4023 South Quaker Rd., Gasport, New York
The Angola gasoline engine is a 1908 and was bought to operate a
wood-working shop on the Johnson Creek Road in Niagara County by
Ernest Brown. Later, in 1912, he brought the engine up to the
village of Johnson Creek to pump the water used in making the
concrete for the bridge that crosses the creek there on route 104.
Then it was taken back to the shop. The next year, 1913, Mr. Brown
built a shop at the corner of the Johnson Creek Road and route 104
at the village and set the engine up to operate the shop. Later he
turned the wood shop into a garage and machine shop and used the
Angola to turn a line shaft for a lathe, emery wheel, drill press,
air compressor and water pump. However the engine has stood on its
concrete base from 1913 until 1963 when I acquired it.
When I bought the engine it was owned by Ira Mower who had
bought the shop from the estate of Mr. Brown who passed away quite
some years ago. Mr. Mower operated the garage and shop until about
five years ago. I remembered the engine as a boy and went one day
to see if it was still there. The shop was closed but I looked in
the back window and could see it standing there belted to the line
shaft. I had to wait a few days for Mr. Mower to get home as he was
away on vacation, and then made a deal for the engine.
It was quite a job to load it as it weighs about 1600 lbs. After
it was cleaned I could see the original paint which was a dark
maroon that could be matched very well. A radiator tank and gas
tank had to be made. Some of the gas lines were broken along with
the gas cup above the mixing valve as it has a return line to the
main tank for gas not used that the pump supplies to the fuel glass
cup. The governor stem was broken. This really was the most
difficult part to repair.
This Angola engine was made in Angola, Ind. and is engine No.
511, 4 h.p., make and break battery and coil ignition. The cylinder
is 5 x 8 and runs as smooth as a kitten a very pretty engine.
This car is a home made auto which I made. My oldest son Roy,
from Wichita, Kansas, and his youngest sister are in it. Roy is a
truck driver for the Jackson Freight Company in Wichita,
Kansas.
This little tractor is made from Model T parts and Champion
binder wheels. The girl on the tractor is my youngest daughter. She
now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she is a nurse.
Here Stan has just started his 6 H.P. belted to the planer at
Stan’s Sawmill Picnic on June 26, 1966 at Shell Lake,
Wisconsin.
