Steam: The Great Connector

The 19th Century was a time of rapid progress driven by the steam engine. Heat generated steam that created mechanical energy as steam pushed a piston in a metal cylinder upward and the piston’s movement drove gears into motion. The first steam engines were patented in the 18th Century in Britain and were used to pump water from mines. Steam-powered trains connected people across the American continent and made travel and commerce quicker and more efficient. Steam engines also powered farm machinery and mills. A steam-powered sawmill owned by Albert Carroll Jones' son-in-law, Charles Sutton, may have been used at Chippokes during the late 1800's, and the new technology made the farmer’s job easier and the farming operation more productive.

Virginia · United States