Society of Industrial Archeology
St Paul, MN
May 30-June 2, 2013
Web Site: http://www.sia-web.org/
A few Industrial sites visited
Faribault Woolen
Mills
established 1865 - Made in America
Web Site: http://www.faribaultmill.com/
Northfield
Woodworking Machinery
Northfield, MN
established 1920 - Made in
America
Web Site: http://www.northfieldwoodworking.com/
Industrial grade machinery
Still making Babbitt bearings!
Ford Steam Plant
St Paul, MN
Part of Ford's
Twin Cities
production, this steam plan was built on the banks
of the Mississippi R in 1925 to provide steam, power & heat to the Ford plant.
The entire facility was closed in 2011. It was the oldest Ford plant
in operation at the time. (And, birthplace of my Ford Ranger!)
Essentially the
upper limit for commercial barge traffic on the Mississippi R, the falls has
been home to many early, water powered industries, notably sawmills, textile
mills and flour mills.
From the other
side of the river, and just below the falls is the famous
Stone
Arch Bridge,
built in 1883, originally for the Great Northern
Railroad. You can see one of the numerous water channels which were built
to
provide water to power the factories in the foreground.