This engine (serial #360122) was made by the Hercules Gas Engine Company of Evansville, Indiana, probably as an Economy engine for Sears, Roebuck, & Company. Hercules began making the Model S in the early 1920s, initially equipping it with a Webster magneto for its ignition. In the mid-1920s, however, the company switched to a Wico magneto. If you look at the side of this engine, you can see its Wico magneto. Wico, originally called the Witherbee Ignition Company, was a major producer of ignitions for the automobile industry as well as the engine industry. Rated at 600 RPM with a 3 1/4" x 5" bore and stroke, this engine – like the other engines in this exhibit – may have been used to power a wide variety of machines around the farm, including butter churns, clothes washers, and cream separators.
The Hercules Gas Engine Company's history has been traced back to William H. McCurdy and the Brighton Buggy Works of Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1894. Supplying Sears, Roebuck and Company with buggies, McCurdy's company grew to the point where he needed larger facilities to meet demand. In 1902, McCurdy moved the company to Evansville, Indiana, and renamed it the Hercules Buggy Company. From the early 1900s to 1909, the Evansville factory produced the Sears Motor Buggy, its first experience with gasoline engines. Even after Sears moved the manufacture of their motor buggies to Chicago, the Hercules Buggy Company continued to produce bodies for the motor buggies.
In 1912, the situation for McCurdy and for Sears changed. Sears had been purchasing its stationary engines from the Holm Machine and Manufacturing Company in Sparta, Michigan. When Holm could not meet the demand of Sears for its engines, McCurdy was asked to become the new supplier. In 1912, the Hercules Buggy Company purchased the Holm Company and moved the manufacturing of stationary engines to Evansville where a new factory was being built. On November 8, 1912, the Hercules Gas Engine Company was formed. In early 1914, the first Hercules engines rolled off the line. They would be the first of about 400,000 engines produced by the Hercules Gas Engine Company until the factory closed in 1934.
If you walk a short distance down the line of engines here in this exhibit, you will find a Hercules Model E 1 1/2 HP engine, made in Evansville around 1921.
In 1912, the situation for McCurdy and for Sears changed. Sears had been purchasing its stationary engines from the Holm Machine and Manufacturing Company in Sparta, Michigan. When Holm could not meet the demand of Sears for its engines, McCurdy was asked to become the new supplier. In 1912, the Hercules Buggy Company purchased the Holm Company and moved the manufacturing of stationary engines to Evansville where a new factory was being built. On November 8, 1912, the Hercules Gas Engine Company was formed. In early 1914, the first Hercules engines rolled off the line. They would be the first of about 400,000 engines produced by the Hercules Gas Engine Company until the factory closed in 1934.
If you walk a short distance down the line of engines here in this exhibit, you will find a Hercules Model E 1 1/2 HP engine, made in Evansville around 1921.
Notes
A good resource for information on the Hercules Gas Engine Company is herculesengines.com, which can be accessed here. It has lots of photos, as well as brochures, owner's manuals, and other items for the Hercules lines of engines. A good narrative of the company's history can be found on the tractorfriends.org website, http://www.tractorfriends.org/tractorsengines/herculesengine/herculesengine.html, which you can access here. For a Hercules engine serial number list, click or touch here.
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