Celebrating a legendary family of Yankee inventors from Franklin who created gadgets ranging from knitting machines to the common hole punch, the Museum of New Hampshire history opens an exhibition April 11th called Those Inventive Aikens: Models, Machines and Mechanic-Inventors of 19th Century New Hampshire. Admission is free on opening day, from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m., thanks to the generous support of exhibition sponsor the Mount Washington Cog Railway. The traveling exhibition, organized and produced by the Belknap Mill Society, will be at the Museum of New Hampshire History, 6 Eagle Square, Concord, through June 13th.

"It's wonderful that the Mount Washington Cog Railway is giving people a day to come into the museum to see this display of Yankee ingenuity for free," said John L. Frisbee, the museum's chief executive officer. "Their sponsorship of the Aiken exhibit demonstrates a real commitment to sharing history with the people of this state."

The history of the Mount Washington Cog Railway is interwoven into the story of the Aiken inventors. "This exhibition is a wonderful tribute to these talented pioneers of modern technology," said Catherine L. Bedor, Marketing Director for the Cog. "As we celebrate the Cog's 130th Anniversary this year, it is especially rewarding to have the many contributions of the Aikens recognized. We are pleased to be part of the exhibition, and welcome everyone to enjoy it on April 11."

In 1837, the Aiken family contributed to the bustling textile industry of the Franklin area by inventing and manufacturing one of the first knitting machines. Over the next century, generations of Aikens came up with ideas for high quality hand tools, household conveniences, and even aeronautics. They invented a carrier for fire hoses and a 600 pound breech-loading cannon. "They were a classic Yankee inventor family," said Dr. Richard Candee, a Boston University professor who guest curated the exhibition.

The exhibition looks not only at the creative genius behind the Aiken's inventions, but the family's many challenges in dealing with the American patent system. Part of the Aikens' success lay in the ability to patent their inventions and bring them to market. Edmund Burke, former U.S. Commissioner of Patents, in 1865 described Herrick Aiken as a man of "true genius." Herrick had learned leather tanning from his father, and by 1823 he had patented nine improvements in tools for that trade. In 1837 he moved to Franklin, N.H. where he continued to invent in a rented machine shop. Over the next 30 years, he requested 60 patents, only a dozen of which were granted.

Herrick's sons also had a knack for mechanical innovation. His oldest son, Walter, helped improve the knitting machines. He manufactured latch needles and an ironing machine. A second son, Jonas, became the most wide-ranging of the Aiken inventors.

In 1847 a spectacular mechanical project was underway in New Hampshire. The Mount Washington Cog Railway was the first in the world to use cog technology to run a train up a mountain, and it tackled the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Even today, the Mount Washington Cog Railway is considered the second steepest cog railway in the world. Walter was very involved in the Mount Washington Cog Railway project, manufacturing four new engines for the railway. He completed the railway to the top, in 1870 built the Summit House, and eventually controlled the company. Walter claimed that his father came up with the idea for the cog railway on Mount Washington, a claim the Aiken family still stands by, even though Sylvester Marsh of Campton, N.H. is generally credited with the invention. The railway's original model, used to persuade investors to back its construction, is also on display at the Museum of New Hampshire History.

Dr. Candee elaborates on many intriguing aspects of the Aiken era in a lecture April 18th called The Aikens and the Patent System. On April 29th, Frank G. White, Curator of Mechanical Arts at Old Sturbridge Village, will speak on Licensed to manufacture and sell: Some early 19th century tool makers. On May 6th, Dr. David Starbuck, instructor of archaeology and anthropology at Plymouth State College, lectures on The Cog Railway on Mount Washington. Admission to the lectures, which are funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council, is free.

The Museum of New Hampshire History, located at the Hamel Center, Eagle Square, Concord, is easily accessible off Exit 14 on I-93. Free parking is available in the museum's parking lot, located off Storrs Street. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday evenings 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Sundays 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call (603) 226-3189 or visit the Museum of New Hampshire History online at www.nhhistory.org.

Admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, and $2.50 for children 6 to 18, with a family maximum of $15.00. Children under 6 and New Hampshire Historical Society members are admitted free. Admission is free on Thursday and Friday evenings.