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The Currie Windmill Company had its origins in the Currie Windmill Pump Company of Solomon City, Kansas, in the 1880's. Sometime before 1892, the company moved to Manhattan, Kansas, where it became the Currie Windmill Company. The firm manufactured mills in Manhattan to the turn of the century, but thereafter, it moved to Topeka, where it remained until WWII. By that time, the production of the Currie windmills had passed to the Wyatt Manufacturing Company of Salina, Kansas, which continued their manufacture into the 1950's. The Currie is a back-geared steel mill with number of distinctive identifying characteristics. Initially, it was produced only in an open geared pattern, with twin crank gears turned by two pinions on the main shaft. The Currie was the last of the major American mills to employ wooden pitmans and hardwood bearings. With humility, the manufacturer in the 1920's declared that its wooden bearing s "never wear out." The large numbers of Currie mills still in service attest to that claim for their remarkable durability. Although the most common Currie windmills are the open-gear style, an oil-bath mill known as the Currie Self-Oiler was introduced in 1928 and can be seen from time to time. The wheel of the Currie is one of its easiest identifying characteristics. A steel band completely encircles the outer edge of the wheel, and an inner rim is placed at the extreme inner edge of the blades. Thus, no blades protrude beyond either rim. The sheet steel blades, after being given the proper curvature at the factory, were crimped at a 90 degree angle for about an inch at each end, and these ends were drilled for bolt holes. The Currie was one of the very few American windmills produced into the 20th Century in which no rivets were used. On this point the company advertised: "Our mill is bolted together--wheel sails fastened with bolts, vane bolted together, in fact there is not a rivet in the mill. So in case any part gets broken or damaged, it can be replaced with a screw driver or monkey wrench." This feature obviously was appealing to prospective customers who were farmers or ranchers. The vane of the Currie is striking in appearance. It is made form corrugated galvanized sheet steel with bolted braces. Two patterns were used, a longer style in the early years and a shorter pattern introduced about 1930. Inscriptions on the vanes were stenciled in black paint and frequently to this day are still readable. The vane on the Currie mill serves two important functions. Most obviously it directs the wheel into the wind. In higher winds, however, as the off-center wheel tends to turn away from the wind and thus reducing its speed, the outer end of the vane tilts upward on a pivot, allowing it to serve the additional role as a governor weight. When the speed of the wheel decreases, the weight of the vane pulls the wheel back to face the wind. Currie windmills always were comparatively low in price. In 1911, for example, a 6' Currie sold for $14.00 and in 1934, they generally sold for $28.00. At one time they could be bought at a "red hot special" price of $17.25. Even as late as 1950, a 6' open-back geared Currie could be purchased for as little as $39.00 They were remarkably inexpensive. During most of the years of their production, Currie open-back geared mills were available in 6', 8', 9', and 10' sizes, while the oil-bath style were marketed in 6' and 8' diameters. As early as the first decade of this century, Currie windmills were being sold "over many states', but today they are most frequently seen in Kansas and the states surrounding it, even though they may be seen much farther afield. The Currie is one of the easiest of all American windmills to identify. |