A raceway extended from the pond and ended just behind the Homestead Carriage House. Originally, the raceway was connected to the Wheel House by an overhead flume. However, in the 1840s the unsightly flume was replaced with an underground iron pipe. The overflow water from the upper pond filled the lower pond. That water was used to power the pattern makers shop that was once located between the Whippany River and Cory Road. The lower raceway can be seen in the woods east of the path leading to the parking lot.
Because the water level in the upper pond is higher than the top of the 24 foot diameter waterwheel, the water system acts like a siphon. Pressure in the penstock, the iron pipe under the lawn, pushes the water up through the standpipe and over the top of the wheel. The water turns the wheel and is then carried away in the tailrace. |