DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about John Hart Wilson, right there in Wichita County. Now, if you ever find yourself wondering what it looks like when one man just plain refuses to stop solving problems — pull up a chair, because John Hart Wilson is your answer. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado, grew up in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and by 1914 he had walked out of Purdue University with a degree in electrical engineering.
That right there tells you the direction this man was headed. He joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, then headed to Toledo, Ohio, setting up electrical generating plants.
And then the world called — World War I — and Wilson answered, serving as an engineer. When he came back, did he slow down? Not even slightly.
He organized a company back in Clarksburg to manufacture electric lights — lights designed to be installed on Model T Fords after purchase. Think about that. The car rolled off the lot, and Wilson had already figured out how to improve it.
In 1920, Wilson moved to Burkburnett, joining his brother. And Burkburnett, to its credit, gave him something more than opportunity. That's where he met and married Ella Nevile, a nurse.
Good town. Now here's where the story really starts to hum. Wilson designed a winch — not just any winch, but one that could be mounted to a tractor and moved between oil wells.
That kind of practical genius, out in the oil patch, tends to get noticed fast. The product's success was enough to move his whole manufacturing company to Wichita Falls in 1926. And he was just getting warmed up.
In 1932, he introduced a mechanical drilling rig that helped make steam-powered drilling rigs obsolete. He patented one hundred and eighteen inventions — one hundred and eighteen — including the chain transmission, which made possible the use of larger engines with greater drilling speed and depth potential. He improved a pneumatically controlled clutch, making it possible to control large amounts of power by moving a small actuating valve.
Small valve, enormous consequences. That's elegant engineering. He organized the Wichita Clutch Company to produce that equipment, and he also owned the Wichita Falls Foundry and Machine Company, which produced castings.
The man was building an industrial world piece by piece. And then the world called again — World War II this time. Wilson redesigned and manufactured barrage balloon winches, the kind used to keep low-flying enemy aircraft away from troop positions.
Same man who'd put lights on Model Ts was now helping keep soldiers alive from the ground up. On top of all that, he built houses and commercial buildings. Because apparently he had some extra hours in the day.
One hundred and eighteen patents. Oil fields transformed. A wartime contribution.
Companies built. And the marker says his accomplishments were matched only by his ethics and generosity. In a life that full, that's the part they chose to put on the stone.
John Hart Wilson. Remember that name.
What the marker says
Entrepreneur John Hart Wilson was born in Pueblo, Colorado and grew up in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He graduated from Purdue University in 1914 with a degree in electrical engineering and joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He then worked in Toledo, Ohio, setting up electrical generating plants, before serving as an engineer during World War I. After the war, he organized a company in Clarksburg to manufacture electric lights to be installed on Model T Fords after purchase. In 1920, Wilson moved to Burkburnett, joining his brother. There, he met and married Ella Nevile, a nurse. Wilson designed a winch that could be mounted to a tractor and moved between oil wells; the product’s success led Wilson to move his manufacturing company to Wichita Falls in 1926. In 1932, he introduced a mechanical drilling rig, which helped make steam-powered drilling rigs obsolete. Wilson patented 118 inventions, including the chain transmission, which made possible the use of larger engines with greater drilling speed and depth potential. He also improved a pneumatically controlled clutch, making it possible to control large amounts of power by moving a small actuating valve. He organized Wichita Clutch Company to produce this equipment; he also owned Wichita Falls Foundry and Machine Company, which produced castings. During World War II, Wilson redesigned and manufactured barrage balloon winches, used to keep low-flying enemy aircraft away from troop positions. He also built houses and commercial buildings. Today, John Hart Wilson is remembered as a gifted inventor whose accomplishments were matched only by his ethics and generosity. (2010)