Wheel House

In the early 1800’s, Stephen Vail built his ironworks in a narrow ravine at Speedwell where the Whippany River could be dammed for waterpower, and he later used a nearby stream to create a separate cotton-weaving business by revamping an older waterpower system and rebuilding an old mill into a modern factory. To keep the new waterwheel turning during winter, he added a wheel house to help prevent freezing. Although the cotton business plan failed, the factory remained in running order, and in 1848 the waterwheel was replaced with a more efficient model that still survives. In the 1970’s, the Wheel House was completely restored, the collapsed wheel pit was excavated, the wheel was rolled out while new foundations were built, and the wheel was rebuilt with its original iron parts, replacing only the wooden spokes and sole boards, while a re-circulation system replaced the upper pond to supply water. Kept in repair since its installation in 1848, the wheel is now the largest in New Jersey still in operation, and another restoration project in 2005 replaced wooden spokes and sole boards as needed. Water originally came from an upper pond north of the site through a raceway, first by an overhead flume and then, in the 1840’s, by an underground pipe to the Wheel House; overflow filled a lower pond that powered a pattern makers shop between the Whippany River and Cory Road. Because the upper pond stood higher than the top of the 24 foot diameter wheel, the system acted like a siphon, with pressure in the penstock pushing water up through the standpipe and over the top of the wheel before it was carried away in the tailrace.

Morristown, New Jersey · United States