USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume I pt 2 > Part 21
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The universal stagnation which followed the peace of 1815 affected the manufacture of satinets as well as other manufactures, and made the business unprofitable. About the year 1817 Deacon Crittenden sold all his interest to John Willey, who sold the property to Aaron Foot in 1821. He then removed to Pownal, Vt., and engaged in the same business on a limited scale, in connection with wool-carding and cloth-dressing for cus- tomers. About the year 1819 he returned to North Adams and rented the clothing works of Jeremiah Colegrove, doing quite a large business. The yarn was spun on a spinning jenny and woven by hand looms in the stone building of Marshall Jones, on the hill west of Main street bridge. In 1822 Deacon Crittenden formed a copartnership with Evenal Estes, and manufactured satinet in the clothing works of David Estes. The cloth was woven by hand. ten cents per yard being paid for weaving. About this time Giles Tinker, desirous of testing the power loom, made arrange- ments with Estes & Crittenden to try the operation of one. He there- fore went to Providence. R. I., and procured a power loom all fitted up. It was composed almost wholly of iron and was very cumbersome, weigh- ing over five hundred pounds. This loom was among the first introduced into the county. It was operated by Mrs. Asa Peak, successfully, and Estes & Crittenden ordered more of the same kind, which were manufactured by Giles Tinker in the " Old Yellow Building" on Main street. Soon afterward Mr. Tinker introduced the first cotton power loom. mostly constructed of wood, into the " Eagle" factory. The introduction of the power loom, next after the spinning frame, was of vital importance to the cotton manufacture. simpli- fying the business, cheapening the product, and giving employment to a vast number of people. In 1815 Mr. Tinker sold his interest in the Eagle factory and engaged in the mercantile business with W. E. Bray- ton. This continued until 1822, Mr. Tinker still carrying on his machine shop. In 1824 his business of making machinery had enlarged and re- quired more room and a permanent water power. He was pressed with
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orders from all quarters, many coming from distant places. So, in 1825, he purchased of Jeremiah Colegrove the old grist mill and water privi- lege, now the site of M. D. & A. W. Hodge's grist mill, and erected a brick machine shop, called the "Phoenix." In 1828 -he enlarged it, mak- ing it 34 by 110 feet and four stories high. During the same year, while occupying the two lower stories as a machine shop, he filled the upper stories with machinery built by himself, consisting of sixteen looms for sheeting, 456 spindles, and the necessary apparatus. In the same build- ing was for a short time a grist mill with two run of stones, and adjacent thereto, a furnace and trip-hammer shop. In 1829 Mr. Tinker erected for his own residence a brick building on the corner of Main and Bank streets. In the fall of 1832 Mr. Tinker's health had begun to fail from close application to business and from the effects of a severe cold con- tracted by exposure in water while making some repairs, and he died very suddenly at St. Augustine, Florida, where he had gone for his health, in the 52d year of his age. His death was a great loss to the town. He was instrumental in giving the first impetus to cotton manufacturing in North Adams, by his prompt and skilful adaptation . of the requisite machinery. He was an energetic, public spirited citizen, ever ready by voice and example to sustain the right and repel the wrong. As one of the pioneers in the temperance canse he was one of the first to abolish the use of cider in his household. though boarding a large number of men and at a time when cider was regarded as a harmless beverage, and was not even forbidden in temperance pledges. Mr. Tinker practiced what he preached. He was a member of the first organized class of the Methodist Society in North Adams, and was one of the foremost pro- moters of that denomination while he lived. One of his sons, Edward R. Tinker, has been the collector of internal revenue for the Twelfth Con- gressional District for many years. Between Mr. Tinker and Deacon Crittenden there was a marked parallel. Both were men of great me- chanical talent, business sagacity, industrious habits, breadth of mind, and moral character. They were both builders; they built houses. fac- tories, and churches. The pecuniary burden of supporting the first trav- eling Methodist preacher, and the expense of erecting the first Metho list church was borne in great part by Mr. Tinker. Nor was the Congrega- tional Society hardly less indebted for its organization and its first house of worship to Artemas Crittenden. The town lost them both about the same time, as Deacon Crittenden removed to the State of New York about the year 1829. They were both good men and their works have amply justified them.
About the year 1817, Loring Darby and Buel Morton, formerly of Bennington, Vt., fitted up for a cupola furnacea building which had been formerly erected for a trip-hammer shop, on or near the site of the build. ings of the Freeman Manufacturing Company on Union street. Darby & Norton made iron castings for mill gearing and machinery and soul them for six and eight cents per pound. Iron machinery was then coming into
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more general use, from the increased skill in its construction and the de- velopment of cotton and woolen manufacturing, as confidence began to revive after the war of 1812.
Very few stoves were then in use and those were principally cooking stoves of awkward and inconvenient shape. Stoves were made at the furnace of Darby & Norton ; box stoves and cooking stoves nearly square with two ovens, one above the other, and boiler holes on top. The plates were very thick and held together by rods and nuts. The cooking stoves extensively manufactured had dimensions about 33 feet long by 2} feet wide and 2 feet high. The fire chest and boiler holes were on top, the plates were plain and heavy castings, withont ornament, and held to- gether by rods and nuts. The latch and hinges were made of wrought iron and had to be fitted to plates by a blacksmith. It had no pipe but was set on brick work about six inches high. with a fine extending into the fireplace which was bricked up. The heat and smoke passed over and around each end of the oven and under the same to the center of the bottom plate, there entering the brick flue. It cost from $40 to 860, ac- cording to size.
This cupola furnace after being in operation for a short time, stopped about 1826. Otis Hodge, jr. purchased the premises, and in connection with William E. Brayton carried on an extensive business for some years in the manufacture of machine and plow castings. The property was afterward bought by Caleb B. Turner. About 1828 Giles Tinker erected a brick building for preparing his own castings. It stood east and near his machine shop, on the land now occupied by M. D. & A. W. Hodge. After Mr. Tinker's death Alanson Cady and Loring Darby hired the fur- nace and machine shop and carried it on. Afterward Mr. Cady rented the furnace alone and made castings. It was also hired and run four years by William Hodskins. Finally the whole property came into the hands of James E. Marshall, and in 1847 the furnace building was taken down. Turner & Laffin, in 1832, erected a brick furnace on Union street for producing their own castings, and in 1847 William Hodskins erected a furnace on the present site of the Troy and Greenfield freight depot at a cost of $1,900, including the land.
In March, 1822, Rufus Wells. J. L. White, and Sanford Blackinton. already spoken of as apprentices of Artemas Crittenden, commenced bus- iness in Blackinton. . The first factory they built was twenty-five by fifty feet, two stories high. It stood near the road in front of the present mill ; the same building, removed a few rods west of its former position. is now used for storing wool. The price paid for sufficient water power for this mill was about 8300. . The first mill cost about $800. It was fitted up with second hand machinery from an old woolen mill at Williamstown, at an expense of $1,000. The new firm had very little money to start with, and they were all so youthful that for many years their establishment was known throughout the neigh- boring region as the "Boys' Factory." The mill was run for a
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portion of the time on custom work, and a portion of the time in manufacturing satinets, worth about seventy-five cents per yard. The average quantity produced at first was fifty yards per day. All the weaving was done by hand looms in the mill, for twenty cents per yard. The average price of wool per pound for several years was 50 cents, and , of cloth per yard, from 60 to 75 cents, according to quality. The first satinet power looms were used in this mill in 1825 or 1826; they were manufactured by Giles Tinker. In 1825, Wells, Blackinton & White bought out Aaron Foot, who owned a woolen mill near theirs, of about the same size and character. They paid him $6,000, all in manufacturing cloth, he furnishing wool. It proved an unfortunate bargain for Mr. Foot, but an advantageous one for the "boys." They paid him in full in one year, and the market for cloth being very poor, Mr. Foot could not sell the cloth for as much as the wool had cost him. In the early days of manufacturing, the goods were teamed to market by one of the firm. Mr. White usually acting as teamster. The goods were sold to jobbers, always " on time," at first in Albany, afterward in Boston. They did not enjoy the advantages of a bank for about ten years after they started, but transacted their financial business at Troy, Albany, and sometimes at Pittsfield. In 1853 they built a new factory building of wood. It was two stories high, and connected by a race way with the stone mill directly east. It cost about $10,000. In 1856 William T. Blackinton purchased from John R. Blackiuton and John B. Tyler their interest in the firm which was then S. Blackinton & Co., and thus became equal partner with his father, Sanford Blackinton. The firm was then known as S. Blackinton & Son. On the second day of April, 1857. the stone mill, picker house, and dye house were destroyed by fire. causing a stoppage for a year while rebuilding was going on. When the mill be- gan running again the business of the country had not recovered from the panic of 1857, and the business was not pushed for a year or two although the mills were started and continued to run. The breaking out of the war of the Rebellion in 1861 gave the business a great impetus, and the company began to enlarge their plant, gradually extending their build- ings and adding machinery. The last important addition to the capacity of the works was made in 1872, when a large building was erected and considerable machinery was brought from England, making the mill an eighteen set plant or double its capacity at the commencement of the Civil war. During the war the firm had large contracts for the manufacture of army goods and found them profitable. On the 4th of September. 1875, William . Blackinton died very suddenly. His death made it necessary to withdraw his interest from the business, and in 1876 a stock company was formed by Sanford Blackinton. Lemuel Pomeroy, Edward S. Wilkinson, and O. A. Archer, as corporators, under the style of the $. Blackinton Woolen Company, with a paid up capital of $250,000. Since Sanford Blackinton began business in 1822 there has never been a total suspension of work in the mills for any length of time except in case of
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fire. nor has there been at any time a failure to pay employes promptly.
One of the most prominent manufacturers of Adams for a period of nearly twenty years was Stephen B. Brown, who was born in Cheshire, Berkshire county, October 19th, 1798. Soon afterward his father pur- chased a farm in South Adams and there he was reared. He commenced work in the "old brick factory " in South Adams, situate at the north side of the hill on the north of the village of Maple Grove. Mr. Brown began to climb the ladder at an early day, passing from a lower to a higher position in the mill. He commenced business in 1820, in partner- ship with David Anthony, of South Adams, without capital of his own or wealthy friends to assist him. His only reliance was on habits of in- dustry, economy, a spirit of energy and enterprise, and a determination to succeed. The firm of Anthony & Brown began the manufacture of cotton stripe in the little old building which vanished some years since, before the march of improvement, and has given place to a spacious stone mill. Manufacturing in those days differed almost as widely from the present facilities as the old structure differed from the new one. The yarn was spun, dyed of various colors, and carried around in this and adjoining towns to be woven. The prompt ingenuity and industry, and the tireless arms of our mothers, were the motive power then relied on to throw the shuttle and fashion the yarn into fabrics. Notwithstanding their imperfect machinery and straitened means this firm was quite suc- cessful, and about 1824 or 1825 they purchased a water power and erected a small wooden building. thirty by forty feet, on the site of the spacions mill situate at the " Harbor." in Cheshire. Here they put in power looms and made cloth. Mr. Brown at a subsequent period bought out the in- terest of Mr. Anthony, and soon after sold the property to Elisha Jenks and Lincoln Brown. About the same time Mr. Brown and Duty S. Tyler. his brother-in-law, made cotton stripe in the old Turner mill at North Adams, Mr. Tyler residing there, at the Pollock place. Mr. Brown then went to Williamstown and built a part of a spacious mill situate on the main street of the town near the bridge and since burned down. He did not long remain there, but disposed of his interest in the prop- erty and removed to this village in 1827. The next year he formed a partnership with William Jenks, of South Adams, and Duty S. Tyler, of North Adams. Messrs. Brown, Jenks & Tyler leased of Caleb B. Turner for the term of three years, at an annual rent of $1,500, the two cotton factories known as the old " Eagle " and the " Gould Mill." also six dwellings and a brick store. The " Gould Mill" was situated in North Adams on the north side of Union street, and was built by Caleb B. Turner in the year 1826 and filled with machinery for the manufacture of cotton goods. From 1813 to 1834 it was used by C. B. Turner and Tur- ner & Laflin, who built, in 1835, an addition to the south end of the mill. and S. Burlingame & Co. rented the building and furnished it with ma- chinery for the manufacture of satinets. About the year 1840 Willard and Samuel Gould leased the building and put in cotton machinery. The
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building and water power were afterward owned by James E. Marshall, who made print goods. The new company put in some new machinery of their own, running in all forty looms. They made shirtings and print goods and transacted quite an extensive business. Manufacturing under the operation of the tariff of 1828 paid well, and the trio were prosperous as they desired to be. each partner being well adapted to the department assigned to him. At the expiration of the lease in 1831 the firm dis- solved and Mr. Brown, after spending several months travelling through the South and West, formed a connection with Duty S. Tyler, under the firm of Brown & Tyler, for the manufacture of print goods. They pur- chased of George Whitman, for the small sum of $800, the water power and about nine acres of land adjoining, now the site of the mill of the Johnson Manufacturing Company. The stone for the main building was drawn from near the summit of the mountain north of the premises. It was quite hazardous to attempt such a business in Adams at that period, as the business was very intricate in its nature, requiring large capital and an exact understanding of details. Neither of the partners had very much knowledge of what it required. either in the way of buildings or machinery, and the manufacture of prints was shrouded in all possible secrecy by those engaged in it, and experienced workmen were very scarce. The means of the two partners were also comparatively small. Mr. Brown had about $8, 000, and Mr. Tyler 84,000. The new establishment commenced printing goods in the spring of 1832, and carried on an ex- tensive and prosperous business for several years. Probably no two per- sons were better qualified to manage business in partnership than Messrs. Brown & Tyler. the first as main projector and financier, and the latter as a careful superior manager of the innumerable details pertaining to the manufacturing department. The partnership continued prosperously for about eight years, during which time the estate was increased by the purchase of about 300 acres of land adjoining the print works. About 1840 or 1841 Mr. S. B. Brown purchased Mr. Tyler's interest in the print works. He soon received as partners Elisha Harris, of Providence, R. I., and Arthur F. Wilmarth, for a long time vice-president of the Home Il- surance Company of New York. The new firm was Brown, Harris & Co. An immediate heavy outlay was incurred for new machinery and fixtures. Mr. Brown went to Europe and engaged a large force of workmen, paying their expenses here, and giving them high wages for the times. From this cause in part, and from the introduction of low priced delaines, in competi- tion with the high priced prints they were making, the company met with indifferent success, and in 1846 they were obliged to suspend operations. Among the various reasons for their failure, may be assigned as a prominent one, the severe and repeated domestic afflictions Mr. Brown was called on to suffer, together with his own gradually failing health from an irritat- ing disease, which to some extent must have crippled his energies, un. strung his mind, and disqualified him for the post of chief manager. That the embarrassments might have been overcome seems probable, not only
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from the fair dividend which the estate finally paid, but from the full con- fidence and firm credit which the company had extensively gained. The prostration of Mr. Brown's health had been hastened by the death of an amiable and only daughter in the full bloom of married youth, who was an earthly idol of his heart; and about the same time, his only remain- ing child, the son of his fond hopes, was brought home a corpse from a foreign land, where he had in vain sought relief from consumption. This gave a fatal blow to the parent stock. Within four years he had buried all his children and grandchildren. He never arose from his sick bed, but expired April 16th, 1847, leaving a widow to mourn his loss.
Mr. Brown was elected representative of the town in 1834, the first whig member chosen in an old democratic stronghold. He was after- ward chosen for two terms as a senator from Berkshire county. He was not a professed politician, but with sound judgment, business tact, and a knowledge of the public wants, he discharged every duty honorably to himself and beneficially to his constituents. During the last year's of his life, such was the extent and character of his business operations, that no man in town exerted so direct an influence as he over its prosperity or the resources of its industrial population. Mr. Brown was public spir- ited, and ever ready to contribute to worthy objects by his voice and means. Brown, Harris & Co. subscribed $5,000 in aid of the Pittsfield & North Adams Railroad. Mr. Brown said it was better for this village to contribute the whole amount required as a bonus ($31,000) than not to have the road built. He was one of the committee which consummated the introduction of the first railroad into Adams. The effect of Mr. Brown's labors was to create workshops, to develop latent resources, to render waste places productive, and to give scope and reward to a diver- sified industry.
Mr. Brown was a member of the Universalist society in North Adams, contributing liberally to the support of the same, and also to all the de- serving objects of benevolence. As a man he was noted for an ardent and ambitious temperament, correct habits, a high sense of honor -his word being proverbially as good as his bond. Although he did not per- haps reap that pecuniary success which his efforts merited he contribu ted more than any one of his time to the growth and prosperity of the town and the comfort of a great share of its population.
The manufacturing establishment known here as Braytonville is loca- ted one mile west of North Adams, on the road to Williamstown. The water power is one of the most extensive and valuable in town, comprising both branches of the Hoosac River. In 1831 William E. and Thomas A. Brayton formed a partnership under the name and firm of T. A. Brayton & Co., and purchased of Luke Brown the water power and some two and a half acres of land for the sum of 8520 The building of a dam, and the excavation of a canal, for applying water upon the wheels, was expensive. Afterward a cylinder trunk was substituted for a part of the way, obviat- ing all previous difficulties. In 1832 this firm erected a stone mill. 40 by
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74 feet, three stories high, with an attic. The stone for building was drawn from near the summit of the mountain north of the premises. The first set of machinery was built by Captain Giles Tinker, and consisted of twenty looms and fixtures. Print cloths were manufactured 52 by 52 inches wide. Most other mills made 44 by 48 at that time. More land has been added to the premises since the first purchase. In 1853 W. E. Bray- ton sold his interest to T. A. Brayton. In 1851 an addition of wood, 46 feet long, was built at the west end of the mill, and in 1859, a further addition of 24 feet. The building is now 144 by 40 feet, containing 70~ looms and ample preparation. It is contemplated to increase the number of looms to 90, the water power being amply sufficient for 200 looms and preparation. The goods manufactured are sheetings and drillings, of which about 17,000 yards are turned out weekly, consuming seven bales of cotton. Number of hands employed, 55; total population of Braytonville, about 175. Connected with the establishment is a store. Thomas B. Brayton, son of the proprietor, devotes his time and personal attention to the affairs of this flourishing concern.
The Stone mill on River street was erected in 1831 by Edward Rich- mond and General Jabez Hall. The water power and three acres of land cost 8300. The factory building and three dwelling houses cost about $7,000. At first twenty looms were put in, with a complement of ma- chinery ; twenty more looms and equipments were afterward added. Printing cloths were manufactured. Loring Darby, an ingenious me- chanic, was for a short time engaged as a partner in the mechanical op- eration of the mill. Richmond & Hall disposed of the property in 1842 to Joseph Marshall. It was afterward passed into the hands of James E. Marshall. and was purchased of him by Wells, White & Co. Mr. Wells sold his interest to Major Lorenzo Rice. The property is now owned by the Freeman Manufacturing Company and fitted up with new machinery.
That district in North Adams known as the " Union " was originally known as the "Gory lot." This name was probably given to it from the fact that a colored man named Gory lived there alone. He was employed at the flax machine then standing upon the site of the Slater mill. This flax machine was built in the year 1800 by Bethuel Finney, owner of the land and privilege. George Whitman, about 1811, purchased of Mr. Finney the whole premises, and operated the machine for some years, when the dam and mill were carried away by a heavy freshet. Mr. Whitman disposed of the whole property about 1816 to Giles Tinker for the small sum of $600. This property then comprised the whole tract of land and three water privileges from the Slater mill to the Union mill. now used as a school house. Mr. Tinker, in 1826, sole to Artemas Crittenden and Salmon Burlingame the water power of the "Union " mill and one and one half acres of land for $150. In 1830 Dr. Isaac Hodges purchased of Giles Tinker all the remaining land and water power described above for $700. Hodges sold to O. Arnold & Co., in 1831, the water power and three acres of land for $300. They erected the stone mill known as the
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X "Eclipse," now owned by the Arnold Print Works, in the same year. They afterward bought the Slater mill and built extensive additions to the " Eclipse" mill. Dr. Hodges also sold to Willard Gould and Gad Smith three acres of land and water power for a saw mill ..
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