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Windmill
Manufacturers
Rork Bros. Windmill
For many years this Rork windmill provided power to pump water for livestock on a Meridian
Township farm. Beginning in the early 1890s, James S. Rork and his brother Michael made
windmills and pumps in their North Lansing factory. James Rork also participated in local
government by serving on the Board of Water Works and Electric Light Commissioners.
The Rork windmill head shown in the exhibit gallery was loaned to the Michigan
Historical Museum for the Lansing 1897 exhibit by the Michigan Agricultural
Heritage Program, Michigan State University Museum. Volunteers from the M.S.U. Museum
restored and assembled it for this exhibit.
Maud S Windmill & Pump Company
Organized as an offshoot of the Lansing Iron and Engine Works, the Maud S Windmill &
Pump Company was formed to market a double-acting force pump invented by Henry French of
Dimondale. The company made wood and steel tanks and hand pumps as well as windmill pumps
and towers.
 The company took its name from a famous
trotting horse owned by New York financier William H. Vanderbilt. The Maud S motto was,
"If you want the best goods at fair prices, get the Maud S. If you want cheap goods,
look elsewhere; we do not make them."
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