author
David R. Cooper
A practical early-20th-century writer on rural technology, he focused on showing how small streams and farm sites could be turned into useful power. His work captures a moment when homegrown engineering and self-sufficiency were closely linked.
1 Audiobook
Water Power for the Farm and Country Home
by David R. Cooper
About the author
Little biographical information about David R. Cooper is easy to confirm from major reference sources, but his surviving work shows a clear interest in practical engineering for rural life.
He is known for Water Power for the Farm and Country Home, published in 1911 for the New York State Water Supply Commission. In that book, he explains how farmers and country homeowners could develop small-scale water power for everyday use, with an emphasis on clear, usable guidance rather than theory.
That makes his writing especially appealing today: it reads as both a technical manual and a snapshot of an era when local energy, mechanical ingenuity, and making the most of natural resources were part of daily life.