A.W. Gray Horsepower Photo Album
Inventor and manufacturer A.W. Gray’s horsepower treadmills and the threshers, cordwood saws and other machinery that they operated, revolutionized farming methods in the mid-1800s. This collection of historic photographs depict an industry that supported the town for over 50 years.
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A.W. Gray’s Patent DrawingIn 1846 A.W. Gray of Middletown patented a machine for cutting and heading nails from heated wrought-iron bars. The machines were manufactured near his home at 56 South Street.
A. W. Gray’s Sons AdvertisementDisplay advertisements for A.W. Gray's Sons equipment like this one, circa 1898, appeared in agricultural magazines read by farmers in the New York-New England area from 1870 through the early 1920s.
A. W. Gray’s Sons FactoryIn 1845 A. W. Gray began manufacturing a horse-powered treadmill, which he had patented, in a small shop on South Street. In 1857 he moved the business to this former fulling mill along the Poultney River, near 28 South Street. Later additions, shown in this photo, circa 1900, were built on the north end as the business expanded. Dana Carpenter photograph.
A.W. Gray’s Two-Horse Treadmill and Drag SawAn A.W. Gray two-horse treadmill operates an A.W. Gray drag saw cutting cordwood rounds on the Wilbur farm in Tinmouth, Vt.
A.W. Gray's Sons Factory on Bank of Poultney RiverA 1900 photo of the rear of the A.W. Gray's Sons horsepower factory, taken from the south bank of the Poultney River. The dam diverts river water to the mill pond for the Fred Gray sawmill and cider mill located behind 44 South Street. Fred E. Gray (1861-1932) was the son of Eugene Gray. Dana Carpenter photograph.
A.W. Gray's Sons Factory in WinterPhoto shows the rear of the A.W. Gray's Sons Horsepower factory, circa 1900, viewed from the northwest. Out-buildings and stacks of wood for manufacturing the treadmills, threshers, wood saws and ensilage cutters stand in the foreground. At far left is the Thomas/Doyle-Graves house at 23 South Street. Dana Carpenter photograph.