The Steam Donkey
How the Dolbeer Donkey steam engine got its name is one of the real mysteries of the West. Some folks say it was called a "donkey" because loggers thought it was too puny to merit a horsepower rating invented by John Dolbeer, this portable steam engine first appeared in the redwoods near Eureka, California in 1881. The tiny, but mighty machine could be hauled to remote mountaintops and equaled the power of many horses, mules and oxen to reel in huge logs. A few steam donkeys still stand in north coast towns as a tribute to the ingenuity of California's early inventors.
Marker is on South Disneyland Drive, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
