National Sprinkler History

I stole some history info from the National website. I had a few images to include with it. The man Pulling the Large Sprinkler in front of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska is unknown to me but the younger of the two men in the other photo is Walt Ferris (Founder of National Manufacturing) and I believe the man with him is John "Jack" Wilson the inventor of the Walking Sprinkler. The text below is directly from the National Website.

History

Around 1930, John “Jack” Wilson designed and produced the “Automotive Traveling Sprinkler” at Wilson Automotive Sprinkler Company in North Platte, Nebraska. Throughout 1930 to 1941, Wilson was an engineer and custodian at the senior high school and frequently used the invention to water school grounds. Wilson applied for a patent on October 19,1937 and it was approved March 1,1939. Within the patent application, the invention was described as similar to a lawn sprinkler. “A purpose of the invention is a sprinkler that is movable over a lawn. Due to water being forced through the sprinkler, the sprinkler is moved along the route of a hose through a motor-like interchange,” the application stated.

In the 1940s, production of Wilson’s invention was about to take off but World War II broke out and supply of scrap metal was hard to come by. Due to this, production of the sprinkler slowed throughout the war. In 1941, Wilson moved to Whittler, California and on March 26, 1946, he died in San Diego at the age of 69.

National Manufacturing Company, a company located in Lincoln, Nebraska, had its beginnings around 1917 and manufactured Fire-less cookers. The company diversified into producing airplane parts, bomb shelters, v-belts used by Goodyear, lawn-care implements, and test kitchen equipment. National Manufacturing obtained the walking sprinkler patent sometime after WWII and produced sprinklers with Wilson’s original design and patent information printed on the side.

Wilson’s patent expired in 1960. Since that time, National Manufacturing has produced sprinklers very similar to Wilson’s original model—with some versions differing slightly. In 1985, the company was bought by TMCO, Inc., which to this day still produces the Walking Sprinkler.

Kee's Krawler, Sears Roebuck, Craftsman, Thompson Pathfinder, PARTS!!

Hello Again Sprinkler Fans. I wanted to take a moment to tell you all that you can no longer fear the demise of you old Thompson, Sears, or Kee's Sprinklers. Why? you may ask. The reason for this is that your sprinkler was made by or closely ripped off from the classic National Walking Sprinkler. National is still based in Lincoln Nebraska, and still produces the same great sprinkler it has been making since the 1930's. You can inquire about parts by checking out the website. www.nationalwalkingsprinkler.com
The light Blue Sears sprinkler to the left was rebuilt with 100% National parts.
Until Next Time...

Hello

This Blog will be a resource for anyone who enjoys walking tractor lawn sprinklers. I plan on adding as much information about the National Brand as well as others Like Kee's, Thompson, Craftsman, etc. I hope to include helpful hints on rebuilding, finding parts, and using your vintage or new Walking Sprinkler's. Give me time and I will slowly update.