{"nrhp_refnum":"77001465","name":"Canon Ranch Railroad Eclipse Windmill","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"W of Sheffield on Canon Ranch","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sheffield","county":"Pecos County","state":"TX","lat":30.745872328000075,"lon":-101.97530531499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large wood, cast iron and steel windmill with a 22-1/2 foot wheel, located in the corral area near the ranch headquarters of the Charles C. Canon Ranch west of Sheffield, Pecos County, Texas. It was installed in 1898 by William Canon.","why_significant":"It is described as one of the few operable Railroad Eclipse windmills remaining in the United States. This model was the largest commercially produced windmill in the country and was widely used along railway routes in the arid Southwest. The 22-1/2 foot size was the largest the Eclipse Company ever built, and the mill served as the ranch headquarters' primary water source for many years.","narrative":"Rising above the corral area of the Charles C. Canon Ranch west of Sheffield, Texas, this Railroad Eclipse windmill is built of wood, cast iron and steel. Its wheel measures 22-1/2 feet across and carries 232 wooden blades. William Canon, a rancher with extensive holdings west of the Pecos River, put it up in 1898 to replace a mule-driven pump at the ranch headquarters. Railroads had brought windmills to West Texas around 1881 to supply water for steam locomotives, and this model was the largest the Eclipse Company ever made. A newer telescoped tower replaced the original in 1915. After a windstorm damaged the mill in the early 1960s, Charles C. Canon, the builder's son, had it fully restored in 1964. It is considered one of the few operable windmills of its type left in the United States, and an electric motor now drives the well plunger below it.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"William Canon","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored in 1964 and described as in excellent operating condition; an electric motor currently operates the well plunger beneath the windmill.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.320704-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/64/9731/40973164/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/77001465.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001465/0ea4ddc68f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001465/0ea4ddc68f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"I.G. Holmes","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canon_Ranch_Railroad_Eclipse_Windmill.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">I.G. Holmes</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canon_Ranch_Railroad_Eclipse_Windmill.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973164","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_Ranch_Railroad_Eclipse_Windmill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5033265"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/pecos-county/canon-ranch-railroad-eclipse-windmill-77001465/"}