Birdsill Holly 1820-1894
Birdsill Holly was born November 8, 1820 in Auburn, New York and grew up around Seneca Falls. In his lifetime he made great contributions to the fields of mechanical and hydraulic engineering. He holds over 150 American patents, and several foreign patents. Some of his inventions you use everyday! The system of pressurized municipal water supply was invented by Holly. Every time you open the tap on your sink you are using a Holly invention!
Despite his genius and his great accomplishments, he never attained the fame and/or fortune of his contemporaries which includes Thomas Edison, who was a good friend of Holly's and visited Lockport several times.
Below is a portion of the biography of Birdsill Holly, and the Holly Manufacturing Company. Some information and portions of the text are from the book "The Life And Times Of Birdsill Holly," by Madelynn P. Fredrickson.
Birdsill Holly was born November 8, 1820 to Birdsill and Comfort Holly. At the time of Holly's birth Auburn, NY was a typical frontier town composed of rough wooden buildings.
At the time of Holly’s move to Seneca Falls, there was a large industrial center with numerous mills powered by the mighty Seneca River. It is believed that Birdsill Sr. worked as a mechanic in these mills. This is also where Birdsill Holly Jr. was first introduced to water power.
Birdsill became a partner in the Silsby Company, also called "The Island Works." While working for this company he obtained his first patent, which was for a water pump. Seneca Falls would later become world famous for its pumps.
Holly's pump designs attracted some very affluent people. Among them were Washington Hunt, who would later become Governor, and Thomas Flagler. These two men convinced Holly to move to Lockport in 1859. These two men financed the (Holly Manufacturing Company); an enormous manufacturing complex located near the Lockport Locks on the south side of the Erie Canal.
Before the Holly Manufacturing Company began operations, the Lockport Hydraulic Company was formed. This company obtained rights to the Kennedy/Hatch lease to draw and utilize all the surplus water from the canal. The Lockport Hydraulic Company, enlarged the by-pass race on the south side of the canal, and then blasted a 750' long tunnel out of the hard Lockport Dolomite on the opposite or north side of the Canal. This tunnel, or hydraulic raceway, drew water from the canal above the locks. The water traveled downhill through the tunnel. When the water arrived at the Holly factory it would spin a water wheel or turbine, which would provide close to 2,000 horsepower of mechanical energy to Holly's factory. Holly's turbine would rotate a large central shaft which would be connected by pulleys and leather belts to each individual piece of machinery. This system was very advanced for it's time, engineers from all over Europe came to Lockport to study Holly's tunnel system. It was so successful the tunnel was expanded and enlarged to supply water 250 feet to the Richmond Manufacturing Company and another 700 feet east to the Lockport Pulp Mill Company.
In its prime, the Holly Company employed over 500 people. The most influential thing to be produced by Holly Manufacturing was the Holly system of fire protection. It was the Holly fire protection system that made Birdsill world famous. This system was mainly comprised of two of his inventions, an elliptical rotary water pump, and the fire hydrant. The pumps, powered by steam engines, pressurized water and distributed it through underground pipes throughout the city. The Holly fire hydrants were connected to these pipes, making plenty of water available to fight fires anywhere at anytime. The same basic system is used today in every city in the United States and most of the developed world.
Lockport, NY was the first city to employ this fire protection system. The Holly System was soon adopted by thousands of cities throughout the United States and Europe. There were some cities, however, which did not purchase this system. One of those cities was Chicago. Not long after they rejected the offer to buy this system the great Chicago fire took place. It is surmised that this fire would have been relatively minor had they employed the Holly System. They purchased his system almost immediately after the fire.
One of Holly's biggest dreams was the construction of a 700 foot skyscraper. He foresaw the Niagara Falls area becoming a major tourist attraction and planned to construct his 19-story skyscraper on Goat Island. In 1876 he finalized his plans for his skyscraper, unfortunately he had trouble finding investors for what most thought was an outlandish idea. Being defeated on his home turf Holly took his plans to New York City. NYC at that time was growing rapidly and running out of space to put all of its inhabitants. Holly suggested that it would be much more economical to build up, instead of out. Holly was called "the farmer from the west" and was ridiculed all the way back to Lockport.
Holly’s next project was his greatest triumph, district steam heat, which gave life to the American District Steam Heat Corporation (ADSCO). After drawing up plans for his steam heating system he once again had trouble finding investors. Holly, however, felt so strongly about this idea he used his own resources to finance the project. Holly chose his own residence at 31 Chestnut Street in Lockport to demonstrate his latest invention. He first constructed a small boiler in the basement of his house, this is what produced the heat and is similar to modern steam and forced water furnaces. To prove he could transmit heat over long distances he looped 700 feet of pipe around his backyard. The day he first demonstrated steam heat is unknown, we do know that on that day a small crowd of people gathered around his house (they were mostly expecting it to explode). When the valve was opened the steam flowed, his invention worked flawlessly. His house was heated in a matter of minutes.
He no longer had trouble finding investors for the project. In 1877 the Holly Steam Combination Company was formed. For the first season of operation, mains were laid on Locust, Genesee, and Walnut Street. All were major thoroughfares in the city. When the valves were turned 30 psi of steam surged through the pipes and every house and building connected to the system was heated. Problems did surface however. The water used to make the steam was drawn from the canal, small fish and other foreign matter quickly clogged the intakes, this problem was remedied by placing a steel grate across the intake tubes. A man was hired to clear the debris away from the grate every so often. Other municipalities such as New York City, Long Island, and Auburn also invested in steam heating that year.
In 1880 his system really took off, steam heat was now being installed in cities across America. Holly also came up with a few inventions to make district steam heat more profitable. Holly suspected his customers were wasting steam because the cost was the same no matter how much they used. In 1881 he received a patent for a steam meter. Now customers paid for steam by volume instead of having unlimited usage. After the meters were installed steam use was cut in half.
To keep up with the growing demand for steam heating systems the Holly Steam Combination Company was reorganized in January of 1881. It would now be known as the American District Steam Heat Company. By 1882 Holly had been issued 50 patents related to steam heat.
Birdsill Holly passed away April 27, 1894 at 7pm. He had suffered from a long illness and the cause of death was listed as heart failure.
Birdsill Holly & the Holly Manufacturing Company
Lockport Pulp and United Indurated Fibre Company
