Patenting this treadmill design in February 1899, the Desjardins Company of Saint-André Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada manufactured this machine sometime near the beginning of the twentieth century.1 Referred to as a “horse power” at the time, the horse treadmill was in great use from the mid-nineteenth century through World War I. Over time, it would be replaced on many farms on the North American Prairie by the steam engine, the stationary gasoline engine, and the gasoline tractor. Even when the gasoline tractor began its rise to prominence in the late 1910s and 1920s, many farmers continued to rely heavily on horses as a source of power on their land.
Although farmers often used horses as draft animals pulling plows and other pieces of equipment for farming, they also used horses to create belt power or torque (by way of a tumbling rod) which could turn wheels and gears on other machines, moving other parts to perform certain tasks. For example, a farmer or his wife could use a treadmill to power a butter churn, a clothes washer, a cream separator, a corn sheller, a sawing machine, or a log splitter. If using belt power, the farmer or his wife would attach the belt to the belt wheel on the horse treadmill and to a belt wheel on whatever machine he or she was going to use. As the horse walked on the treadmill, the treadmill's "floor" moved and the belt wheel spun. As the belt wheel spun, the belt turned in the direction the wheel was spinning. The belt then turned the wheel on the other machine, for example, a clothes washer. The clothes washer’s wheel, connected to various gears inside the machine, moved the parts that agitated or stirred the clothes around inside the tub.
By using a treadmill, a farmer and his wife could cut down on their own laborious chores, saving their energy for others tasks. For larger chores such as running a thresher, machine companies built treadmills for two, three, or even four horses. For smaller chores in or near the home, machine companies built treadmills for a dog, sheep, burro, or goat. If you would like to see a short video of a horse and treadmill providing belt power to a small threshing machine, click or touch here. If you would like to see a longer video of a horse and treadmill providing belt power to a grain separator, click or touch here.
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An ad for a Gray's Horse Treadmill, often called a
Horse Power, from the 1900 Farm Implement News
Buyer's Guide, vol. X. This ad shows a treadmill
wider than the Desjardins treadmill at Stuhr. This
treadmill has two horses and is powering a wood saw.
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The founder of La Compagnie Desjardins, Charles-Alfred Roy dit Desjardins was born in Saint Louis Kamouraska, Quebec, in what was then called Canada East in 1846.2 By 1867, Desjardins and his wife, Émilie, settled in nearby Saint André Kamouraska, Quebec, where he eventually became a successful businessman in the agricultural equipment industry, and he and his wife became entrepreneurial citizens of the community. He first incorporated his business in 1890 along with his son, Joseph, and a partner named Joseph-F. Paradis, calling the company “Desjardins et Paradis.” At this time, the company was producing a wide variety of agricultural equipment, including farm wagons, treadmills, threshers, grain elevators, water wheels, stoves, kettles, and seeders. In 1899, the company trademarked the name “Champion Canadien,” and in 1901, the company was renamed “La Compagnie Desjardins.” In 1912, the company trademarked the name “Call of the West,” a name often associated with its well-known stationary engines. Charles-Alfred died in 1934, but his company continued. Today, Les Industries Desjardins, a maker of fuel tanks, sawmill machinery, and agricultural machinery, traces its history back to Charles-Alfred.3
Notes
1 A patent date of Fevrier (February) 14, 1899 can be found painted on the side of this treadmill, corresponding to Desjardins' Canadian patent, CA 62645. Later in 1899, Desjardins applied for and obtained a patent for a treadmill design in the United States. The U.S. patent, Number 635956, can be found here. Although it has the year 1899 painted on it, we dated this treadmill to c. (circa, “around”) 1901 because the company did not use the name “La Compagnie Desjardins” until 1901.
2 The Virtual Museum of Canada provides some information about Desjardins and Kamouraska in English on their website which you can access here. The site includes several old photographs. If you are able to read French, you can find even more information on the website. Desjardins also served in the provincial legislature of Quebec in the 1890s, and the Assemblée Nationale Québec provides a little information on Desjardins in French on their website which you can access here.
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