Our Samson windmill, with its huge 20-foot fan, is a variety that was used in the West and Southwest with several examples of the type being located in Texas. It was manufactured by the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company of Freeport, Illinois. The company, founded by D.C. Stover was incorporated in 1881 and by 1922 had 600 employees. The Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company was shuttered in 1942, but not before diversifying its product line to include many other farm related machinery items and even a very successful bicycle line.
Stover once promoted the Samson windmill in an ad that proclaimed the windmill's "Points of Superiority", which included:
- DETACHABLE BOXES
- PERFECT ALIGNMENT OF GEARS
- DOUBLE GEARS
- CENTER LIFT
- SOLD STEEL DROP FORGED WRIST PIN
- CENTER CRANK WITH BOTH ENDS DRIVEN INSTEAD OF ONE
- MORE THAN FOUR TIMES THE STRENGTH AND WEARING QUALITIES
- PERFECT EQUALIZATION OF LOAD
- ON FOUR BEARINGS INSTEAD OF ONE
We do not know how many were produced, but there were many, including mills that had fans even larger than our Samson. This particular mill was used for pumping water from especially deep wells or where large volumes of water were required. Most of the windmills out in the East Mojave were Aermotors, so this Samson is somewhat unique.
Ernest and Herbert Lanfair erected the Samson windmill at Old Lanfair in 1912. The windmill was operated there for many years and was eventually torn down by the OX Ranch in the early 1980s and replaced with a windmill that was easier to operate. On April 20, 2012, OX Ranch owner Gary Overson donated the windmill to the MDHCA, fulfilling Dennis Casebier's long-time desire to obtain this wonderful artifact.
Having been previously disassembled, the windmill was found to be in many parts and was transported to Goffs by John Terrill and Dennis Casebier. Restoration and reassembly of the windmill was started during the 2012 Spring Encampment by Sharon Holmes and Don Walter. Major task included figuring out how to assemble all the pieces and parts and how to straighten out some bent components. The windmill pieces were moved from the south end of the Goffs property to an area near the Library Depot, where the windmill would find a permanent home.
From September 16-24, 2012 and in October 2012, Don Walter continued his work on the Samson Windmill. After several visits by Don to bolt in the braces, the tower was completed, although it was still lying on the ground. We found a windmill expert by the name of Steve Storm who helped us understand the windmill construction and how to put it back together. After meeting him in November 2013, he came from Northern California to assist Don Walter in his efforts. While working on the tower, the windmill motor was disassembled so the missing and broken parts could be identified. Of these parts, the largest missing item was one of two 25-inch bull gears and we discovered several other broken and missing components. Our volunteers managed repair the 
main hub on the motor shaft, however, Steve said that the mill could not be assembled without both of the bull gears. After a futile search, we were unable to locate the missing bull gear anywhere. A windmill stand was discussed and Steve liked the idea of assembling the motor and vanes of the mill on the ground. After more than 15 months of guidance and insight, Steve left the project in February of 2015 for personal reasons.
We built the stand, but had problems reassembling the motor and vane mechanisms. We carefully installed the motor and arms on the stand in September, 2015. In April 2019, we assembled the arms on the motor and then carefully installed the vanes on the motor. In October of 2019 we installed a proper fence around the windmill motor display, thus completing the artifact assembly, at least until we can find the missing parts.
