William H. Miner: Difference between revisions
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Heart’s Delight food products were sold nationwide. The farm’s 800 workers at that time worked draft horses, purebred horses and the farm had its own dairy, box factory, [[ice house (building)|ice house]], [[natatorium]], [[greenhouse]]s and [[gristmill]]. |
Heart’s Delight food products were sold nationwide. The farm’s 800 workers at that time worked draft horses, purebred horses and the farm had its own dairy, box factory, [[ice house (building)|ice house]], [[natatorium]], [[greenhouse]]s and [[gristmill]]. |
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Miner also built a 20-bedroom guesthouse and an entertainment center named Harmony Hall, which included an auditorium, complete with a stage large enough for 300 people. |
Miner also built a 20-bedroom guesthouse and an entertainment center named Harmony Hall, which included an auditorium, complete with a stage large enough for 300 people. |
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Miner's will established the school and farm, [[Miner Institute|The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute]], a private, not-for-profit educational research institution with an operational dairy farm and [[Morgan horse]] herd located in Chazy, New York on the Adirondack Coast of Lake Champlain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.whminer.com/|title=WHMINER.COM|website=www.whminer.com|access-date=2016-05-10}}</ref> Miner Institute currently encompasses over 8,600 acres of forest and agricultural land in the Little Chazy and Great Chazy river watersheds. The Institute is funded through an endowment, research grants and the sale of milk from its [[Dairy farming|dairy operation]]. Created in 1951, the Institute’s mission is to offer quality research, education, and demonstration programs addressing critical agricultural and environmental issues relevant to Northern New York, Vermont and Quebec farmers. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 08:00, 12 December 2016
William Henry Miner was an American entrepreneur, industrialist, pioneer and philanthropist. Heart's Delight Farm, the land that would become Miner Institute, was developed by William H. Miner on his family homestead of 144 acres, beginning in 1903.
Biography
Miner became a wealthy railroad industrialist as the inventor of railcar draft gears. After becoming a successful entrepreneur in Chicago he returned to Chazy, New York.[1] He focused on farming and philanthropy, founding the Chazy Central Rural School, Physician's Hospital (now called CVPH Medical Center) and expanding Heart's Delight Farm into all areas of agricultural production. Miner also oversaw construction of hydroelectric dams and powerhouses throughout Chazy and Altona. The largest dam, finished in 1915, cost one million dollars and held one billion gallons of water. It supplied power to the area for seven years until equipment failure forced its closing.[2]
Between 1910 and 1920 Miner purchased over 5,000 acres of land. At peak size, the farm had 4,000 acres of tillable land, 2,000 acres of pasture and 6,000 acres of woodland. Fruits, vegetables, beef and dairy cattle, mules, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, pheasants and brook trout were raised on the farm. In addition to the 800 regularly employed workers Miner hired around 100 families to camp at Flat Rock and pick berries. At the height of production Miner was shipping 16,000 quarts of berries a day to major metropolitan areas.[3] Heart’s Delight food products were sold nationwide. The farm’s 800 workers at that time worked draft horses, purebred horses and the farm had its own dairy, box factory, ice house, natatorium, greenhouses and gristmill.
Miner also built a 20-bedroom guesthouse and an entertainment center named Harmony Hall, which included an auditorium, complete with a stage large enough for 300 people.
Miner's will established the school and farm, The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, a private, not-for-profit educational research institution with an operational dairy farm and Morgan horse herd located in Chazy, New York on the Adirondack Coast of Lake Champlain.[4] Miner Institute currently encompasses over 8,600 acres of forest and agricultural land in the Little Chazy and Great Chazy river watersheds. The Institute is funded through an endowment, research grants and the sale of milk from its dairy operation. Created in 1951, the Institute’s mission is to offer quality research, education, and demonstration programs addressing critical agricultural and environmental issues relevant to Northern New York, Vermont and Quebec farmers.
References
- ^ A North Country Legend ‘’William H. Miner: A North Country Legend’’, Retrieved October 30, 2011 http://www.whminer.com/Publications/WH%20Miner.pdf
- ^ Miner Open House ‘’Open house shows interest in Miner Institute’’. July 28, 2009 http://pressrepublican.com/0200_opinion/x418921304/EDITORIAL-Open-house-shows-interest-in-Miner-Institute
- ^ Life at Flat Rock. ‘’Life on the Rock’’ Westie, Leland. 2002. http://www.apnmag.com/natural%20selections/past%20stories/jack%20pine/jackpine.htm
- ^ "WHMINER.COM". www.whminer.com. Retrieved 2016-05-10.