Georgia, Chatham County, Savannah
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The Boiler Room supplied power for the entire complex. The ornate design of this building symbolizes the importance of its function to the site.
The Boiler Room was the heart of the site, pumping steam power and heat throughout the complex. Workers fed the boiler fire with either wood chips from the Carpenters’ Shop or coal. The resulting steam powered the steam engine by turning a flywheel, which turned a line shaft. The rotating line shaft ran into the Blacksmith Shop, the Machine Shop, and other buildings. The shaft was connected by belts and its rotation powered saws, drills, and other machines. Electricity replaced the shops steam power in the early 1900s, however, steam from the Boiler Room continued to heat the buildings on the site.
“The boiler is of locomotive pattern, and provided with steam and mercurial gauges, and all usual fixtures.” — Daily Morning News, Savannah, July 17, 1855
* Brick details & plaster walls made this the most ornate building on site
* 1850s insulation of original stationary steam engine made by A. N. Miller, a Savannah firm
* 1865 Spark ignited roof and burned interior plaster
* 1950 Front wall removed, possibly to scrap the steam engine, wall rebuilt in the 1970s
(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The Boiler Room supplied power for the entire complex. The ornate design of this building symbolizes the importance of its function to the site.The Boiler Room was the heart of the site, pumping steam power and heat throughout the complex. Workers fed the boiler fire with either wood chips from the Carpenters’ Shop or coal. The resulting steam powered the steam engine by turning a flywheel, which turned a line shaft. The rotating line shaft ran into the Blacksmith Shop, the Machine Shop, and other buildings. The shaft was connected by belts and its rotation powered saws, drills, and other machines. Electricity replaced the shops steam power in the early 1900s, however, steam from the Boiler Room continued to heat the buildings on the site.
“The boiler is of locomotive pattern, and provided with steam and mercurial gauges, and all usual fixtures.” — Daily Morning News, Savannah, July 17, 1855
* Brick details & plaster walls made this the most ornate building on site
* 1850s insulation of original stationary steam engine made by A. N. Miller, a Savannah firm
* 1865 Spark ignited roof and burned interior plaster
* 1950 Front wall removed, possibly to scrap the steam engine, wall rebuilt in the 1970s
(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.