Somewhat conventional in design, as compared with its contemporaries, this grader, or scraper, was designed to be operated by a pair of men, one driving the horses and the other heaving on the large wheels and crank handles behind, constantly adjusting the attitude, angle and altitude of the scraping blade.
The Western Wheeled Scraper Company lived from 1891 to about 1934, we believe under this name during all that time. Their early graders were substantially more primitive, leaving this as a later model, though not so advanced to be a leaning wheel grader. Manufacture date? 1910 to 1920 is our guess.
What became Austin-Western started in 1877 in Mount Prospect, Iowa by Captain C.H. Smith and co founders Captain Beckwith and Dr. McClure. As the C.H. Smith & Co. contractor firm, they were veterans of railroad building, employing the tools of the day: pick, shovel and wheelbarrow, assisted by an early type of drag scraper. They founded a firm to manufacture a crude wheeled scraper, which had been devised to hold about three cubic feet.
This was the same strange looking machine which stood in front of Austin-Western general offices in Aurora, and was described as the world’s first road grader. It was this machine, along with ever-improved descendants, that made the modern highway of today possible. Meanwhile, back in Mount Prospect, Smith improved on the original scraper and his firm was contracted to build an Iowa section of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. In the process, his scraper manufacturing revolutionized construction methods. In 1883, Smith finished his last railroad contract in Indiana. He concentrated on manufacturing scrapers from then to his death in 1910. By 1891 he had outgrown Mount Prospect and, perhaps as a result of Burlington, moved operations to Aurora, changing the firm name to
Western Wheeled Scraper Company.
In 1904, the firm’s inventive genius emerged again in a perfected dump car with twelve cubic yard capacity, operated by air. Within a year, capacity had been increased by over 50%. These cars became the backbone of earth moving operations that enabled the Panama Canal to be constructed ahead of schedule and below budget.
Captain Smith remained in charge until his death in 1910. By then he had gained control of Austin Manufacturing, which dated from 1859 in Harvey, Illinois and had evolved along similar lines to Smith’s Western. In 1934 a full merger was agreed, which included the sales organization known as Austin-Western Road Machinery Company of Chicago.
In 1973, construction equipment operations including Austin-Western were bought by Clark Equipment. In 1978 Austin-Western Aurora operations closed. Production of cranes shifted to Lima Ohio and rough terrain graders to Texas. Both operations were discontinued as Clark was dissolved in 1980. Minnpar has provided some parts and other services on existing equipment since then, but without ties to Aurora.
From rodhandeland.com
The Homesteader Museum is one of the most interesting museums we have visited. The director was there and she was so helpful and answered all of our inquiries. This is a free admission museum that is made possible by a benefactor. The museum will celebrate their 50th birthday in 2018.
There are numerous large displays divided by categories, such as household appliances, dentist and doctor offices, set as they were when operating, a photography and printing office, a post office, vintage clothing and haberdashery - the list just goes on.
They also have several outdoor displays housed in original buildings, one of which is the Bever Homestead, an original 1911 homestead house; also outside is a CB&Q Caboose and a large collection old farm equipment and tractors.