Harrison Woodmanse, the founder of the firm known as the Woodmanse Manufacturing Company, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1836.  There he grew up and attended school, leaving his home and settling at Freeport, Illinois in 1868.  In that year he opened a "depot for the sale of agricultural implements," dealing heavily in the Marsh Harvester, seventeen hundred of which he sold in a period of six years.  Using some of his profits, in 1872 he opened his own factory for the manufacture of farm implements, where he initiated the manufacture of a solid wheel wooden Woodmanse windmill which with modifications remained in production as late as 1930.  Harrison Woodmanse operated his manufacturing business under his own name until the early 1880's, but by 1882 it had become the Woodmanse Wind Mill Company.  The company kept this name until about 1885, when Woodmanse took a partner and the firm became the Woodmanse and Hewitt Manufacturing Company.  Business continued growing for the Freeport manufacturer, with its windmills being sold farther and farther afield, even on the West coast as early as 1892.  Then in either 1900 or 1901, the firm became the Woodmanse Manufacturing Company, the corporate title under which it continued to operate into the 1950's, when its manufacturing of windmills ceased.  The first Woodmanse Steel windmills appeared on the market about 1892.  The direct stroke pattern uses castings very similar to those on the earlier solid wheel wooden mills, while the back geared pattern differs considerably.    The direct stroke Woodmanse Steel windmills, even though remaining on the market until 1930, today are comparatively rare.  Much more common are the open back geared mills which currently are the mills most often seen in the field.

In the mid 1890's direct stroke Woodmanse Steel mills were made in 10', 12', 13', and 14' sizes while the back geared model was produced in 8' and 10' diameters.  The Woodmanse firm also produced a special heavy duty mill introduced about 1895 and know as the Woodmanse Mogul.  In the 1890's it was made in 8', 10', 12', and 14' sizes, but by the beginning of this century the 8' model had been dropped and a 16' size was added.  By 1910, the Mogul had become the Woodmanse mill sold specifically for deep well pumping, or situations requiring large amounts of water.  In 1920 its range of sizes included 10 1/2', 12 1/2',  14', and 16' sizes.  The large size remaining on the market as late as 1938.

Both the Woodmanse Steel and the Woodmanse back geared mills remained on the market until 1930, when they were phased out of production. 

Governing on all the Woodmanse Steel mills is on the same principal.  The vane is set slightly to one side, causing the wheel to incline away from increasing wind.  As this occurs, tension increases on a torsion governor spring mounted on the vane hinge, placing increased pressure to return the wheel to face the wind.  When the mill governs out of the wind or when it is turned off from the ground a friction brake engages.

The wind wheel consists of curved galvanized steel blades attached with riveted steel clips to curved bar steel rims.  The vane sheet is firmly attached to a two member angle steel vane stem which is mounted in a cast iron vane hinge at the head of the mill.  The vane sheet bears the sole ornamentation on the mill, the black stenciled inscription of the manufacturer's name and location.

A surprising number of old Woodmanse Steel mills remain to be seen scattered about the plains and prairies.  Introduced on March 1, 1923, the Woodmanse Oil Bath was the first self oiling windmill manufactured by the Woodmanse Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Illinois.  The mills made with several mechanical modifications through the years, remained available into the 1950's, although their production was greatly restricted during the war years of the 1940's.  Today the most common pattern of the mill is its back geared steel model.  A number of variations are found in the back geared Woodmanse Oil Bath mills.  The initial mills, termed Style E were produced from 1923 to 1926.  These first mills were phased out of production in less than three years in favor of the Style G which was manufactured from 1926 to 1933, when a new Style GB was introduced.  The Style GB with an altered vane and governor spring was made under contract by the Woodmanse Company, which distributed it as the New Eclipse during the 1930's.  The GB pattern remained in production into the 1950's, but in July 1935 an additional Style J  was placed on the market.  The final new pattern available  only in small diameter, is noted for having a steel hood with a curved profile instead of  sharp rectangular hood used on the other Oil Bath mills.

The initial Style E back geared mills were made in 6', 8', and 10' diameters, but with their replacement by the Style G in 1926 a 12' size was added.  All four sizes remained on the market until WWII.

The vane sheet bears the only ornamentation on the mill, the black stenciled words, "Woodmanse Oil Bath Wind Mill."

The solid Wheel wooden direct stroke Oil Bath windmill, one of only a handful of self oiling wooden mills, employs a wind wheel very similar to that used on the old open direct stroke solid wheel Woodmanse mills.  All the woodwork at the factory was given "four coats of white paint" after which the tips of the blades and trailing edge of the vane were trimmed in red and black stenciled inscription was added to the vane sheet.

Governing on the Woodmanse Oil Bath windmills is on the same principal as on the older Woodmanse Steel Mills.  A galvanized steel hood protects all moving parts from dust and the elements.  Manufactured from 1923 into the 1950's, the back geared Woodmanse Oil Bath steel windmills remain a visible part of the rural American landscape.  The direct stroke patterns of the mill, made with either steel or wooden wheel and vane are comparatively rare, as are the short lived 6 1/2' Style J back geared steel mill.

The Airmaster was the first of two self oiling twin back geared steel windmills produced by the Woodmanse Company.  Introduced about 1932 and manufactured at least into the late 1940's.  Initially the Airmaster was made only in 6 1/2' sizes, but by 1938 this model was abandoned, and the mills were made in 6', 8', 10', and 12' sizes until the factory production was reduced by requirements of war production in the 1940's.  After the war the Airmaster returned to the market for a few years in its full range of sizes.  Construction of the wheel and vane on the Airmaster is quite similar to that on the Woodmanse Oil Bath steel mills.  Operating speed on the mill is regulated in the same manner as on the Woodmanse Oil Bath steel mills.  Numerous Airmaster steel windmills still may be seen in various parts of the country, most often in the Midwest and Great Plains.  Some of the mills in the Midwest bear the painted inscription of the A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing Company of Dubuque, Iowa, one of the most important agents for the Woodmanse Manufacturing Company.  They sold mills as the McDonald Giant Airmaster.

The Woodmanse Model 45, the last of the Woodmanse windmills is one of the tiny handful of water pumping windmills to have been designed and placed on the market after WWII.  It was made in 6', 8', 10', 12', and 14' sizes.  With modifications in hood nd vane design, the mill was made by the Woodmanse firm under contract to Fairbanks, Morse, and Company of Chicago, which distributed it as the Fairbanks Morse Model 45 or Eclipse Model 45.  The mill was produced from 1945 until the early 1950's, after which time it disappeared from trade literature and advertisements.

Wheel construction on the Model 45 follows standard windmill building practices.  The ends of the blades are tipped in decorative red paint.  Vane design on the Model 45 differs from that on all other steel Woodmanse mills.  The vane stem is fabricated from angle steel and has one diagonal steel brace reaching from the base of the vane hinge to the first vertical steel girt.  The five sided vane sheet is cut from galvanized steel and is crimped around its upper, lower, and trailing edge.  The vane design employed on the Fairbanks-Morse Model 45 is quite distinct from that used on the Woodmanse mills.  The vane sheet, which remains the same, is mounted on a welded and trussed two member steel vane stem.  These stems are very similar to those which earlier had been used on the Samsom Air Flow steel mills and probably constitute another element covered by the rights acquired by the Woodmanse firm from the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company.

Production figures on the Woodmanse Model 45 windmills are not known, but observation suggests that more of the mills were made under contract to Fairbanks Morse and Company than were sold directly by the Woodmanse firm.  Today substantially more Fairbanks-Morse Model 45 and Eclipse Model 45 mills are seen in the countryside than are the Woodmanse Model 45 mills.