Edison Patent Model of Electric Distribution System, 1887

The Firestone barn is a Pennsylvania-German bank barn, an American barn type with Swiss origins. They are called bank barns because the barn is built into a bank, allowing wagons to be driven into the upper floor. Bank barns combined multiple farm functions under a single roof. Livestock were kept in the lower floor, crops on the upper floor.

Steam power initially spread in the United States via its adoption and adaptation in ships and boats. This early mill engine's layout and dimensions are firmly rooted in Mississippi riverboat practice, while its applied decorative detail and vibrant color scheme speak to the increasingly elevated status of steam technology as it found a firm footing in mills and factories.