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Oliver Evans[1] (1755-1819) was born in Newport, Deleware to Charles Evans, a cordwainer and farmer, and Ann Stalcop, the daughter of a prosperous miller. Little is known about Oliver’s early years; whether or not he had any formal schooling is unclear. But what is certain is that at the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to a wheelwright, and he completed his formal mechanical training by the time he turned twenty-two.
Evans’ interest in machines and machine design was evident from an early age. By 1777, near the completion of his apprenticeship, Evans designed and built a device to cut and bend iron wire for insertion as teeth in wool or cotton cards, as well as creating a machine to punch holes and then insert the cut iron wire into the leather of the wool or cotton cards. But these basic machines were only a passing fancy and soon Evans turned to much bigger and more complicated devices.
After his wedding to Sarah Tomlinson, the daughter of a Delaware farmer, in 1783 (a marriage which produced seven children), Evans began experiments that culminated in a fully automated flourmill. While the components of the mill were not Evans’ original design (except for the “hopper-boy”), the connections that he used to link all the different parts together were. Based on the common practice of using water-driven grinding stones, Evans connected the mill machinery to the waterwheel by a system of shafts, gears, and leather belts. Some additions and modifications to the typical flourmill were the inclusion of an "elevator" (wooden or leather containers attached to belts) that moved the grain vertically, the addition of a "conveyor" (a screw-like rod) that pushed grain horizontally, and the "hopper-boy" (a rake that swept in a revolving motion), which sifted and dried the flour. Evans’ flour-milling techniques became the American standard for several generations and also constituted the first continuous–flow production line in history.
As is often the case, technological innovation can bring great wealth to an inventor, but it can also bring hardship. Excited about his prospects, Evans, with two of his brothers as partners, erected a water-powered mill in 1785 in the heart of Delaware's wheat country. While this mill served as a profitable beginning, Evans realized that it was the diffusion of his mill technology that would bring him significant wealth. Although some famous men like George Washington had their mills converted to the Evans style by the turn of the century, many of Evans's own neighbors remained reluctant to change. But, more importantly, many others made the changes, but never paid any licensing fees to Evans. Though he should have profited greatly from his designs, Evans spent most of the rest of his life, and a significant portion of his earnings, suing for patent infringements on his mill technology.
After the turn of the century, Evans refocused his attention on a new, and more interesting mechanical device, the steam engine. Though his exploits did not allow him to fare much better than his mill improvements had financially, the legacy of Evans’ high-pressure steam engine is apparent. His engine became the driving force for steamboats throughout the country and drove machines in factories around the nation. The most notable use of such an engine was in a machine that Evans designed. The Oruker Amphibolos was a dredge Evans built for the Philadelphia Board of Health in 1805. This steam-driven scow was twelve feet wide, thirty feet long and weighed over fifteen tons. Though the schematics no longer exist, it is assumed that by shifting belts the pilot of the vessel could either drive wheels to move the vehicle on land or he could turn a rear-mounted paddlewheel to propel it in water. This machine thereby demonstrated that steam locomotion was a viable form of transportation. Soon after its completion, the Oruker Amphibolos fell into disrepair, and Evans moved on to the production of steam engines and boilers.
Sources for Further Information on Evans:
[1] Picture obtained from Robert Thurston. A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1902.
