While on my urban hike, I noticed that the Vulcan House was open for tours on Sundays. I made a mental note of this and informed the hubby of it. He said he would like to check out too. Due to rain, we couldn't that weekend but found some time a few weeks later.
The Vulcan House is actually a replica of the original Vulcan House built in 1882. It is only open for tours Sundays May-October 12-3 weather permitting. You can also call for tours during those months as well. It is free to visit and is run by the Appleton Historical Society.
Thanks to Heather pointing out where I could park to walk the new walking bridge, I knew where to park. We ended up parking in the old Neenah Paper Mill lot off of Lawe Street. It was a very short walk to the Vulcan House. The lot Heather showed me would have been a much farther walk.
The Replica Vulcan House is really just a lean to shed. It was built to produce hydroelectric power to the Hearthstone House, the Appleton Paper Mill, and 4 other homes in the area. The replica was built in 1932 for the 50th anniversary of the first house to be powered by hydroelectricity.
Inside the house is not much. It contains 2 leather belts, a replica water wheel, and an original Edison K dynamo. These pieces of equipment worked together to produce water power from the Fox River. It is very noisy. The person in charge would watch 2 light bulbs to determine if more or less power would need to be generated. I am sure it was a very boring, lonely, and probably cold/hot job.
The Edison K dynamo was a generator that helped produce the power needed. The one in the Vulcan Replica was donated by Henry Ford himself. When they were building the replica, a group of individuals traveled to Dearborn, MI in hopes of securing one. When Mr. Ford heard of what they were looking for and why, he graciously donated it to the individuals.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend taking an hour on a Sunday afternoon to go check out the Vulcan Replica House. Then go to tour the Hearthstone House and learn all about the family that brought hydroelectricity to the Fox Valley.
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