The Grace Armantrout Museum in George West is embarking on a new and important historical project. They recently obtained an antique Fairbanks Morse 208 “hit n miss” engine through the generous donation of it by Tommy Humphrey of Texas Industrial Engines located on US 281 just north of George West. With this engine as a power source, they plan to demonstrate the importance of the development of these early engines in the mid-to-late 1800s.

Their first venture will be to obtain an antique stone burr grist mill to be powered by the engine to demonstrate the process of converting ear-corn into cornmeal, grits and flour. It will be good to show our children that these products have not always been found on grocery shelves in neat cardboard boxes. They plan to have the demonstrations at the museum, at county fairs, at Story Fest, Salsa Fest and other events which draw crowds.

As they are able, they plan to obtain other antique machines, such as pump jacks, saw mills, drag saws, threshing machines and others that can be powered by a belt drive system. They hope that some of the readers may have some of these types of machines in their possession and be willing to donate them to the museum. They have located a stone burr grist mill which has been completely restored in North Carolina. However, being located at such a great distance, it will cost $4,500 to purchase, crate and ship it to George West. Therefore, they are looking for donations to help us buy this machine. Any amount will be appreciated and all donations to the museum are tax-exempt.