Ephraim Shay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ephraim Shay
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"Received marching orders. Quite a coincidence; on the day I am 22 years old I start on my first expedition to defend my country's honor and flag." - Ephraim Shay, Civil War Diary
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| Born | July 17, 1839 Huron County, Ohio, United States
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| Died | April 19, 1916 (aged 76) Harbor Springs, Michigan, United States
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| Occupation | Inventor, entrepreneur |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Henderson |
| Awards | John Scott Award (1892) |
Ephraim Shay (born July 17, 1839 – died April 19, 1916) was an American inventor and businessman from Michigan. He taught himself how to build railroads and designed a special type of train engine called the Shay locomotive. He got a patent for his invention and allowed a company called Lima Locomotive Works to build them. Between 1882 and 1892, about 300 of these unique locomotives were sold.
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Early Life and Military Service
Ephraim Shay was born on July 17, 1839, in Sherman Township, Ohio. His parents were James and Phoebe Shay. In 1861, when he was 22, Shay moved with his family to Muir, Michigan.
Soon after, he joined the army in the American Civil War. In his diary, he wrote about starting his first mission to defend his country on his 22nd birthday. Shay served under General William Tecumseh Sherman. He left the army in 1864 and returned to Ohio.
Marriage and Early Career
On July 26, 1864, Shay married his sweetheart, Jane Henderson. The young couple moved to Ionia County, Michigan, to be closer to his family. In 1870, they moved to Sunfield, Michigan, where Shay ran a steam-powered sawmill. Their son, Lette, was born there on January 26, 1870.
Inventing the Shay Locomotive
After 1873, the Shay family moved to Haring, Michigan. There, Ephraim Shay opened a general store and a sawmill. Around 1876 or 1877, he had a brilliant idea: to use a locomotive to pull heavy logs out of the forest.
He experimented with using strong maple wood strips on pine rails. This helped create quick paths for his new locomotive to travel through the forests. This led to his invention, the Shay locomotive. Shay began working with Lima Machine Works in Lima, Ohio, giving them permission to build his new train engines.
In 1880, the first Shay Locomotive was sent to a customer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This city was a big center for logging. In 1881, Shay started getting patents for his inventions. An engineer named William E. Woodard helped Lima improve the engine's design.
Lima built four Shay locomotives in 1881 and 37 in 1883. By 1884, Lima had a catalog showing five different models of Shay Locomotives. From 1882 to 1892, about 300 Shay locomotives were sold. By the late 1890s, Shay Locomotives were being shipped all over the world.
Experiments with Steel and Later Life
In 1888, Shay and his family moved to Harbor Springs, Michigan. There, around 1892, he designed and built a very unusual house. It's known as the Shay Hexagon House because it's shaped like a hexagon. It has four sections coming off a central area and a two-story tower on top. This house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. What's really special is that its inside and outside walls were made of stamped steel, which was a very new material back then.
In 1891, Shay built a boat made entirely of steel. It was 40 feet long and 6 feet wide, and he named it the Aha. Parts of the Aha have been brought back to Harbor Springs and are being preserved. Shay also designed and ran a private water system for the town of Harbor Springs. Using steel for large lake freighters was a big step forward for shipping on the Great Lakes.
Shay also started a railroad called the Harbor Springs Railway in 1902. People nicknamed it the "Hemlock Central." It mostly carried lumber, but it was also used for sightseeing trips. Shay also made sleds with maple runners as Christmas gifts for local children, making over 400 sleds in total.
Shay's wife, Jane, passed away on July 24, 1912. Ephraim Shay himself died on April 19, 1916. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Harbor Springs.
Every year, the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society holds a "Shay Days" festival at the Hexagon House. It happens on a weekend close to Shay's birthday.
Gallery
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The Hexagon House today.
