USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 179
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The company was incorporated in 1851 ; the works were enlarged from time to time, and in 1870 were removed to the present site near the Junction.
The present estimated capacity of the works per day is 750,000 cubic feet. Gas made during the year ending June 1, 1888, 100,724,500 cubic feet ; greatest output December 24, 1887, 501,300 cubic feet; least output, June 17, 1888, 112,600 cubic feet ; total length of street mains, 201,950 feet ; total number of meters in use June, 1888, 3,882.
The manufacture of water-gas was introduced in October, 1884, the company having purchased a license under the patents of the Granger Water-Gas Company, of Philadelphia.
CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS .- There is a large number of contractors and builders in Worcester, some of whom have attained a wide reputation for the character of their work. The wood-work in some of the most expensive houses in the country has been furnished by Worcester firms.
Charles Baker & Co. make a specialty of inside and outside ornamental finish from architects' plans.
The Norcross Bros. stand pre-eminent among build- ers in Worcester, and their reputation has now become national. They own stone quarries at Long Meadow and have shops equipped to produce every kind and variety of work required in the most elaborate build- ings.
The Norcross Bros. began business at Swampscott, Mass., in 1864, and 1866 took their first contract of any consequence, which was to build the Congrega- tional Church in Leicester.
Since that time they have built educational struc- tures, business blocks, churches, public buildings, club-houses and private residences.
Among the buildings erected by them are the Wor- cester High School, Crompton's Block, Burnside Building, All Saints' Church, the First Universalist Church, all of Worcester.
Their most expensive buildings have been erected elsewhere. The gymnasium, Seaver Hall and the Law School at Harvard University ; the Marshal
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Field Building, at Chicago, erected in 1885 at a cost of $900,000; the New York Life Insurance Building, at Omaha, costing over $500,000 ; another building for the same insurance company in Kansas City, costing a like amount; the Allegheny Court-house and jail, at Pittsburgh, costing $2,500,000; the Union League Club-house, New York ; the Algonquin Club- house, Boston ; besides many private residences, the most expensive of which is "Kellogg Terrace," (treat Barrington, which cost $600,000.
It has not been attempted to give an extended ac- count of all the manufactories in Worcester; space and time would not permit of this. The following alphabetical summary of most of those not hitherto mentioned in the text will give some idea of their variety and number :
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. - B. F. Goddard, mowing-machines, 195 Front Street.
AWLS .- American Awl Company, 195 Front Street, manufacturers of and dealers in raw-hide mallets, wax thread needles, lasting-machine awls, wax thread awls, Bigelow heeling awls, Bigelow heeling drivers, New Era drivers, New Era pegging awls, Varney peg- ging awls, Varney drivers, German pegging drivers, German pegging awls, shoe-knives, shoe-shaves.
J. MeCarty, 19 Church Street, proprietor National Awl Company ; established 1878; machine awls for pegging-machines ..
Sumner Packard & Co., of Grafton, made the first machine awls for boot and shoe-pegging machines.
BAND-SAWS .- W. F. Burgess & Co., 66 School Street.
BICYCLES .- Iver Johnson & Co. ; Samuel Winslow.
BOLT MANUFACTURERS. - In 1828 Wheelock & Rice manufactured nuts and washers at the machine- shop then recently occupied by William Hovey.
In 1839 H. W. Miller was engaged in this business.
In 1855 Thomas Smith and William Conkey bought of J. and J. C. Brown and George Dryden their tools and interest in the manufacture of nuts and washers, chain links, ete., and fitted up a shop in Cypress Street, Merrifield's building. In 1859 they employed four hands making patent bit pieces and doing cold punching. Mr. Smith has been an iron-worker in Worcester for fifty-three years; he made the first die in the world to make a mowing-machine knife. He now manufactures bolts, nuts, rods, building irons for houses, bridges, cold iron punching. In 1835 Mr. Smith worked for Phelps & Bickford, in Grove Street, and worked on the first looms built for William Crompton in this country.
J. Fred. Wilson, cold punched nut-, washers, chain links, ete.
BOOT AND SHOE LASTS .- Porter & Gardner, Foster Street.
BOOT AND SHOE MACHINERY .- John J. Adams, 85 Mechanic Street.
BOX-MAKERS, (WOOD AND PAPER) .- Baker & Co., Foster Street; C. F. Darling, 66 Foster Street ; J. W.
Howe, 163 Union Street. C. W. Humphrey, 42 South- bridge Street, turns out from five thousand to six thousand paper boxes per day. The Whitcomb Ent- velope Company also make paper boxes.
BREWERS .- There was a brewery in Worcester in 1822. Sixty-two and one-half cents a bushel was paid for barley delivered at the brewery. In 1827 the Worcester Distillery offers for sale New England rum, molasses, cider brandy, high wines.
Bowler Brothers, Quinsigamoud Avenue, corner Lafayette Street, established the business of brewing ale and porter in 1883. They pay a larger tax to the United States Government than any one outside of Boston.
BROOMS .- O. M. Dean, 170 Austin Street.
BRUSHES .- Ellis Thayer manufactured brushes in Worcester in 1849. In 1869 the firm became Thayer & Mason ; in 1878 Mr. J. Fred. Mason became pro- prietor. He manufactures brushes of all descrip- tions.
CARDERS' TOOLS .- William H. Brown, SI Me- chanic Street, Lewis' patent card clamps, card ratchets, hammers, gauges, tools, serapers, Kimball's patent card stretcher.
CLIPPING-MACHINES .- Coates' Clipper Manufac- turing Company, 237 Chandler Street.
COPYING-PRESSES .- R. E. Kidder, 35 Hermon Street. Also manufactures patent Universal Sewing- Machine.
COTTON .- H. W. Smith, Wachusett Mills, fine dress ginghams.
COURT-PLASTER .- C. B. Robbins, 76 Portland Street.
CURRIERS .- P. Corriveau, 32 Hermon Street.
William Leonard, 2 Sargent Street.
CURTAIN POLES AND RINGS .- Worcester Mould- ing Works, Foster Street.
DENTAL INSTRUMENTS .- C. B. R. Claflin, 38 Front Street.
DIE CUTTER STOCK .- Loring Coes & Co., manu- facturers of machine knives, cutter plate for dies to leather, cloth and paper ; moulding cutter-plate for wood, marble, etc .; all kinds and sizes of shear plates, and strips for cotton and woolen machinery.
L. Hardy & Co., manufacturers of machine knives, straight cutter ensilage, lawn-mower, meat-cutter, cork-cutter, rag-cutter and bone knives; shear-blades and strips for cotton and woolen goods. Also die eutter stoek for boots and shoes ; all kinds of welded stoek rolled to any thickness from fourteen gauge to three-quarter inch thick. Wood-working machine- knives, planers, moulding-knives and blanks ; paper- cutting, leather-splitting and stripping-knives.
DOORS, SASHI, BLINDS, &C .- Charles Baker & Co., wholesale and retail lumber dealers ; manufacture doors, windows, blinds, window and door frames, in- side and outside ornamental finish from architects' plans. Yards at Manchester, Grove and Prescott Streets.
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WORCESTER.
A. W. Joslyn, 181 Union Street.
George Peirce, 330 Park Avenue.
D. & C. P. Stevens & Co., 24 Southbridge Street. Rice & Griffin Mannfacturing Co., Sargent Street .. William Ross, 138. Main Street.
DRAIN PIPE .- James Draper, drain sewer and well pipe, Bloomingdale.
A. B. Lovell, cement pipe.
S. E. Todd, Southbridge Street.
DRILL MANUFACTURERS .- Six in number, some of whom have already been mentioned.
George Burnham & Co., 15 Hermon Street, im- proved upright drills.
R. W. Long, successor to George C. Taft, No. 8 Harris Court, improved npright self-feed drills.
Lowell Wrench Company. Ratchet drills, ratchet wrenches.
Prentice Bros., 49 Hermon Street. Upright drills.
DROP FORGINGS .- Worcester Drop Forging Works, No. 30 Bradley Street. Quick-action vises; shuttle irons.
DRY PLATE MANUFACTURERS .- Phoenix Plate Company, manufacturers of Phoenix gelatine dry- plate, argentić plate for positive pictures, ebonized and maroon wood and metal panels ; also japanned iron and tinned sheets of all sizes for painters and lithographers.
DYE-HOUSES .- In 1828 William B. Fox did dyeing of all kinds.
John H. Starkie, Layard Place.
Worcester Silk Co., 390 Main Street.
Worcester Bleach and Dye Works, dyers and bleachers of cotton, woolen and worsted yarns, threads, tapes, etc. Also black, white and fancy col- ored warps in chains and beams furnished to order in any desired pattern. Present location, Grove Street. After April 1, 1889, West Fremont Street, New Wor- cester.
EAVE TROUGHS. - A. Bangs & Co., 175 Union Street.
ELEVATORS, HYDRAULIC .- Washburn Shop, Poly- technic Institute.
Hydraulic Manufacturing Co., 23 Hermon Street. Worcester Elevator Co., 47 Lagrange Street.
FAUCETS .- Worcester Faucet and Manufacturing Co. Self-closing fancet.
FERRULES. - Worcester Ferrule Manufacturing Co., manufacturers of steel and brass stove trimmings, patent nickel-plated knobs, hinge-pins, towel-racks, foot-rails, steel, iron and brass ferrules, nickel-plated steam-pipe collars, 17 Hermon Street.
John L. Parker & Co., manufacturers of patent seamless sheet-metal goods of every description, stove door-knobs, hinge-pins, towel-rods, 70 School Street.
FILES .- William Hart, 5 Washington Square; es- tablished 1867, now employs seventeen hands. Largest manufacturer of hand-cut files in New England. A large number of files from the manufactories in the city are here re-cut. Mr. Hart makes four huudred
different shapes and sizes of files, and has a branch shop at Holyoke.
A. J. Hiscox.
FISHING-RODS .- N. S. Harrington, 72 Portland Street.
FRAMES FOR PICTURES .- G. S. Boutelle & Co., successors to Worcester Moulding Works. Also, picture-frame easels, fancy tables, etc.
FRICTION PULLEYS .- Blake Bros., manufacturers of the patent friction clutch, shafting, hangers and special machinery, Union Street.
GLUE .- John J. Jefferds, mannfacturer of glue, tallow, ground bone, fertilizers. Works half a mile south of Quinsigamond, on Providence and Worcester Railroad.
GRINDING MACHINERY. - B. S. Roy, for card grinding.
Washburn Shops, for emery wheels.
GRIST-MILLS .- D. & C. P. Stevens & Son.
GROUND BEEF SCRAPS .- Charles F. Rugg, manu- facturer of fine cylinder, engine, machinery and bolt oils. Best grade steam-rendered tallow and soap for manufacturers and family use. Dealer in paraffine, lard and neat's-foot oils. Pure ground beef scraps.
GUTTERS AND CONDUCTORS .- A. Bangs & Co., 175 Union Street, manufacturers of eaves troughs, &c.
J. B. Cummings, 197 Union Street.
HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS .-- A. W. Gifford, 77 Beacon Street
Hill Dryer Co., 21 Hermon Street.
A. McDonald, 418 Main Street.
Morgan Spring Co., 25 Lincoln Street.
Wire Goods Co., 20 Union Street.
HEEL MANUFACTURERS,-E. D. Barrows & Son, 195 Front Street.
E. N. Dean, 194 Front Street.
A. D. Hall, 164 Front Street.
G. S. Hatch, 164 Front Street.
Myrick, Shepard & Co.
HOSIERY .- Holland Hosiery Company, 194 Front Street.
INK .- Levi R. Rockwood, 23 Orient Street.
LOOM REEDS .- For cotton, woolen, carpet and wire cloth mills, John Whittaker, 194 Front Street.
MILK CANS .- James H. Whittle, manufacture of tin cylinders of all diameters.
MOULDING-MACHINES .- Blake Brothers.
Witherby, Rugg & Richardson.
NAILS .- Somers Brothers. Tacks and Hungarian nails. Shoe tacks a specialty. Located here because of the large amount of boot-making. Running sev- enteen machines. The only concern of the kind in the city. Uses tack-machines invented by Thomas Blanchard.
NEEDLES .- Worcester Needle Company, Sewing machine needles. In 1853, F. S. Cox made needles at South Worcester.
OVERALLS .-- A. G. Hildreth, 34 Southbridge Street. :
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
PERFORATED METALS .- Towne & Company, 81 Mechanic Street.
POTTERY .- F. B. Norton's Sons, Water Street. In 1784 there was a pottery in Worcester, two and a half miles from the meeting-house on the road to Springfield.
ROLLER SKATES .- The Samuel Winslow Skate Manufacturing Company. Ice and roller skates ; gear cutting.
SAW MANUFACTORY .- E. D. Cunningham, 23 Hudson Street.
SHAFTING .- Holyoke Machine Company.
TAPES .- H. M. Witter & Company, Park Avenue. TRUNKS-Barnard Brothers, 494 Main Street.
George L. Barr, 20 Front Street.
VALENTINES .- Bullard Art Publishing Company, Main Street.
J. W. Taft, 35 Pearl Street.
George C. Whitney, Art Publisher and Importer ; factory and main office, Worcester; also offices New York, Chicago and Boston.
VISES .- Worcester Drop Forging Work.
WASHERS .- Reed & Prince, makers of rivets, blanks for small screws, washers.
WATER METER .- In 1858 a water meter was in- vented by Dr. E. D. Wetherbee, and manufactured by D. Newton, gunsmith. Union Water Meter Com- pany was established November, 1868, by Messrs. 'Fitts, John C. Otis, Phineas Ball; employs sixty hands. Their meters go all over the country, and some to England and Germany. The product is cov- ered by patents.
YARNS .- The Edgeworth Mill, carpet yarns, Brus- sels Street.
Artificial stone is manufactured by C. F. Green & Company, Sargent Street. The stone is made of sand and cement, and is used for building purposes ; chim- ney caps, thimbles, etc. This is a continuation of the business known as the Frear Stone Works.
E. J. Kerns manufactures a patent rowlock ; also roller seats for boats. Some of these have been sent to foreign countries.
CHAPTER CC.
WORCESTER-(Continued.)
MANUFACTURING AND MECHANICAL, INDUSTRIES.
Reasons for Worcester's Prominence as a Manufacturing City-Room with Power for Rent-Merrifield Building-Heywood Building-Estubrook Building-Enterprise of Worcester's Business Meu-Mechanics' Asso- ciation-Worcester Polytechnic Institute-Washburn Shops-The Labor- ing Classes-Evening Schools-Worcester's Rapid Growth-Heart of the Commonwealth.
IT has frequently been said that Worcester owes her prominence as a manufacturing centre to the unusual opportunities otl'ered to mechanics to begin business in a small way, and without inenrring the
risk incident upon the erection and equipment of a shop. Indeed, had this not been the case, individ- uals, companies and corporations doing to-day a pros- perous business would never have started. Many instances might be given of individuals who have begun with one machine, gradually increasing their business out of the profits realized from day to day, until it has reached considerable magnitude. Growth of this kind is healthy and likely to be permanent.
It would be almost literally true to say that there is no large manufacturing business in Worcester that has not at some time in its history been situated in one or another of the buildings erected for rent with power to a number of tenants. There are some ex- ceptions, but they are few. Au idea of the number of industries begun in this way may be obtained by noticing the occupants of the buildings erected for the accommodation of those engaging in mechanical pursuits.
The old Court Mill had been built some years when, in 1832, Samuel Davis leased it from Mr. Salis- bury. Among the tenants here at one time or an- other were L. & A. G. Coes, builders of woolen- spinning machinery, and subsequently, manufactur- ers of wrenches ; Ruggles, Nourse & Mason, manu- facturers of agricultural implements; H. W. Miller, punching-machines for manufacturing nuts and washers ; Thomas E. Daniels, builder of the planing- machine; Samuel Flagg, pioneer in the machinists' tools business in Worcester. The old building was burned in October, 1839, and Mr. Salisbury made a contract with W. T. Merrifield to rebuild the mill by January 1, 1840, for Ruggles, Nourse & Mason threatened to move out of town unless it were fin- ished by that time. After the foundations were in, Mr. Salisbury thought the building could not be completed in the winter, and offered to release Mr. Merrifield from the contract, but Mr. Merrifield went ahead, although Worcester masons refused to lay brick in the winter, and he was compelled to bring masons from Boston to do the work. The building was completed by January 1st.
Then came the Dr. Heywood building in Central Street, occupied by a number of firms, among them Samuel Flagg & Company and S. C. Coombs & Com- pany, who established the business now conducted by the Lathe & Morse Tool Company. Mr. Merrifield occupied his present location in 1835; soon after he used a horse to furnish power to run a circular saw and a Daniels planer. In 1840 he put in an engine. The first brick building for tenants was erected in 1847, and additions were made to it every year until the fire of 1854, when the following were among the occupants : William R. Bliss, bootmaker; Town & Company, perforated board ; Hovey & Lazell, straw- cutters; E. F. Dixon, wrenches; Lamb & Foster, carpenters ; Williams, Rich & Company, machinists ; Samuel Flagg & Company, machinists' tools ; Prouty & Allen, shoe tacky ; Daniel Tainter, wool machiu-
Geo. G. Whitney
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WORCESTER.
ery; C. Hovey & Company, straw-cutters ; C. Whit- comh & Company, machinists' tools; Charles E. Wilder, boot and shoe-machines ; H. Palmer & Com- pany, hox-maker; Towne & Harrington, portemon- naies ; N. B. Jewett, seraphine-maker ; Thayer, Houghton & Company, machinists' tools ; Furbush & Crompton, fancy looms ; Richards & Smith, sash and blinds ; Luther White, machinist ; F. J. Gonche, plane-maker ; Isaac Fiske, musical instruments; A. Sampson, wheelwright; S. G. Reed, wheelwright ; Worcester Knitting Company ; Worcester Machine Company ; George Dryden, machinist ; Hood, Battell & Company, sewing-machines; Edward Lawrence, tool-maker; Daniel Palmer, box-maker ; Howard Holden, grist-mill; Rodney A. M. Johnson & Com- pany, wool-spinning machinery.
When rebuilt, the buildings measured over eleven hundred feet in length, fifty feet in width, and three stories in height; the area of the floors was over four acres and a half ; the power was obtained from a three hundred and fifty horse-power engine, the same which is running to-day. In 1859 Mr. Merrifield had leased rooms and power in his buildings to over fifty firms, each employing from two to eighty hands. Among them :-
Alzirns Brown, on the corner of Union and Ex- change Streets, who, with fifty hands, engaged in the manufacture of Manny's Patent Mower and Reaper combined. Daniel Tainter, in Union Street, employed thirty hands in making woolen-carding machines and jacks. Johnson & Co. employed twenty hands making jacks for woolen machinery. Richardson & Maw- hinney, in the same street, employed twenty-four hands on lasts and boot-trees. L. W. Pond occupied about two hundred feet of the first floor, under the preceding, for the manufacture of engine-lathes, planing-machines, etc., employing twenty-seven hands. He had a lathe thirty-seven feet long, capable of cutting screws of any length from one to thirty-three feet. He also used the largest and heaviest planing- machine in the city, thirty-seven feet long, six feet wide and four feet high, weighing forty tons.
Prouty & Allen, in the room north of Mr. Pond, employed from five to six hands in making iron or zinc shoe-nails, of which they turned off from oue thousand to twelve hundred pounds per day. Battelle & Co., in the third story, had five hands engaged in the manufacture of sewing-machines. J. L. & I. N. Keyes, on the east side of Union Street, did an exten- sive business, with eighteen hands, in board-planing. Hamilton Holt, in rooms over them, had four hands engaged in making patent gutters, or conductors of water from the roofs of buildings. C. Whitcomb & Co. were doing a good business making machinists' tools and letter-copying presses, and employed fifteen hands. Towne & Harrington, with ten hands, made mowing-machine knives. Dresser & Wilson had about six hands making Jillson's patent animal-traps, manufacturing two hundred per day. S. G. Reed &
Co., in Cypress Street, employed twenty hands in making carriage-wheels and wheel-spokes of all kinds.
George F. Rice, employed ten hands in the manu- facture of Hovey's patent hay-cutters, corn-shellers and winnowing-mills, and a very superior article of boring-machine of his own invention. Joel W. Upham had from six to eight hands engaged in mak- ing very large water-wheels for manufacturing estab- lishments, averaging from twenty to thirty per year. Isaac Fiske employed six hands making musical wind instruments. D. D. Allen & Co. manufactured boot forms. S. C. & S. Winslow employed from six to twelve hands in gear-cutting and light jobbing. Thomas Smith & Co. had four hands making patent bit-pieces and doing cold punching. The Machine Lathe Company in Exchange Street, of which Jason Chapin was president and A. L. Burbank treasurer, employed seven hands making hedstead lathes and in iron job-work. Charles E. Staples, with seven hands, made bit-stocks and window-springs and did light jobbing. Charles E. Wilder had a few hands in the manufacture of boot-crimping machines. Franklin Wesson had three hands in the gun manufacture. P. Goulding with six hands, on the opposite side of the street, made thirty dozen of shuttles per week. U. T. and C. H. Smith made chair-lathes and did jobbing, employing four hands. William H. Brown had a jobbing shop with three or more hands.
Meantime Colonel James Estabrook and Charles Wood, in 1851, erected the stone building at the Junc- tion now occupied by the Knowles' Loom Works. Wood, Light & Co. were to occupy part of it, which they did, and the rest of the building was to be rented to tenants. Shepard, Lathe & Co. moved into the north end of the building very shortly after the occu- pancy of Wood, Light & Co. In 1857 Mr. Wood disposed of his interest to Colonel Estabrook.
The main building was four hundred and fifty feet long by fifty feet wide, and three stories high ; an- other building used for a forge shop and other work, two hundred by forty ; power was furnished hy two fifty horse-power engines, made by Corliss & Night- ingale, of Providence. Among the tenants were Wood, Light & Co., who occupied the two lower stories in the south end of the main building for the manufacture of machinists' tools, water-wheels, mill works, castings. J. A. Fay & Co. occupied a hundred feet on the second floor, manufacturing wood-working machinery, employing thirty hands. Joseph Barrett & Co., in the south end of the second floor, employed twenty hands in the manufacture of calico-printing machinery, Woodworth's planing-machines, machin- ists' tools, etc. Shepard, Lathe & Morse occupied one hundred feet of the first floor under the preceding, and manufactured engine-lathes and iron-planing ma- chines. Whittemore Brothers, in the upper story, employed twenty hands in manufacturing machines for paring, coring and slicing apples. The American
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Steam Music Company manufactured calliopes and terpsichoreans. Heywood & March made Holbrook's automatic bank-locks. David McFarland made card- setting machines. A. F. Henshaw manufactured ma- chinists' tools and bonnet machinery.
The means thus afforded to individuals with limited capital to begin manutacturing unenenmbered with an expensive plant, making it possible for a small business to be conducted with profit, is one of the chief causes of the diversity of industries which makes Worcester uniformly prosperous, and creates a thrifty and permanent class of working-people.
In striking contrast are some other New England cities, confined almost entirely to a single industry, and with a large unsettled population of mill operatives, the business conducted by corporations, owned by non-resident stockholders and under a non-resident management. With such conditions, the prosperity of the community is uncertain, largely a matter of chance. In good years the dividends declared are not invested where they are earned, while in bad years the immediate community suffers, want soon overtakes the working-people, and crime follows in the wake of cold and hunger.
It is true that there are corporations in Worcester, but they are, almost without exception, the out- growth of individual enterprise; the stockholders are residents, and in many cases, employés; the divi- dends are largely invested in real estate, in business blocks, in tenements, in factory property, while the fortunes accumulated found our hospitals, homes for the aged and infirm, build our churches, endow our schools.
While there are few large fortunes here, there are many small ones. There is, perhaps, less of luxury and display than in some communities, but more of thrift.
To properly take advantage of the opportunities here offered, an intelligent people was needed. Enter- prise and sagacity have always been characteristics of the business-men of Worcester-early manifested in appreciation of communication with the sea-board, and secured by the building of the Blackstone Canal, and evidenced later in the building of the railroads, and always recognized in the high reputation enjoyed throughout the country by our manufactures.
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