James Leffel and Company Records
name: label: Creator
content: James Leffel and Company
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
place: label: Place
content: Springfield (Ohio)
topic: label: Topic
content: Hydraulic turbines
label: Topic
content: Steam-boilers
label: Topic
content: Stokers, Mechanical
label: Topic
content: Steam-engines
label: Topic
content: Valves
label: Topic
content: Water-wheels
label: Topic
content: Turbines
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collected for the National Museum of American History.
creator: label: Creator
content: James Leffel and Company
setName: label: See more items in
content: James Leffel and Company Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection documents James Leffel and Company of Springfield, Ohio, manufacturer of turbines, water wheels and engines.
bioghist: label: Biographical
content: James Leffel was born in 1806 in Botetourt County, Virginia to John and Catherine Leffel.  The family moved to Ohio, settling near Springfield. where John Leffel established saw and grist mills. Leffel grew up surrounded by mills and and developed a strong interest in water wheels. Leffel trained as a millwright acquiring skills in metal work to make sickles, knives, and other small iron implements.   In the late 1830s, Leffel established his first foundry and machine shop near Springfield, Ohio, quickly expanding and taking on two partners, William A. John and T.Y. Ferrell and adding mill gearing and stoves to their line of products. By 1845, Leffel ended his business relationship with John and Ferrell and formed a partnership with William Blackeney, a machinist  who helped him support the foundry and its work. In 1846, Andrew Richards joined Leffel to build a cotton mill and machine shop. Leffel envisioned the utilization of water power in Springfield. Ohio, with the establishment of mills along a race--a dug channel leading from a creek or river to the mill--that would eventually bring trade. With the help of Samuel and James Barnett, gristmill operators, Leffel was able to "cut a race" and erect a Water Power and Flouring Mill. Leffel was especially interested in water wheel development and would receive patent US34,150 for a water wheel (1862) which later reissued as RE1791 and RE1792 in 1864.

Leffel also patented cooking stoves (US6775) in 1849 which became known as the "Buckeye," "Double Oven" and "Red Cook Stove" that were successful and earned him a strong reputation. In 1852, Leffel broke with Richards, and Nathaniel Cook, a machinist, joined Leffel and Blackeney. With his 1862 patent for a water wheel, Leffel focused his attention on demonstrating the water wheel and speaking about its productive uses. Numerous test runs of the water wheel convinced Leffel that he could sell the wheel to mills and factory operators. Leffel marketed the wheel as the "American Double Turbine" an efficient, cheap turbine for the mass market (Layton page 86 ). In 1863, Leffel and Blackeney formed a new firm, along with Perry Betchel and Leander Mudge to create a foundry designed solely for the production of the wheel.  Leffel later joined forces with John Foos, a mill operator and James S. Goode, a lawyer, to form the James Leffel and Company. Leffel sold his water wheel to flour mills, woolen goods manufacturers, paper mills and farm equipment manufacturers. The company became one of the leading manufacturers of waterwheels and turbines and today continues to operate under the name of James Leffel and Company as part of Canyon Hydro which acquired the company in 2019.  

Leffel died in 1866. 

Source

Becker, Carl M. "James Leffel: Double Turbiner Water Wheel Inventor, Ohio History, Volume 75, No. 4, Autumn 1966, pages 200-211. 

Layton, Edwin. "Scientific Technology, 1845-1900: The Hydraulic Turbine and the Origins of American
Industrial Research," Technology and Culture, January 1979, Vol. 20, No. 1, pages 64-89.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 20 Cubic feet (42 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1848-1976
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Collection transferred by the Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center in 2007.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0960
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Blueprints
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Charts
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Order books
label: Type
content: Patents
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Specifications
label: Type
content: Trade catalogs
label: Type
content: Glass plate negatives
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1974-1978

 
Series 2: Patent Materials, 1848-1931

 
Series 3: Testing Data, 1913-1966, bulk 1920s	

 
Series 4: Catalogs, 1870-1946

 
Series 5: Catalog Artwork, 1919-1959

 
Series 6: Trade Literature, 1890s-1976

 
Series 7: Photographs, 1908-1929


Series 7: Writings and Journal Articles, 1881-1854

 
Series 8: Glass Plate Negatives, 1890s-1950s, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2022. 

Photostat copies of original patents in the collection were removed.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Blueprints
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Charts
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Order books
label: Genre/Form
content: Patents
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Specifications
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Glass plate negatives
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records contain business and legal records; correspondence; patents and patent files; specifications; charts; blueprints; mechanical drawings and original catalog art; photographs and negatives; catalogs, and clippings documenting James Leffel and Company.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Trade Literature Collection 

Pelton Water Wheel Collection, NMAH.AC.1093

Lombard Governor Company Records, NMAH.AC.1091 

Niagara Falls Power Company Photographs, NMAH.AC.0949

J. & W. Jolly Company Records, NMAH.AC.1009

Uriah Boyden Papers, NMAH.AC.0982

William R. Hutton Papers, NMAH.AC.0987

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Waterworks

Materials at Other Organizations

Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

James Leffel & Company Records, 1867-1971

The James Leffel and Company Records consist of ledgers, journals, order books, inventories, cash and day books, payroll files, correspondence, photographs, publications, and scrapbooks of a late 19th and early 20th century Springfield, Ohio manufacturer of turbines, water wheels and engines.

Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio

James Leffel and Company Records, 1845-1890

Records of water-wheel company of Springfield, Ohio including a letter press book, notebook of hydraulic tables, and patents for water wheels and cooking stoves.