Above: George Paradox Hill is one of three inventors featured in Hanford Mills Museum’s new exhibit, Rural Genius. Courtesy of the Hanford Mills Museum.
The new exhibit at Hanford Mills Museum highlights local inventors. Rural Genius: Innovation, Invention, and Ingenuity in the Mill’s Community tells the story of William Mickel (1824-1890), George Paradox Hill, (ca. 1820-1907) and Larry MacClintock (1929-1998). Mickel, a cooper from Oneonta, designed a machine that could produce barrel heads (tops) in less time. Beginning in 1876, a water-powered version of Mickel’s machine was used at Hanford Mills to produce butter tub covers. Visitors to Hanford Mills Museum can see this and other historic woodworking machines operate.
George Paradox Hill, who worked as a day laborer at the Mill, believed he had invented a perpetual motion machine. Local papers as well as the national Scientific American magazine published his assertions, and he often gave lectures on this machine and his other inventions. Though the laws of physics make clear that perpetual motion is not possible, Hill maintained he had invented a limitless source of power.
Efficiency is what drove the invention of Larry MacClintock, who grew up on and then ran his family’s East Meredith dairy farm. He built a machine for cutting, drying and baling hay that saved farmers time and money. He obtained a patent in 1965.
“By telling the story of these three inventors, we hope to inspire people to share their stories of ingenuity,” says Liz Callahan, the Museum’s executive director. “Inventors, tinkerers and dreamers play an essential role in society, and with this exhibit we celebrate the drive to invent, create and improve.”
The exhibit is on view through October 15 in the Feed Mill.
About Hanford Mills Museum
Hanford Mills Museum is located at 51 County Hwy. 12, at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 and 12, in East Meredith, NY, 10 miles from Oneonta and 15 miles from Delhi. Hanford Mills Museum is open Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 am – 5 pm. Children 12 and under are admitted free, as are Museum members.
As one of only a handful of operating water-powered mills, Hanford Mills Museum has earned a place on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places. The mission of Hanford Mills Museum is to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections between energy, technology, natural resources and entrepreneurship in rural communities with a focus on sustainable choices.
For more information, visit www.hanfordmills.org or call 607.278.5744.
###
www.hanfordmills.org
www.Facebook.com/HanfordMillsMuseum
CONTACT: Liz Callahan, lizc@hanfordmills.org 607.278.5744
Photos available, contact Peg Odell, 607.544.1123, pego@hanfordmills.org
