March Mystery at the Museum Solved…

The answers to March’s series of Museum Mysteries are (in weekly order): the 1909 Rubicon Fireless Locomotive, the 1883 Ahrens Fire Engine, and the 3-Dimensional Map of Dayton’s Flood Zone. All of this month’s mystery artifacts, and many others, are on display in the Great 1913 Flood Exhibit Building at Carillon Historical Park! For a sneak peek at next week’s Mystery at the Museum artifact photo, be sure to pick up a FREE copy of the Dayton City Paper next Tuesday!

Week 1 | The 1909 ‘Rubicon’ Fireless Locomotive

The 1909 ‘Rubicon’ Fireless Locomotive: Built in 1909 by the Lima Locomotive and Machine Works in Lima, Ohio, the ‘Rubicon’ is one the first ‘fireless’ engine John H. Patterson purchased for use on the grounds of the National Cash Register Company. Believing that clean, attractive factories would result in healthier and more productive employees, Patterson felt the ‘fireless’ locomotives were the perfect solution to ridding his factory grounds of the dirty coal smoke produced by standard switching engines. After the Rubicon’s successful trial, Patterson purchased two other ‘fireless’ engines: the ‘South Park’ in 1910 and the ‘Dayton’ in 1913. In the aftermath of the Great 1913 Flood, these engines were used to help remove the tons of construction debris and mud that had been deposited on Dayton’s downtown streets.

Week 2 | The 1883 Ahrens Fire Engine

The 1883 Ahrens Fire Engine: Originally purchased by the Sidney Fire Department, this 1883, single-pump Ahrens fire engine was used by that department until 1916, at which point it was kept in reserve until 1928. Named after Sidney’s Fire Chief at the time of its purchase, the ‘Henry Young’ fire engine was manufactured by the Ahrens Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati, one of the largest producers of steam fire engines in the Midwest at that time. It remained in storage until it was donated to the Dayton Fire Department in 1953. After a thorough reconditioning, the engine was moved to Carillon Historical Park for permanent display in 1955. Historically, the City of Dayton had a number of similar Ahrens engines in its employ, though they were larger in size. During the massive clean-up effort after the Great 1913 Flood, pump engines like this one were used to help remove any water remaining in the basement levels of many of Dayton’s downtown factories and businesses.

Week 3 | The 3-Dimensional Map of Dayton’s Flood Zone

The 3-Dimensional Map of Dayton’s Flood Zone: In the spring of 1913, a series of severe weather systems wrought havoc across much of the United States. Dayton and its inhabitants, which were no strangers to flood occurrence, found themselves woefully unprepared having underestimated the severity of this particular flood. Over the next several frightening days and nights, residents found themselves battling torrential flood waters, freezing temperatures, rain, snow and even fire. Debris-filled waters rushed through some areas of downtown Dayton at an astounding height of 20 feet or more. These rapid currents swept away nearly everything in their path: buildings, bridges, trains, automobiles, animals and even people. Hand-painted and made of paper-mache, this oversized, 3-dimensional map was constructed at NCR soon after the flood to show the extent of the flood zone within the city.

To see other historical images from our collection, search our Digital Photo Archive.

January Mystery at the Museum Solved…

The answers to this month’s series of Museum Mysteries are (in weekly order): A wheel on the 1910 Speedwell Automobile, the 1902 C.R. Patterson Buggy, a 1903 Battery Charger, and the 1921 Custer Electric Wheelchair. This month’s mystery artifacts, and many others, can all be found on display in the Dayton Sales building at Carillon Historical Park! For a sneak peek at next week’s Mystery at the Museum artifact photo, be sure to pick up a FREE copy of the Dayton City Paper next Tuesday!

Week 1 | 1910 Speedwell Automobile

1910 Speedwell Automobile: The Speedwell Motor Car Company was incorporated in April of 1907, in Dayton, Ohio. Started by Pierce Davies Schenck, the company’s first year offerings included two different body styles with your choice of either a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder Rutenber engine. By 1912, the company had expanded, requiring a factory that covered six acres, and they began to offer several types of light and heavy–duty trucks, as well as manufacturing their own engines. Unfortunately, like many other Dayton businesses, the Speedwell Motor Car Company became a victim of the 1913 Flood. With much of their factory equipment destroyed by flood waters, many Speedwell dealerships across the country were forced out of business as the company was unable to deliver any finished vehicles for most of the rest of that year. The company finished the year 1914 deep in debt and by January 1915 the factory had ceased all operations. The company was placed in receivership a few months later.

Week 2 | 1902 C.R. Patterson Buggy

The 1902 C.R. Patterson Buggy: Charles Richard Patterson, an African American, was born in Lynchburg, Virginia of free parentage, in April, 1833. At a young age, he moved with his father to Greenville, Ohio, where father and son soon became village carriage smiths. Over the next fifty years, Patterson earned the reputation for making high quality carriages and buggies. Unlike many other carriage manufacturers of the time, Patterson’s firm made the successful switch to manufacturing automobiles when it became necessary. Over the next few decades, the company expanded their line of offerings to include trucks and buses as well. They also manufactured custom-bodied vehicles such as ice and milk trucks, moving vans and hearses.

Week 3 | 1903 Battery Charger

1903 Battery Charger: Unlike the battery charging stations or units one sees today, this battery charger looks to have been pieced together. Dating to around 1903, this charging station was used to charge batteries utilized in early automobiles. This particular charging station utilized a large mercury vapor tube rectifier, that somewhat resembles a large light bulb, in order to handle the high current outputs that were used in the early part of the 20th century. Over time, as the technology improved, this charging station was modified. In its current configuration, it is set to charge a single 6-volt battery.

Week 4 | 1921 Custer Electric Wheelchair

1921 Custer Electric Wheelchair: The Custer Specialty Company was founded in 1915 by Levitt Luzern Custer. Custer was an inventor, collector and adventurer. As a man who had been fascinated by transportation, this World War I pilot had set the record for the longest flight in a free balloon in one hour’s time in 1909. His mechanical genius was always going, and, he held over 20 different patents for transportation devices, scientific equipment and amusement rides. This 1921 Electric Wheelchair was one of his most popular inventions. Originally designed to aid injured World War I veterans, this chair was the inspiration for another motorized chair that was used by visitors at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

To see other historical images from our collection, search our Digital Photo Archive.