Lester Allen Pelton - Ohio

I've passed this Ohio Historical Marker honoring Lester Allan Pelton that overlooks a small cemetery at Risden Road many times over the years without stopping. But on my way home from my visit to Ruggles Beach recently, I decided to finally stop and read it.

I was surprised to see that the story of Mr. Pelton is a really interesting one. He was born in Vermilion (well, Vermilion Township) back in 1829, making him a member of one of the pioneering families. As a young man, he apparently got "gold fever" and headed Out West along with the other 49'ers during the California Gold Rush.

He didn't strike it rich digging for gold, but he found work in a variety of other ways, such as fishing, woodworking and carpentry. But spending a lot of time around mining camps put him in contact with water wheels, and after some experimenting, he designed a way to make them much more efficient for generating power.

As noted on the National Inventors Hall of Fame website, "One of the fathers of hydroelectric power, Lester Pelton invented the first water wheel to take advantage of the kinetic energy of water rather than the weight or pressure of a stream. The speed and efficiency of Pelton's wheel made it ideal for generating electricity.

"Pelton designed a wheel with split buckets that harnessed the kinetic energy of a small volume of water flowing at high speed. Properly adjusted, Pelton's wheel could be over 90 percent efficient; other wheels were at best 40 percent efficient. With Pelton's wheel, low-cost hydroelectric power could replace expensive steam engines in mining operations in the western states, where streams rarely flowed at high enough volumes to turn traditional water wheels.

"To keep up with tremendous demand, Pelton and a San Francisco machine shop owner organized the Pelton Water Wheel Company. Today, Pelton's wheel still generates electricity in small hydroelectric power plants in the western United States."

What a great story – and a serendipitous one. Mr. Pelton should be a lot more well-known than he is.

Apparently, the producers of the TV show Death Valley Days (hosted by the Old Ranger) agreed, no doubt liking the Old West aspect of the story. As a result, Mr. Pelton's story was the subject of one episode. The title of the episode? "Wheel of Fortune."