Thomas Parker and the Tainter Gate pt1

 

   Menomonie and Dunn County have had a good share of unsung heroes and notables. One of the most egregious examples of omission exposes the compounded errors that are the result of failed research and accountability by historians. One simple statement left unchallenged or unchecked can result in factual errors that last for hundreds of years. We have all experienced those errors in our lives, errors that have changed the world around us and created controversy around the globe. I am going to introduce you to a newly discovered error that could change hundreds or even thousands of textbooks, news articles, historical research, and naming conventions across the globe. That extraordinary impact has its foundation and core responsibility resting right here in our fair town of Menomonie, Wisconsin. I am one of those who have failed in the research, relying on the written tales handed down without question. Guilty as charged, I offer a correction with apologies to those who knew the facts.

  The error comes at the expense of a man that most have never heard about. He lived here in Menomonie, watched two of his sons die here, then left his grieving wife, daughter, and youngest son behind when he died. The rest of the family followed him to the grave too soon, leaving no heir to his talents, fame, and fortunes to come nor voice to uphold his honor. The honors that are his forgotten legacy are the marvelous and much touted, misappropriated ‘Tainter Gates’ that we love to brag about. Before I proceed any further, I must say that I have found absolutely no evidence that Mr. Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, whom they have been named after, holds any fault for the misnamed gates or the poor historical research that ties his name to them as inventor, engineer, surveyor, millwright, et al. That fault lies squarely on the shoulders of historians, past and present. The shame lies in the theft of such honors from an incredible inventor, engineer, surveyor, elected official and Civil War veteran by the name of Thomas Parker.

   Thomas Parker was born March 28, 1832, in Kennebec, Maine. His parents moved to Ohio when he was a child and as an adult he moved to Wood County, Wisconsin where he met and married Susan Ackert. In 1861, they moved to Menomonie where he found work at the K.S. & Co mills. In August of 1862 he enlisted with Co. K of the 5^th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry serving until 1864 when Pvt Parker mustered out of the 5^th Wisconsin so that he could sign on as a Lieutenant with Company D of the 20^th USCT Infantry where he served to the end of the war, mustering out October 7, 1865. Most people will not recognize the designation, USCT which stand for ‘United States Colored Troops.’ The newly organized USCT sorely needed commanding officers and many men applied for the duty but less than a third met the requirements. The 20^th USCT spent almost the entire time reconstructing and security oversight of captured forts along the southern coast. In February of 1865 Parker was summoned to New Orleans from his post at Fort Gaines, Alabama to testify at a court martial hearing. The order coming from Major General Granger included the statement “He will return to his company as soon as possible Co 20^th USCT.”  Much of the work being done at Fort Gaines was surveying and engineering repairs to the damaged fort and alongside several Engineering brigades, his troops of the USCT would certainly been involved in the heavy field work. It is my assumption that Lt. Parker spent some of his time dealing the Engineering brigades, effecting repairs, surveying and map making, which were vital operations. I am not aware of any educational opportunities Lt. Parker had enrolled in for such duties, but practical experience may have laid the groundwork for his future as a civil engineer. May 9, 1865, 2^nd Lt. Thomas Parker ’tendered his resignation’ citing his years of service through the war, his wife at home tending to her aged father, his wife’s two brothers still in service to their country and one other who was killed in action. In New Orleans on May 11, 1865, he was mustered out of the service with an Honorable Discharge as 2^nd Lieutenant Thomas Parker, 20^th U. S. Colored Infantry and returned home to his wife after thirty-three months of continuous duty.

   Upon his return to Menomonie, Parker set on his new pathway utilizing the skills he had attained during his military career. He returned to employment with the Knapp, Stout and Company operations and began raising a family. Thomas and Susan raised four children, George, born 1867, Dorothy, born 1870, William, born 1872 and Thomas J., born 1875. Parker became a well-respected surveyor and was known for his engineering skills throughout the area. Much of his work involved travel and extended periods of time away from Menomonie and family but he created lasting friendships wherever he worked due to his easy going, congenial nature. It was often remarked in newspaper posts from towns such as Rice Lake how much the locals enjoyed his presence and the work ethic he brought along. He was elected as County Surveyor in 1869-70 and when nominated for County Surveyor in 1874 on the Republican ticket, they stated, “The convention nominated Thos. Parker for county surveyor. He is a practical surveyor and thoroughly conversant with the business. Capt. Parker also “surveyed” the southern confederacy as a Union soldier in the late war, and with pretty good results. He will be triumphantly elected.” And so, he was elected in full favor. Parker was an industrious man with busy hands and a busier mind. His work in the south undoubtedly involved bridges, dams, and waterworks. Along with the demands of his work for Knapp, Stout and Co. as a woodsman, surveyor, and dam engineer, he was always looking to improve the waterways for logging. Surprisingly, his first venture into the realm of invention had nothing to do with water, his focus was on the farmers instead. Thomas Parker invented a new, original plow patented Dec 8, 1874. Working with James Downing (namesake of the town of Downing) to build it, the initial release was imperfect and failed to impress buyers. Together, James and Thomas perfected the invention successfully to which they received a joint patent on May 30, 1876, as co-inventors.

  While Thomas Parker was dealing with the plow invention, his mind was busily dealing with the cursed dams and difficult sluice-ways that were slow and hard to operate but necessary for the transport of logs and lumber to mills and market. Sluice-ways were commonly made of heavy blocks of wood, metal or stone and dropped into a raceway, blocking the water (and logs) from passing through the dam. All dams are used to create a flood, either upstream or downstream depending on the needs of the operator/owner. If they required a holding pond to contain the logs until they could be run through the sawmill, the sluice-ways were held shut by the blocks dropped in the raceway. When the company needed to have enough water to float the rafts of lumber downstream from the sawmill, the lumbermen needed to create the downstream flood rapidly so the water would raise the rafts over the shallows in the river. The blocks used to contain the water for the upstream flood (pond) were heavy and the resistance of the tons of water pressure on them made them slow to remove, cumbersome to deal with and dangerous for the men who had to pry them up out of the raceway, one at a time until the gate was completely open. Time was of the essence to remove them lest the flood become more of a worthless series of short surges and you had to wait for several rainfalls in order to start over. The second part of the problem came along with heavy rain or run-off called freshets. These torrents threatened the entire dam and holding pond whose destruction would create months of work and lost revenue until they could be rebuilt. The ability to release water quickly to prevent a washout was equally important as retaining the water for a holding pond or releasing a controlled amount for rafting. Knowing the dangerous work associated with the Knapp, Stout and Company dams maintaining and repairing them, Parker’s keen engineering experience kept his mind searching for answers.

   Parker was employed by the logging firm to survey lands, scout the pineries for logging, and to effect repairs and alterations to the company dams from Menomonie to as far north as the waterways demanded. He spent a considerable amount of time in Rice Lake, Barron County due to its proximity to the dams of the Red Cedar and its tributaries. The constant demand on his time to tend so many waterways must have been part of the impetus to improve the structures to make them more sustainable. On October 5^th, 1875, Parker received his patent for an ‘Angle Pressure, Angle Gate’ that was the beginning of his series of dam gate inventions and improvements. The April 1^st, 1876, Dunn County News related that “J. B. Tainter showed us a model of a water and flood gate for dams invented by Thomas Parker and for whom a patent has been received. It is ahead of anything of the kind ever invented and if it stands the test of actual service, it will prove a godsend to millmen as well as a source of revenue to its fortunate proprietor. One of these gates has been put into Knapp, Stout, and Co’s dam at Downsville and, we understand, performs its work admirably. We believe it is destined to be of vast benefit to all manufacturing interests of which water is a motive power. Here we have evidence of the first iteration of what was to become the infamous radial arm gate, invented and patented by Thomas Parker, and the initial installation in the Downsville Dam! This simple adaptation from a flat surface to an angled face to overcome the tremendous pressures against a gate was the key to the next invention that would revolutionize the entire dam industry.

  The ‘press release’ of the day was made by Jeremiah Burnham Tainter who was the younger brother of Captain Andrew Tainter. Jeremiah arrived in Menomonie from Prairie DuChein as a young man. He was 26 years old when he arrived in 1862, four years younger than Thomas Parker and thirteen years younger than Captain Tainter. Finding little to do, Jeremiah was about to return to his home town when Captain Tainter encouraged him to stay by offering him a job in the butcher shop. Jeremiah was later given employment as a lumber cruiser and other duties. He was given charge of the ‘City Livery’ that Captain Tainter built downtown at the back corner of the block now occupied by the Mabel Tainter Memorial building. Despite the more recent tales of Mr. J. B. Tainter, there stands no evidence of his prowess with engineering, he having never been a surveyor, a millwright, or a skilled designer/engineer/inventor of any major consequence. After much investigation, research and documentation, it is my personal and unproven opinion that the annals of history have wrongly given credit to Mr. Tainter, which truly belongs to Mr. Thomas Parker, the undoubted inventor of the so-called ‘Tainter Gate.’  The patent registered on the gate that was spoken so highly of in 1876 was issued to Thomas Parker as patent #168524 dated October 5, 1875, inventor and sole owner. Several patented ‘improvements’ were made to that dam by Parker as well as J. B. Tainter for many years. The original patented version of the gate now known as the ‘Tainter Gate’ was invented solely by Thomas Parker and issued a patent on April 13, 1880, 226455. That patent was, for unknown reasons, given as assignee's, Andrew Tainter, Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, and James Downing along with the inventor, Thomas Parker, each one/fourth. There lies no question whatsoever, the true inventor and designer of the sluice-way gate being Mr. Thomas Parker. Assignee's are described as people who have been given rights of ownership (not claim as inventor) by way of purchase, gift, or other consideration.

  I will continue this somewhat shocking tale with more information on the inventions of J. B. Tainter, Thomas Parker and James Downing in the next installment. The sad story on the Parker family and some things to ponder about history as we know it vs history as we should know it to be. I hope that you have enjoyed it, I expect there will be discussions and questions to come. As always, I respectfully encourage and await them. Until next time, I remain your humble story teller and amateur historian, Thank You for reading!