Canon Ranch Eclipse Windmill

The Canon Ranch Railroad Eclipse Windmill is one of the few operable Railroad Eclipse Windmills remaining in the United States. These windmills were the largest commercially produced windmills in the United States and were used extensively along the railway routes through the arid Southwest. The Canon Ranch Railroad Eclipse Windmill operated for many years as the primary source for water at the Canon Ranch headquarters.

One of the most important engineering achievements which influenced the development of West Texas and New Mexico was the windmill. Windmills have been used in Europe since before the 12th century. However, the European windmill, often 50 to 100 feet in diameter, was too large to be successfully used and transported in the West. Daniel Halladay, a mechanic from Connecticut, is credited with the invention of the first American windmill in 1854 which proved to be a marketable product. In 1857, the U.S. Wind Engine Company was formed for manufacturing the Halladay windmill.

The first windmills came to West Texas about 1881 with the coming of the railroads. A dependable supply of good quality water was necessary for steam locomotive boiler supply. Both the Southern Pacific and Texas & Pacific Railroad Railroads made use of the windmill for water supply. These railroads used windmills made by the Eclipse Windmill Company similar to the one located at the Canon Ranch.

In 1898 William Canon, the owner of extensive ranching interests west of the Pecos River in Texas, was determined to replace the mule-driven pump at his ranch headquarters with a wind-driven pump. He probably chose the large railroad-style Eclipse Windmill because of its ability to pump water from deep drilled wells. The model that he chose, a twenty-two and a half foot diameter windmill, was the largest ever constructed by the Eclipse Company.