History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 86

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 86

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At the present time the management of the busi- ness is vested in S. W. Putnam's four sons,-Charles F., Henry O., Salmon W. and George E. Putnam, -- and the works are in full and prosperous operation.

Besides steam-engines a very great variety of ma- chines is made by the company, including lathes, drills, bolt-cutters, gear-cutters, planers, car-wheel borers, shafting, water-wheels, wheel-presses, hangers,

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

pulleys, &c. ; in fact, all kinds of machinery known as machine-shop and special railroad tools.

To show how far their products go, it may be here stated that the first two machine-shops built in China were entirely furnished with machinery made by the Putnam Machine Company. And it is also worth noting that it was the fortune of this company to make the rock-drills, air-compressors and other ma- chinery which rendered possible the completion of that vast engineering feat, the Hoosac Tunnel.

The Putnam Tool Company, with works on Walnut Street, was established in 1882 with Salmon W. Put- nam, president, and George E. Putnam, treasurer, and manufactured railroad and machine tools. March 18, 1886, it was consolidated with the Putnam Machine Company.

At the present time the four Putnam brothers and their mother hold a controlling interest in the com- pany, which is officered as follows : President, Charles F. Putnam; Vice-president, Salmon W. Putnam; Treasurer, Henry O. Putnam ; General Superintendent, George E. Putnam.

Each of the seven special departments of manufac- ture has an able man at its head as foreman. Over five hundred hands are employed, many of whom are skilled workmen who have grown old in the employ of the company.

A New York house is maintained as an exhibiting and distributing establishment.

The Fitchburg Steam-Engine Company .- The busi- ness of this company was founded in 1871, under the name of the Haskins Machine Company, and is carried on in a substantial brick building on Water Street, occupying the site of the Heywood chair-shop, burnt in 1870.

John F. Haskins organized this company and went into the building as soon as it was completed, and on April 4, 1872, he gave a grand ball in honor of the dedication of the building to the uses of the Haskins Machine Company. Mr. Haskins was full of fun and frolic and, though now a resident in lands across the ocean, is well remembered by many Fitchburg people.

The company manufactured the Blake Patent Pump and the Ellis Vapor Engine chiefly.

In 1875 Hale W. Page, Frederick Fosdick and Charles Fosdick purchased the entire concern, together with its good-will, and changed its name to the Fitch- burg Steam Engine Company. Mr. Page was president of the company until his death, May 17, 1887, when Frederick Fosdick was chosen to the position. The officers of the company at the present time are: Presi- dent, Frederick Fosdick ; Superintendent, Charles Fosdick ; Treasurer, William E. Sheldon; Secretary, William J. Clifford.

This company employs about sixty hands, most of whom are skilled workmen, and manufactures hori- zontal aud vertical automatic cut-off engines, electric light engines, boilers, shafting, hangers, pulleys, etc.

A specialty has been made of the manufacture of the " Fitchburg" steam-engine, the great merits of which have been everywhere acknowledged.

The products of this company, and particularly their engines, have a wide reputation, and are in use all over the United States. A large foreign trade has also been established, which extends to Central and South America and most of the European countries.

Careful personal supervision of, and strict attention to, the details of the business, on the part of the Fosdicks, have brought to the company its present well-deserved prosperity.

Both brothers are active and prominent in public affairs, Frederick Fosdick having served as mayor of Fitchburg in 1886-87, and Charles Fosdick as presi- dent of the Common Council in 1886.

C. H. Brown & Co .- The founder of this well- known steam-engine manufacturing firm came to Fitchburg in 1849; and to him may be ascribed the establishment of the steam-engine business of Fitch- burg, which now forms so great a factor in the manu- facturing interests of the city.

Soon after coming here Mr. Brown bought one- third interest in the firm of J. & S. W. Putnam ; and before long he introduced a new feature into the firm's business,-the making of steam-engines, and took entire charge of this department.

In 1855, as before stated, he brought out the "Putnam " engine, which was built under his super- vision until 1859, when poor health compelled him to give up active work for a time; and he soon sold his interest in the Putnam Machine Company.

After four years' rest Mr. Brown again began bus- iness, in a small way, in Newton's Lane. It soon began to increase, and in 1866 he hired one-half of the second story of the building occupied by the Fitchburg Machine Works, on Main Street (at that time called Summer Street).

In 1871 he invented a new engine, since well-known as the " Brown " Automatic Cut-off Steam-Engine. Its great merits and points of superiority over other engines were soon appreciated by the trade, and it was not long before it became evident that better facilities and larger accommodations were necessary in order to supply the demand.

At this time, and for some years previous, the business was carried on under the firm-name of C. H. Brown & Co., Elbridge G. Stanley being Mr. Brown's partner.

In 1873 the firm purchased a large lot at the corner of Main and Willow Streets, and erected thereon a commodious and substantial brick building, which has been occupied by C. H. Brown & Co. since 1875.

The present firm consists of Charles H. Brown and his three sons, Charles H. Brown, Jr., Frank E. and John F. Brown.

So large and constant is the demand for the " Brown " engine that the firm manufactures that

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exclusively, employing some sixty hands and turning out the engines at the rate of four per month, on the average ; and, as soon as built, these engines are sent to purchasers in various parts of the United States and Canada, and also in many foreign countries.

The Fitchburg Machine Works .- The foundation of the business of this company was laid in 1864, by James L. Chapman, who, in the spring of that year, came to Fitchburg and formed a partnership with Sylvester C. Wright, for the manufacture of machin- ists' tools. This was in " war times," and machinery was very scarce and hard to obtain. The firm's outfit was quite meagre, consisting of an old chain lathe from the "Stone Mill ; " an old chain planer from a blacksmith and machine-shop in Townsend ; a second- hand Gould shaping-machine bought in Newark, N. J. ; an old pattern-maker's lathe and second-hand engine lathe from a shop in Newton's Lane.

This was all the firm could secure, and, with this collection of machines, they started business in the Atherton building, and hegan to make their own patterns.

In about a year the firm removed to the corner of Main and Laurel Streets, where I. C. Wright & Co.'s hardware store now is. Here, with more room and improved machinery, they prospered. Hale W. Page and Artemas R. Smith were admitted as partners, and thirty hands were employed.

February 2, 1866, the firm moved to the present location of the Fitchburg Machine Works. The building belonged to Sylvanus Sawyer, and stood on what was then called Summer Street. At first the firm hired only the easterly half of the building, but soon hought out Mr. Sawyer and occupied all the building, excepting the portion leased to Charles H. Brown.

January 1, 1867, a stock company was organized, including the four members of the firm and Eugene T. and Lowell M. Miles, Augustus Whitman and Jared Whitman, Jr., under the name of the Fitch- burg Machine Company, and for ten years the bnsi- ness was carried on by this company.

In 1877 this company was dissolved and a new one organized under the laws of general copartnership. The name adopted for the new company was the Fitch- burg Machine Works, and its members were Sylvester C. Wright (superintendent), James L. Chapman (treasurer), Walter Heywood, Harrington Sibley and Joseph S. Wilson.

On the death of Mr. Wright, in December, 1880, Mr. Chapman became superintendent as well as treasurer, and since then has had entire charge of the business.

This company mannfactures all kinds of metal- working machinery, including lathes of different varieties and sizes, iron planers, milling machines, shaping machines, drill presses, etc., and employs some fifty hands.

The products of this company have a well-estab-

lished reputation, and their purchasers are distributed over a wide extent of territory.

The Simonds Manufacturing Company .- The exten- sive buildings occupied by this company are situated at the corner of Main and North Streets.

Their business was started in 1864 in the scythe shop of Abel Simonds at West Fitchburg. Mr. Si- monds, who, since 1832, had manufactured scythes and edge tools in West Fitchburg, gave up business in 1864 and leased the shop to the new firm. His long experience had made him well versed in the working of steel, and he seems to have handed his knowledge down to his sons.

The firm started under the name of Simonds Brothers & Co., and was composed of George F. and Alvin A. Simonds and Benjamin Snow, Jr. Machine knives, mower and reaper sections, etc., were manu- factured and a prosperous business soon established.

In 1868 the Simonds Mannfacturing Company was incorporated with a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the works were moved from West Fitchburg to their present location. Here the same line of manufacture was continned until 1878, when, on account of a consolidation of the mowing- machine knife and reaper section interests by Western manufacturers, the company sold that department of their business, and began the manufacture of saws by an entirely new method of tempering and straighten- ing. They entered the field in competition with many old established saw manufacturing firms, but the superiority of their product, in every respect, soon enabled them to build up a large business, and that, too, at prices in advance of all competitors.

The company's branch works at Chicago and San Francisco have been maintained for some years.

The officers of the company are: George F. Simonds, president; Daniel Simonds, vice-president and treasurer ; Edwin F. Simonds, manager of the Chicago works; John Simonds, manager of the San Francisco works.

The inventive genius of George F. Simonds has brought into the possession of this company many valuable patents covering their processes of manufac- ture and radical improvements in the adjustment of circular saws, etc.

About two hundred hands are employed at the shops here.

A speciality is made of the "Simonds" saw, covered by many patents, a circular-saw unequaled in uni- formity and quality of temper, and in its adjustment- facts abundantly attested by the wide sale and uni- versally acknowledged superiority of this saw. Vari- ous other kinds of saws are also made by the company, such as crescent-ground, cross-cut saws, straight- ground gang, mill, mulay and drag-saws, hand-saws, etc.

· The "Simonds" knives, planer knives, etc., and every description of pattern knives are also manufac- tured by this company and have a very large sale.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

The Simonds Rolling-Machine Company .- Ou Wil- low Street, close by the Simonds Manufacturing Com- pany's buildings, are the works of the Simonds Roll- ing-Machine Company.

This is a comparatively new enterprise, and is wholly due to the inventive genius of George F. Simonds, who, early in 1884, had his attention drawn, by an incident, to the possibility of moulding metal articles of circular shape to any given form, while rotating them on their axes between two surfaces moving in opposite directions. Experiments were made with putty halls between wooden surfaces, and so satisfactory were the results that a substantial machine was constructed, which successfully rolled various small articles, such as spheres, small projec- tiles, machine handles, etc.

The result of this was the incorporation, in No- vember, 1886, of the Simonds Rolling-Machine Company, of Boston, with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars, and George F. Simonds president. This company has purchased all the patents granted to Mr. Simonds in the United States and Canada, relating to the forging of metal articles by rolling.

Patents on this new process of metal-working have been secured throughout the principal countries of the world; and, early in 1886, the Simonds Steel and Iron Forging Company, Limited, with a capital of £150,000 was organized in London, England, by some of the leading British manufacturers.

The works of the Simonds Rolling-Machine Com- pany, located in this city, are for experimental pur- poses mainly, and about sixty skilled workmen are engaged in testing and developing the capabilities of the machine, which seem to be without limit. The products are turned out with marvellous rapidity, and in accuracy and quality are far superior to those made by any other known process.

As an evidence of the importance of this me- chanical discovery, it may be stated that at the last annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, held in Boston in February, 1888, the members of the Institute came in a body to Fitch- burg on February 23d, expressly to witness the work of this machine.

Companies are now being organized to manufacture under these patents in all the large cities of the United States and Canada, and without doubt this process will soon supersede all others in the manu- facture of many articles.

Fitchburg is justly proud of the fact that a son of hers conceived and perfected this important and valu- able invention.

The works here are as yet only in embryo, so to speak, and very little manufacturing of products for sale is done. There are, however, a few articles made for sale to a limited extent, such as various kinds of axles, projectiles, machine tool-handles, spindles, etc."

The Union Machine Co .- This company, whose works are on Water St., was incorporated in 1867,

with a capital of $60,000, and at first manufactured machinists' tools. In 1870 the manufacture of hose- carriages and steam fire-engines of the "Jucket " pattern was begun, and continued several years.

The making of paper-machinery was begun about 1873, and since then the company has made this line of work a specialty.

In 1876 the company transferred its stock, etc., to Crocker, Burbank & Co., who put in new machinery, and continued to build paper-machinery under the old name of the company.

In 1887 a stock company was formed, with these officers : John Burney, president ; Samuel E. Crocker, treasurer; Emmons Crocker, secretary. This com- pany also retained the name of Union Machine Co., and put in new machinery. It ranks to-day among the best establishments of this kind in the country.

Special attention is paid to the manufacture of large Fourdrinier and cylinder paper-machines, and the company also makes rag and Jordan engines, screen-plates, and all other kinds of paper-mill machinery.

This line of machinery is also made by several other concerns in town, as a department of their business,

Francis Sheldon & Co. carry on business as mill- wrights, and also manufacture rag-engines, cylinder- washers. rag-cutters and dusters for paper-mills.

Ezekiel Davis, who owns the shop formerly operated by Alfred White, in Rockville, makes paper-mill bars and bed-plates and rag-cutter-knives, besides all varieties of machine-knives.

Hardy & Pinder make patent cast-metal screen- plates, used in paper-making.

The Rollstone Machine Company .- This company, whose works are near those of the Union Machine' Company, was also incorporated in 1867 and has al- ways made wood-working machinery, and has built up quite a large business. Machines made by this com- pany are in operation in almost all sections of the United States.

George L. Stearns is manager and Henry F. Coggs- hall treasurer.

In addition to wood-working machinery, this com- pany manufactures the following: The C. F. Smith system of ice-making and refrigerating machines ; the E. N. Gates system of hot water heating for dwellings, and the Hodges' Universal Angle Union, for plumbers' use, in connection with steam, water or gas-works.

Beside this company, the following firms and indi- viduals manufacture wood-working machinery :

A. D. Waymouth & Co., who, for the last forty years have made the well-known Waymouth Lathe. Their shop is in Newton Place, and they are the sole manu- facturers of A. D. Waymouth's new patent self-adjust- ing and self-centreing lathe for wood-turning.

Charles W. Wilder makes Wilder's Patent Turning Lathe, which was invented by him, and does all kinds of wood-turning at his shop on Water Street.

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C. H. Cowdrey secured improvements on the original Waymouth lathe and makes lathes of his pattern, and also shafting, pulleys, etc., at his shop on Main Street.

The Fitchburg Adjustable Saw-table Company make saw-tables and adjusters of acknowledged superiority at their shop in Newton Place.

Franklin S. Lovell has machine works on Bontelle Street, where he manufactures saw-mill, grist-mill and wood-working machinery. He also makes C. M. Flint's patent saw-mills, as well as gingham machinery, dynamos and various kinds of electrical machinery.

The Burleigh Rock-Drill Company .- Charles Bnr- leigh, the inventor of the rock-drill bearing his name, came to Fitchburg in 1850, and soon became a mem- ber of the firm of J. & S. W. Putnam. Later he was prominently identified with the Putnam Machine Company. His death occurred May 28, 1883.

When work was begun on the Hoosac Tunnel all the rock-tunnelling had to be done by hand. It was slow work, and the danger arising from lack of ven- tilation increased as the work advanced. About 1865 the late Alvah Crocker, it is said, applied to Mr. Burleigh to devise some description of power-drill to complete the tunnel, which at that time it seemed almost an impossibility to finish with the methods then employed.

The result of Mr. Burleigh's study of this difficult problem was the invention by him of the Burleigh Rock-Drill and Patent Air-Compressor, a combination which was capable, not only of drilling holes from three-fourths of an inch to five inches in diameter, to a depth of thirty feet, at a rate of from two to ten inches per minute, according to the nature of the rock, but also of thoroughly ventilating the tunnel at the same time, thus obviating this great and fatal source of danger.

These machines have produced a complete revolu tion in the work of rock-tunnelling. By means of them the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel was ren- dered possible, and since then large use has been made of them, both in this country and abroad. Among the many great engineering feats, where the use of these machines was indispensable, may be men- tioned the Sutro Tunnel, Hell Gate, Brooklyn Bridge and several of the great tunnels in Europe.

In 1867 the Burleigh Rock-Drill Company was in- corporated, with a capital of $150,000, to make and sell these machines, of which the world is the market.

In connection with this company is the Burleigh Tunnel Company, incorporated in 1869, with a capi- tal of $50,000.

Boiler Manufacturing .- David M. Dillon, of Fitch- burg, was the first person to make boilers of steel, and thongh laughed at by other boiler-makers for trying such an experiment, the success he has made of it and the wide and constantly increasing sale of his boilers have caused a smile to settle on the genial countenance of Mr. Dillon, showing the truth of the adage, " He who laughs last, laughs best."

He started his business in 1870, in a shop at the corner of Main and West Streets. The people in that previously quiet neighborhood strenuously ob- jected to the noise produced. So, after remaining there two years, Mr. Dillon, finding that he needed more room, and being naturally of an accommodating disposition, moved his works to a shop he had built on Crocker Street, where, for the past sixteen years, he has carried on his rapidly increasing business.

Boilers are also made to some extent by the Bur- leigh Rock-Drill Company and the Fitchburg Steam- Engine Company.

Of the several other varieties of iron industries not yet mentioned, we have space to speak of none in detail, except the foundries. A few other iron and steel products made here, that may be mentioned briefly, are files, mannfactured by Hon. Eli Culley, who has carried on this business here since 1868; agricultural implements, by R. A. Leonard & Son ; steel horse-collars and boiler-makers' tools, by Alex- ander Thompson ; pneumatic and hydranlic ma- chines, by the Fitchburg Manufacturing Company ; water-motors, by C. A. Sawyer & Co .; electric machinery, by Irving W. Colburn; small tools, models, etc., by C. S. Tolman, H. P. Tyrrell and the Fitchburg Novelty Works; brass finishing, by A. W. Hubbard; and keys, etc., by S. W. Galpin. Lack of space forbids further enumeration.

Several residents of Fitchburg, not yet mentioned, have, by their inventions, done much toward the building up of the machinery business here. Among them are the following : Louis D. Bartlett, inventor and perfector of the Bartlett Automatic Cut-off Steam-engine ; Sylvanus Sawyer, inventor of ma- chinery to split rattan into chair cane, and also known for his improvements in rifled cannon projec- tiles and in the manufacture of jewelers' lathes, etc. ; Horace F. Hodges, inventor of Hodges' Universal Angle Union and other ingenious devices; and George E. Bowers, inventor of Bowers' dynamos.

FOUNDRIES .- Besides those connected with the Putnam Machine Company, there are at present in town four foundries,-three iron and one brass.

The one longest established is now operated by the firm of Heywood, Wilson & Co. It is located at the lower end of Main Street, and has always been known as

The Fitchburg Foundry .- This was established by Asher Green abont fifty years ago, and for nearly thirty years was located on Water Street, opposite the site now occupied by the Union Machine Com- pany.

Mr. Green was alone at first but, later, David Ware was in company with him, and, for a time, his son, J. S. Green, was associated with them.

In 1860 Mr. Green retired and sold his interest to Waldo Wallace, and the business was carried on un- der the name of Wallace, Ware & Co., until 1864, when Mr. Wallace became sole proprietor.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

In 1866 George Wheelock and Joseph S. Wilson bought half the interest, and, upon Mr. Wallace's death the same year, Walter Heywood and Harring- ton Sibley purchased the other half. The business was carried on for about two years under the name of Heywood, Wheelock & Co.

In 1868 the present foundry buildings were erected and the business removed thereto; and, about the same time, Mr. Wheelock sold his interest to Hale W. Page, and the name of the firm became Hey wood, Wilson & Co. Mr. Page left the firm in 1875, and Mr. Heywood died in 1880, and at the present time the business is carried on by Messrs. Wilson & Sib- ley, who have retained the firm-name of Heywood, Wilson & Co.

The second oldest foundry is located on Crocker Street, and has always been known as

The Rollstone Foundry .- It was established nearly forty years ago by the firm of Davis, Page & Co., con- sisting of Joel Davis, Hale W. Page and Artemas R. Smith. After a time, Mr. Davis retired, and the firm became Smith, Page & Co., and, still later, Smith & Page.

On July 21, 1870, the fire which destroyed the Heywood chair-shop also entirely ruined this foundry, causing a loss of twelve thousand dollars. A large brick building was immediately erected on the same site, and the business was carried on by Smith & Page until Mr. Smith's death, in March, 1875.

In 1875 Lyman H. Goodnow removed from Wor- cester to Fitchburg and became an equal partner with Mr. Page in the business ; and, in 1877, Mr. Goodnow became, and has since continued to be, the sole pro- prietor of the Rollstone Foundry. Mr. Goodnow makes a specialty of the manufacture of large fly- wheels and iron fronts for buildings.

On the night of October 17, 1885, this foundry was again badly damaged by fire, the loss amounting to over fifteen thousand dollars; but the building was soon repaired, and the foundry in operation again.

M. J. Perault's Iron Fouudry is on Water Street. The business was started in 1883, by Marshall & Farnsworth, for the manufacture of fine castings.

In July, 1884, Mr. Perault, who had been foreman of the Fitchburg Foundry since 1871, bought the establishment, aud has since successfully carried it on.

Brass foundries have been in existence here for over thirty years. In 1858 Messrs. Levi Stevens and George Wheelock had a brass foundry near the Rollstone Foundry. A year or two later the firm dissolved, Mr. Wheelock taking charge of the old foundry and Mr. Stevens starting a new one at the corner of Main aud Laurel Streets.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 86

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576