USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Holyoke > Report of the history and present condition of the Hadley Falls Company at Holyoke, Massachusetts > Part 1
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A
REPORT
ON THE
HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION
OF
THE HADLEY FALLS COMPANY
AT
HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.
MOLYO
Published by Order of the Stockholders.
BOSTON: PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON & SON, 22, SCHOOL STREET. 1853.
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A
REPORT
OF THE
HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION
OF
THE
HADLEY FALLS COMPANY
AT
HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Published by Order of the Stockholders.
BOSTON: PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON & SON, 22, SCHOOL STREET. 1853.
.... 311804
.
REPORT.
THE Directors of the Hadley Falls Company, having been instructed by the stockholders to prepare a statement of the history of the company, present the following report, in compliance with the said order : -
The Connecticut is the largest river of New England, and the only one in that portion of the country which can maintain a respectable position in comparison with the im- mense rivers which are peculiar to the New World. This is no inconsiderable stream. It has its source in a small piece of water called Connecticut Lake, in the northern part of New Hampshire, near the line between Canada and the United States ; and, after reaching that line in its course, its western bank is the boundary between the States of Vermont and New Hampshire. It then crosses the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and reaches the ocean through Long Island Sound. Its whole length is but little less than four hundred miles. Its general course, for the first eighty miles, is south- west ; but afterwards it is due south. Its breadth, where it first washes the shores of Vermont, is about a hundred and fifty feet, and, in the course of sixty miles, increases to three hundred and ninety feet. In Massachusetts, where its width is least, it is about five hundred feet ; and, where it is greatest, it is rather more than twice this. It receives, throughout its course, the waters of numerous tributary streams.
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The whole fall, from the source of the river to tide-water, is one thousand five hundred and eighty-nine feet ; of which, however, more than two-thirds is in the first hundred miles of its course, where it possesses the character of a mountain- stream. The rest of the descent occurs in rapids, and falls at two or three points.
The only such points, after the river has gained any con- siderable size, are at Bellows Falls in Vermont, forty miles north of the line of Massachusetts, where there is a total fall of forty-two feet ; and two points in Massachusetts, viz. Tur- ner's Falls, at Montague, where there is a total fall of seventy feet, and the South Hadley Falls, where there is a total fall of sixty feet. There is no considerable fall below these, although there are some rapids at Enfield, in Connecticut, where the river is broad, and a few timbers have been bolted together across it, for the purpose of directing a current of water into a canal upon the bank, for the use of boats. The fall here, however, is not sufficient to prevent the passage of small steamboats over the rapids. Below Hartford, the river is navigable for small sloops; and below Middletown, for vessels drawing ten feet of water. These facts, indicat- ing the freedom of the river from obstructions to its navi- gation below the South Hadley Falls, prove the absence of any considerable fall below those we have mentioned, and that there is no obstacle to boat navigation as far up as that point.
The valley of the Connecticut River, particularly in Massa- chusetts, is celebrated for its fertility and beauty. There are broad meadows upon each side of the stream, and their soil is kept continually rich by the proximity and annual overflow of its waters. The introduction of railroads into New Eng- land, traversing every portion of its territory, has served to connect this valley with other parts of the country, by numer- ous easy channels of communication.
The course of the river, between two, and across two, of the States of New England, with the situation of the places which we have mentioned, and the lines of railroad, may all
5
be found delineated upon the little map at the beginning of this pamphlet.
These facts could not. fail to attract, sooner or later, the attention of capitalists to the peculiar facilities afforded by the Connecticut for the establishment of mills upon a large scale. While, in Massachusetts, every fall in the rivers of the second class, such as the Merrimack and Charles, and, indeed, every "privilege " upon the smallest and most insig- nificant streams, has been seized upon for the use of some mill or factory, the noble Connecticut had been long almost entirely neglected, except perhaps where a meagre power could be obtained, without the aid of a dam, by diverting a portion of its waters into a side-canal, for moving some small establishment. This neglect would be inexplicable, were it not obvious that the extraordinary magnitude of the enter- prise required, in a corresponding degree, more than ordinary forethought, skill, and capital, for its accomplishment. But it is equally obvious, that such an enterprise, when carried out, should be successful and productive in a corresponding degree.
In 1847 the attention of several gentlemen of Boston was turned to the subject ; and, perceiving the immense capabili- ties afforded by the Connecticut River for building up a great manufacturing power, they determined to enter upon the work. Accordingly, at the next session of the legislature of Massachusetts, they obtained an act of incorporation, which was granted to " Thomas H. Perkins, George W. Lyman, Edmund Dwight, their associates and successors," under the name of the HADLEY FALLS COMPANY, " for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a dam across the Connecticut River, and one or more locks and canals in connection with the said dam ; and of creating a water-power, to be used by said corporation for manufacturing articles from cotton, wool, iron, wood, and other materials, and to be sold or leased to other persons and corporations, to be used for manufacturing or mechanical purposes, and also for the purposes of naviga- tion." The capital stock of the corporation was fixed at four
6
millions of dollars, to be divided into shares of five hundred dollars each ; and authority was given to hold real estate not exceeding in value five hundred thousand dollars, exclusively of improvements.
In conformity with the authority conferred by this charter, the Hadley Falls Company purchased the property and fran- chise of the "Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Connecticut River," and also extinguished the fishing-rights existing above their present dam.
We mentioned above three points on the Connecticut, where a considerable descent of water may be found : Bel- lows Falls, forty-two feet; Turner's Falls, seventy feet ; and the South Hadley Falls, sixty feet. The first was ineligible in consequence of the character of the river at the place, the banks being steep and precipitous, affording scarcely any open space for the erection of buildings. The fall, moreover, here is less than at either of the other points. For somewhat similar reasons to those just mentioned, the privilege at Turner's Falls did not appear so eligible a locality for the operations of the company as that selected.
The South Hadley Falls presented several peculiar advan- tages. As it was the lowest point of the three upon the river, it, of course, afforded the largest volume of water. The river at this place makes a large semicircular curve, the falls being situated at the beginning of the bend. The land enclosed by the river affords a clear and plane space for the erection of factory buildings, to the west of which the ground rises by a gentle elevation, affording admirable sites for the erection of houses. This spot, moreover, now known by the name of HOLYOKE, was distant but eight miles by railroad from Springfield, the great railroad centre of Western Massa- chusetts ; whence Boston, New York, and Albany, can all be reached in half a day, and Philadelphia or Baltimore, Buffalo and Montreal, in one day more. The ground was as yet unoccupied by any dwellings, thus giving a fair field for beginning operations.
This place was accordingly selected as the site of the " new
7
city." Besides the water and fishing rights already alluded to, the company owns here, by original and subsequent pur- chases, eleven hundred acres of land, comprising nearly all of the promontory included within the bend of the river, and adjacent lands upon the rising ground. The company also own several other tracts of land in the vicinity.
It was at first contemplated to throw across the river a temporary dam, which, while it would serve as a protection to the erection of one more substantial below it, would an- swer the purposes of the company until such permanent dam should be completed. The first dam was accordingly built with less regard to strength than the result proved would have been prudent. It was not able to resist the force of the November 19, 1848 Fr about to . clook P.M. river, and was carried away a few hours after the gates were closed. The shutting of the gates occurred earlier than had been designed, in consequence of a freshet in the river.
The company immediately proceeded to the erection of the present dam, upon a very different and a much stronger plan, which, as it has already defied the strength of the current of the river for three years, will no doubt remain permanent in- definitely. This dam was begun and finished in the summer of 1849. Its length is one thousand and seventeen feet, about one-fifth of a mile. At the two ends are abutments of heavy masonry, the amount in both being nearly thirteen thousand perches. Between these abutments it is composed of heavy timbers, the smallest being twelve inches square, which are built up in such a way as to present on the upper side a sur- face of plank inclined at an angle of 21° 45' to the water of the river. The timbers which cross the river transversely are supported by other timbers at right angles with them, which are arranged in a hundred and seventy sections, six feet apart. The ends of these timbers, parallel with the course of the river, are spiked to the solid rock, at the bottom of the channel, with one-and-a-quarter inch iron bolts, of which there are nearly three thousand. Four millions of feet of timber are contained in the structure, all of which, being under water, is protected from decay. Gravel was filled in,
8
and well pounded down at the foot of the dam, which is still further protected by the addition of a mass of concrete. As the timber work went up, the whole foundation, ninety feet in extent, and all the open spaces, were packed solidly with stone to the height of ten perpendicular feet. The planking of the upper portion of the dam was doubled to a thickness of eighteen inches of solid timber, all treenailed, spiked, and strongly bound together. The rolling top or combing was then covered with sheets of boiler plate, placed side by side, and extending the whole length of the dam. The gravelling in the bed of the river begins seventy feet above the dam, and is continued over thirty feet or more of its sloping surface, which is ninety-two feet in length from the foot to the crest of the dam.
During the construction of the dam, the water was allowed to flow through gates in it sixteen by eighteen feet, of which there were forty-six in all, when the work was finished. At twenty-two minutes before one o'clock in the afternoon of Oct. 22, 1849, the engineer gave a signal, and half of the gates were closed ; another signal immediately followed, and the alternate gates were also closed :- the river ceased its flow, until its waters, gradually collecting, rose upon the face of the dam, and finally fell in a broad sheet over its crest.
The firm basis upon which this dam stands, founded, as it is, upon the solid rock at the bottom of the river; the strength and solidity of the structure, by which the several parts support each other, and the whole is firmly bolted to its foundation ; the thick bed of gravel on the upper end of the dam, and the filling in with stone between the timbers; the substantial manner in which the work was executed under the superintendence of careful engineers ; * the effect of the water upon the material of which it is constructed, ren- dering it practically imperishable; and the safety with which it has passed through the severe trials of the freshets of three years, -these things leave no room for doubt as to its per- manence and security.
* John Chase, Esq. was the principal engineer.
PLAN OF THE HADLEY FALLS COŞ DAM. Scale, 1/12 of an inch to the foot.
Height 30 fcet
CONCRETE
Drawn by S. Chase
HVETEA LYTTE CON
9
At the western end of the dam, as is indicated upon the plan at the end of this pamphlet, the water of the river is drawn out in a canal for the supply of the mills. The water is conveyed into this canal by means of thirteen gateways. There is also a stone lock. The sides of the canal are built of solid masonry. The width is a hundred and forty feet at the bottom, and a hundred and forty-four feet at the surface. The canal is designed for twenty feet depth of water.
The entire fall of water is so great as to allow it to be used twice, by sets of mills, upon two different levels. The water in the main canal from the river, after proceeding a distance of a thousand and thirteen feet, branches off into the canal of the upper level, in which it is designed that it should be conveyed for a distance of about a mile and a quarter, supplying mills upon this level. Two of these are already built, and the sites where others may be located are marked upon the plan. This canal, for the supply of the mills of the upper level, is of the same dimensions as the canal lead- ing from the dam at the point where it diverges from it ; but the width is gradually lessened, at the rate of one foot of width for every hundred feet of length, as it continues south- wardly, since the quantity of water to be conveyed will be diminished by the consumption by the mills. It is generally designed for fifteen feet depth of water. At the extreme southern end it will be eighty feet wide. The water from the upper canal, passing through the mills of the upper level, and moving their machinery, falls into a race-way of the same dimensions as the canal, and running parallel with it at a distance of four hundred feet from it, but on a level twenty feet below that of the upper canal. By this race-way, the water, which has once been used in the mills on the upper level, is brought back again to a point near the margin of the river ; whence it is designed to be conveyed by the lower canal, nearly two miles in length, along the bank of the river, at the distance of about four hundred feet from it ; affording sites for another series of mills, as may be seen by the plan, between the lower canal and the river. The water from the
2
10
lower canal, passing through the mills on the lower level falls back directly into the river. The streets are carried across the canals by neat and substantial bridges.
The exact fall, from the river above the dam to the still water below, is 59% feet. Of this, twenty feet are used by the mills on the upper level, leaving a fraction less than forty feet fall for the most southerly mill on the lower level. The mills on the northern end of the lower level, of course, do not have so much fall, as they deliver the water directly into the river, which is higher just under the dam than below, on account of the rapids. All of the mills on the lower level, however, will have at least thirty feet of effective fall through- out the year.
There is a direct connection between the upper and lower canals by means of guard-gates and a lock, so that timber can be floated on either canal for convenience in building ; and the upper canal may be continued by a curve to the river be- low the rapids, so that at any future time, if the canal around the falls on the opposite side of the river should be discon- tinued, there will be a passage for boats on the western side.
As has been stated, there are two mills belonging to the company already built and in operation upon the upper level. Besides these, the smaller factory of the "Hampden Mills Company," incorporated by the legislature of 1853, is now building on a triangular piece of land, south of the railroad, and north of the No. 1 mill. Upon the lower level is already built and in operation the machine-shop of the Hadley Falls Company. The position of these buildings will be ascer- tained by reference to the plan.
The upper canal is at present extended a thousand feet beyond the mills already built, making 2,625 feet from the dam; and the connecting race-way is of the same length. They will be continued southward as fast as new mills are built. The lower canal is at present one thousand feet in length, and workmen are engaged in a further extension beyond the machine-shop. It can be continued, according to the plan, as fast as desired.
MOLYOR
PUBLIC
11
The two mills already built are of the first class, and are provided with machinery for the manufacture of cotton goods. Their dimensions are two hundred and sixty-eight feet in length, by sixty-eight in width. They are five stories in height. No. 1 has 18,432 spindles for No. 14 yarn; and No. 2 has 30,700, for No. 80 yarn.
The rules which have been adopted for the regulation of the persons employed in the factory are designed to se- cure their personal comfort and advantage, as well as to protect the interests of the company. We subjoin a part of them : -
No persons will be employed who are intemperate or immoral in their habits.
All persons in the employ of the company are requested to observe the regulations of the rooms in which they are employed ; they are not to be absent from their work without consent, except in case of sickness, and then notify the overseer; and those having no family, and not members of any family residing in the place, are expected to board in the houses of the company.
No children, under the age of fifteen years, will be allowed to be employed in the mills, unless they have attended school, according to the Revised Statutes of the State.
It is desirable that all persons in the employ of the company, who have not had the kine-pox, should be vaccinated, which will be done at the expense of the company for all those who wish it.
These regulations are to be strictly observed by all persons in the employ of the HADLEY FALLS COMPANY under the charge of the manufacturing agent, and any breach of a non-compliance will be considered a just ground for a discharge.
Convenient boarding-houses are erected for the use of the operatives. These are owned by the company, and rented, at comparatively low rates, to respectable keepers. They are built of brick, in the most substantial style, and are supplied with all the usual conveniences of modern dwelling-houses. The regulations regarding them are as follows : -
The tenants of the boarding-houses are not to board, or permit any part of their houses to be occupied by any person not in the employ of the manufacturing department of the Hadley Falls Company, without special permission ; and when required, give an account of the number, names,
DOYJON
12
and employment of their boarders, and report the names of such as are guilty of improper conduct.
They will be considered answerable for any improper conduct in the house, and not permit their boarders to have company at unseasonable hours.
The doors to be closed at ten o'clock in the evening. They are also requested not to allow their boarders or other persons to collect on the front steps, or side-walk in front of their tenement.
The buildings, yards, and front walk of each tenement must be kept clean and in good order; and if injured, otherwise than from ordinary use, all necessary repairs will be made and charged to the occupant.
The rents must be paid monthly, and within three days after the operatives have been paid in the factory.
A register is kept, at the office of the mills, of all the opera- tives who work there, in the following form :-
REGISTER OF THE HADLEY FALLS COMPANY.
NAME.
ROOM.
RESIDENCE.
COMMENCED.
LEFT.
REMARKS.
The new building of the Hampden Mills is a hundred and ninety-eight feet in length, and seventy feet in width; and the adjoining buildings have an aggregate length of three hundred and thirty-eight feet. This will be provided with machinery for the manufacture of fancy goods.
The machine-shop is four hundred and forty-eight feet in length ; the central portion of the building being eighty feet by forty-eight, with a wing on each side two hundred feet by sixty. The foundry in its rear is a hundred and sixty feet by sixty, and the blacksmith's shop is two hundred feet by forty-eight. All of these buildings are connected ; and there are several other smaller ones adjoining, for the storage of articles, and other subsidiary purposes.
The machine-shop is provided with the requisites for the manufacture, on the spot, of all the machinery used in mills. Most of the machinery in the second mill, and every
13
thing for the new mill of the Hampden Mills Company, was made here, including the turbine-wheels, and the conduit- pipes of iron, leading to each, one hundred feet in length, cast in pieces seven feet long and seven feet in diameter. All of the pipes, fixtures, and apparatus of the gas-works and water-works were made here. There is a branch-track, built and owned by the company, from the railroad to the machine-shop, foundry, and lumber yard, about a mile in length ; and the railroad connections of Holyoke afford great facilities for the supply of materials, and all necessary ar- ticles.
The water-works at Holyoke are calculated for the supply of a large population and extensive establishments. The water is forced from the Connecticut River, above the dam, into a reservoir, by means of two pumps of the same general description as those used, with so much success, at the celebrated Fairmount Works, for the supply of the city of Philadelphia with water from the Schuylkill River. The reservoir is situated upon the rising ground to the west of the mills. The water in it stands at an elevation of seventy- seven feet above the top of the dam. Its capacity is two millions of gallons. One pump, working alone, can fill it in two weeks, besides supplying the daily consumption. The water is conveyed from the pumps at the river's edge, to the reservoir, a distance of 1020 feet, in an iron pipe of fifteen inches internal diameter. From the reservoir it is distributed throughout the place by mains and pipes of different sizes ; the total length of all the pipes, at present laid down, being 13,019 feet, or about two and a half miles.
The water has been brought into all the boarding-houses, mills, and the machine-shop. The head is sufficient to carry it above the roof of the highest mills upon the upper level. The advantages of security against loss by fire thus afforded, as well as the comfort and convenience of the residents of the place, in having an ample supply of pure water brought to their doors, cannot be too highly estimated. These works were built and are owned by the company.
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The company have also built and maintain gas-works. The location of the gasometer and retort-house, on the river's bank, in the rear of the machine-shop, will be observed on the plan. The retort-house is built to contain sixteen benches of retorts, each bench having three retorts, which will make more than twice as much gas as is now consumed in the place, and will easily admit of further extension. The gasometer is sixty feet in diameter, and twenty feet high. There is also a purifying-house, built upon the same liberal plan. The gas is conveyed throughout the place by means of between two and three thousand feet of mains and pipes of not less than twelve inches diameter. The mills and the machine-shop are at present furnished with gas-fixtures; and it will shortly be introduced into the boarding-houses, and used for lighting the streets. The construction of the gas- works was begun on the first of June, 1852, and was so far finished that one of the mills was lighted in four months. All the castings, as well as the gasometer, were made at the machine-shop.
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