George Frick and His Steam Empire

By Sam Moore
Published on January 16, 2012
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A circa 1874 Frick & Co. catalog lists the Eclipse agricultural steam engine, available in 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20 hp sizes at prices from $480 to $2,000.
A circa 1874 Frick & Co. catalog lists the Eclipse agricultural steam engine, available in 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20 hp sizes at prices from $480 to $2,000.
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A very early 10 hp Frick engine (built in about 1856) used for a while in the Frick shop at Ringgold, Md. It was later moved to Quincy, Pa., and used by a Mr. Metcalf until 1886, when it was abandoned in a field. After 40 years, it was restored and moved to the Henry Ford Museum.
A very early 10 hp Frick engine (built in about 1856) used for a while in the Frick shop at Ringgold, Md. It was later moved to Quincy, Pa., and used by a Mr. Metcalf until 1886, when it was abandoned in a field. After 40 years, it was restored and moved to the Henry Ford Museum.
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A Frick Eclipse traction engine parading in 2011 at the Saegertown, Pa., steam show.
A Frick Eclipse traction engine parading in 2011 at the Saegertown, Pa., steam show.
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The first Frick factory in Waynesboro, Pa., during the 1860s. This building was later taken over by Geiser Mfg. Co.; it was destroyed by an 1882 fire.
The first Frick factory in Waynesboro, Pa., during the 1860s. This building was later taken over by Geiser Mfg. Co.; it was destroyed by an 1882 fire.
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George Frick’s home and shop in Ringgold during the 1850s.
George Frick’s home and shop in Ringgold during the 1850s.

Of the hundreds of companies that built farm equipment over the years, those surviving today can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of these survivors, and an unlikely one at that, is the Frick Co., Waynesboro, Pa.

George Frick was born in 1826 on a large farm in Lancaster County, Pa., that had been in his family for almost 100 years. Then, in 1835, Abraham Frick, his father, bought a farm in the Cumberland Valley near Quincy, Pa., a tiny village about 20 miles west of Gettysburg.

The elder Frick dammed a stream on the new farm and built a water wheel with which he powered an up-and-down-type sawmill. Abraham also used the water wheel to run a pump that lifted water from a well to his house.

Young George had little formal education, but he was good at math and had natural mechanical aptitude. At 17, he apprenticed himself to a millwright in nearby Maryland. After two years, George felt confident enough to move back to Quincy, where he went into business for himself. He was kept busy traveling around Franklin County, Pa., where there were some 75 grist or flour mills that frequently needed the attention of a skilled millwright. However, in 1848, George gave up traveling and took over an old building where he built horse powers, along with fanning mills for cleaning grain.

Inspired by teakettle: the Frick steam engine

In December 1849, George married and settled down to wedded bliss. In this happy state, while watching a teakettle whistle on the stove, he supposedly got the idea for his next project, a steam engine. Most accounts say that it was doubtful if George had ever seen such an engine, but he determined to build one.

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