RICHARD DEERING
Luke Kelley’s Reminiscences #4
Submitted by Bob Davisson
Ironton Register August 24, 1854
Many readers know Richard Deering, an inventive genius of a projecting disposition who is sometimes called crazy. Mr. Deering is a tall and white-headed old man who was about Ironton, [Ohio] for seven or eight weeks last winter, talking about a machine for deepening the channel of the Ohio River on the bars in low water.
He was a native of North Carolina and has had many “ups and downs” in life–has been very poor and has been wealthy. He told us, one day, that he made the first salt made on the other side of the river, at Grayson, Carter County, [Kentucky] and, if we mistake not, made the first pig iron (on a small scale) at some little forge or furnace. He projected and did some part or all of the work on the old Argolyte, Pactolus, and Steam furnaces. Argolyte was a forge at first, and we are not sure, but Pactolus was a forge.
Mr. Kelley relates that Richard Deering built the first grist mill in Greenup County, [Kentucky], at the falls of Little Sandy, which stood about two years and was the mill for this region for the time after the day of Kelley’s floating mill. Deering’s mill had its existence between 1803 and 1804, and after it failed, John Kelley built his first horse mill below Union Landing.
After Mr. Deering “burst up” with his mill, which we believe high water carried off, he made salt at or near where the town of Grayson now stands. Sand came into his wells and invented and patented the machine for cleaning them out. The Graysons also went to make salt at the same place and took the liberty to use Deering’s machine. Deering sued and obtained “damages.” This gave him another lift in the world.
Pumping water by hand for his boilers was too tedious for Deering’s inventive genius. It was before the days of using steam power and in the days of experiments. Deering went to work, tinkered up a little steam engine, and took two salt boilers, small affairs of, we believe, only some 30 gallons each, and by putting the two salt boilers together, and fastening them by their horns or handles made a boiler for his engine. All laughed at him, but when done, his crude engine and pumping apparatus worked “to a charm.” The laugh was then on Deering’s side.
One day, after the engine had been in operation some time, the Negro “engineer” went to Deering: “Massa Deering, de boiler made a bad noise–I’s ‘fraid it’ll blow us what all de good n—-s go to.” Deering told him to go back, “it was all right.” He did go back, and sure enough, in a few minutes, the dusky engineer and one more found themselves, the first thing they knew, floundering in the creek, yelling–“Mercy, good Lord! Murder! Poor n—–r!” Nobody killed, however, but that was the last of Deering’s engine.
A short time afterward, Deering was at Greenupsburg in court time. While at dinner, the lawyers “rigged” him on his engine. He bore it very patiently for a while, but finally, he straightened up in his chair:
“Gentlemen,” said he, “it will not be 25 years before boats will be going up the Ohio River by steam.”
That was a signal for a “big laugh.” Deering was “a fool,” “a visionary,” and all that. It was not ten years, however, before this prediction was fulfilled.
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