Skip to main content

Boyden, Uriah Atherton

Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: WaterEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 1871Harmony Mill No. 3CohoesState: NYZip: 12047Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/mechanical-power-production-water/-5-boyden-hydraulic-turbines-%281871%29, http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5507.pdfCreator: Boyden, Uriah Atherton
These two water turbines were probably the largest and nearly the most powerful ever built in the United States, supplying direct mechanical power to a manufacturing plant. Their installation between 1871 and 1873 makes them among the oldest surviving water turbines. A dam at Cohoes diverted water to mills and factories along a power canal system. The vertical-shaft turbines at the mill were said to run at 800 horsepower (600 kilowatt) under a head of 20 feet and were connected to an overhead shaft by bevel gearing.
YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: An 1879 sketch of the Boyden Hydraulic Turbine, drawn by James Emerson for his book "Treatise relative to the testing of water-wheels and machinery"Era_date_from: 1871
Subscribe to Boyden, Uriah Atherton

Innovations

These two water turbines were probably the largest and nearly the most powerful ever built in the United States, supplying direct mechanical power to a manufacturing plant. Their installation between 1871 and 1873 makes them among the oldest surviving water turbines. A dam at Cohoes diverted water… Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.