The President Pumping Engine (1872-1900)
Upper Saucon, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Once housed here, it was one of the largest and most powerful single-cylinder steam engines of its time. Designed by Lehigh Zinc Company’s Cornish-born engineer John West to remove large volumes of water from the adjacent Ueberroth zinc mine. Manufactured in Philadelphia and said to be named for President Ulysses S. Grant, it operated 1872-1892. Its reli-ability, effectiveness, and innovative design attracted international interest.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the industrial heyday of the Lehigh Valley, one of the largest single-cylinder steam engines of its age stood here, pumping torrents of water out of the Ueberroth zinc mine. Designed by the Lehigh Zinc Company's Cornish-born engineer John West and built in Philadelphia, the machine was nicknamed for President Ulysses S. Grant. From 1872 it ran for two decades, and its power and clever design drew engineers' attention from around the world.
Why it matters
The President Engine embodies the marriage of American mining and heavy engineering that fueled the nation's late-19th-century industrial rise.
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Related people
- · John West
- · Ulysses S. Grant
Themes & tags
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