The Soule Steam Feed Works Industrial Heritage Museum in Meridian, Miss., offers a different type of stop for collectors. It’s the last intact steam engine factory where you can see an array of engines, an iron foundry, a 1930s steam feed works office, and experience the longest operating line drive shaft in the United States. The Soule factory has retained much of its original furnishings and equipment and is set in the 1920-40 time period. In fact, 80 percent of the contents are original to the factory. Executive Director Greg Hatcher said the museum was founded in 1892 by inventor and industrialist George Soule, who holds more than 25 U.S. patents related to the sawmill industry. The Soule family operated the Soule Steam Feed Works for 110 years, which manufactured products that supported the lumber industry. A few of the engines made there include the Soule rotary steam engine and the lumber stacker. Greg has done extensive research on the products the Soule Steam Works manufactured and created a wonderful history that can be found on the company website at www.industrialheritagemuseum.com One of the most fascinating aspects of this factory is it remains almost like it was when operating. This is in part because it was changed only a little over the years, with an upgrade in the belt-driven machine shop in the 1950s to a modern lathe, and modernization of the foundry in the 1970s. When the last family member to run the company, Bob Soule, decided to retire in July 2002, it was to be auctioned off, but luckily for the local community a businessman named Jim McRae decided this landmark should stay as living history. “He accredits his visits here with becoming an engineer,” Greg explained. McRae and a group of preservationists founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the site was donated to this organization to preserve and interpret it. Since 2003 the Soule Steam Feed Works has been providing tours. The first room the tour guide brings visitors to is where they can see some of the engines, like the Rotary steam engine that came in a variety of sizes. There is the Spee-D-Twin Steam Engine Number 4301 – it was built from 1923 until about 1983 and sold to sawmills across the U.S. and through the world. Not all the engines on display are from the Soule plant. There’s the Skid-Mount Portable Steam Engine from the Manchester Locomotive and Maxine Works in Manchester, N.H. There’s the Army Corps of Engineers Marine Steam Engine, too, along with a Troy steam engine that was probably used to power a blower on a large steam compressor. At this wonderful museum there are steam engines, a printing press, factory history, and so much more. It also offers events like the Soule Steam Santa’s Christmas Factory and the Meridian Mini Maker Faire. Guided tours are offered Tuesday-Saturday and typically take a little over an hour, and are $10 per person. If you’re going to be in the area and want details, call 601-693-9905 or email soulelivesteam@comcast.net Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication. Learn more of Cindy’s finds and travel in her blog, “Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl,” at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com |
