USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Canton > History of the town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts > Part 45
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Leonard and Kinsley were Easton men. In 1788 they began to erect a blacksmith's shop, with water-wheel, flume, and all the necessary appurtenances. This building was situated on the southerly side of the dam, and as near as can be ascertained, on the same spot where stand the build- ings of the Kinsley Iron and Machine Company. Leonard and Kinsley also owned property in the immediate neighbor- hood; among other tracts, the " Powder-Mill Lot."
The slitting-mill was built in 1793, and in the four years succeeding cut and rolled one thousand tons of iron, which was in the main imported from Russia. During the decade
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THE RISE OF SOUTH CANTON.
from 1790 to 1800, over two hundred mill-saws and three hundred dozen scythes were annually manufactured.
We find that steel was first welded in Canton in 1792. This was accomplished by the use of borax; but sometimes bog-iron ore, finely powdered, was sprinkled on the steel when it had reached a white heat, and at that temperature formed a kind of glassy cement which would unite the bars. The first manufacturing of steel in Canton took place in 1797, by Leonard and Kinsley. This firm continued together until 1821, when the property was divided, Mr. Leonard taking the property on the easterly side of the street, at the northerly end of the dam, and Mr. Kinsley taking that on the westerly side. In 1809 Mr. Adam Kinsley erected a steel furnace on this spot, which was soon in active operation; and four years after, Mr. Leonard's was in full blast.
The products of the mill in those days chiefly consisted of sleigh-shoes, crowbars, and wagon axle-trees. "Quaker" Leonard believed that a rich mine of lead ore existed in the town of Easton, and he spent the greater portion of his prop- erty in trying to find it, -so that he became insolvent, and although a sharp business man, was never able again to build up his shattered fortunes. In 1809 guns were made by "Quaker" Leonard; and during the War of 1812. a con- siderable quantity of fire-arms was manufactured for the use of the government. Between 1833 and 1835 a foundry was built for the manufacture of castings. Leonard died in the city of New Orleans, far from the people among whom his days of prosperity had been passed.
After the death of Adam Kinsley, Oct. 12, 1840, his sons, Lyman and Alfred Kinsley, came into possession of the prop- erty. Finally Lyman purchased the foundry which was his brother's share, and all the property on the easterly side which belonged to his father's old partner, and laid the foun- dation of an immense business. He was a man of energy and perseverance, and under his management the business increased rapidly, and became very lucrative. He manufac- tured car-wheels and car-axles principally. Lyman Kinsley was born in Canton, March 7, 1808, and died at Cambridge-
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port, March 15, 1876. He was a public-spirited man, who did much to advance the material prosperity of the town, and was ever ready to assist in beautifying it. Although Mr. Kinsley was looked upon by his workmen and a large portion of the inhabitants of Canton as a very great man, there were some people in the world who had never heard of him, as the following amusing anecdote will show: -
During the political excitement of 1848 Charles Sumner, then a young man, was invited to address the Free-Soil party in Canton. In the course of his remarks, waxing warm as he proceeded, he exclaimed, " Is there a man in all this vast country who believes that Van Buren has not accepted the nomination of the Buffalo Convention? Is there a man in this audience or this town who will say that he has not accepted it?" At this crisis a squeaking voice in the back part of the hall exclaimed, " Yes; Lyman Kinsley says so." Sumner paused for a moment. He had heard of Moses and Elias, of Confucius and Socrates; he knew the history and biography of men of ancient and modern days; but here was an enigma. Drawing himself up to his full height, he roared in tones of thunder, " And who is Lyman Kinsley?" It is needless to add that the whole house burst into a roar, and that friends and foes enjoyed the joke heartily. At this meeting, held on November 6, a banner was presented by Mrs. Charles P. Crane, in behalf of the ladies of Canton, to the Free-Soil party. It bore the mottoes, "No more Slave Territory," " The Spirit of '76."
In 1838 the forge was burned, and shortly after a new one was built; and in 1852 a rolling-mill was erected. Sept. 19, 1854, the machine-shop, with all its valuable contents, con- sisting of manufactured stock, was burned. In 1854 the present corporation, known as the Kinsley Iron and Machine Company, received its charter, and the following year was organized with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. The property was sold April 30, 1858. Mr. Kinsley was its first president, and was succeeded by Oliver Ames, of Eas- ton, in 1859. On Jan. 14, 1875, the rolling-mill and forge were burned, but within a year the buildings were rebuilt.
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THE RISE OF SOUTH CANTON.
The increase in the productions of the mill has been large within the last thirty years. In 1845, 350 tons of material were manufactured, and thirty men were employed at the forge; in 1856, 2,240 tons; in 1862, 4,000 tons; in 1876, 4,000 tons. The present business is the manufacture of mer- chant bar-iron, railroad splices, spikes, bolts, and washers, car-axles, wagon-axles, crowbars, and machinery. The Mil- ler buffer and hook are also manufactured here. From the simple blacksmith's shop, the buildings have gradually ex- tended until they cover an acre and a half of ground.
An ancient manuscript chronology, written by Penniman, asserts that in 1770 a bell foundry was erected at Stoughton. Holmes, in his " American Annals," quotes Penniman; and Bishop, in his "History of American Manufactures," asserts that a bell foundry was erected in Stoughton (Canton) in 1770. This may or may not be so. I have never seen so early a date mentioned elsewhere. The first casting of bells in Canton of which we have any record was in a foundry built on the right-hand side of the private way leading to the copper-works from Neponset Street. Hayward's ".Gazetteer " of 1839 informs us that " the bells manufactured at this place are of superior metal and sound." This foundry was owned by Paul Revere, who came to Canton in 1801, and purchased the property formerly used as the government powder-mills. Here he began business, and laid the founda- tion of what is now the Revere Copper Company. Paul Revere was descended from ancestors who, fleeing from France at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, sought refuge on the Island of Guernsey, and subsequently came to America. Paul was born in Boston, June 1, 1735, and died May 10, 1818; he was brought up by his father as a gold- smith. In 1756 he served with honor in the capacity of lieutenant under Gridley, in the French and Indian War.1 In the days which immediately preceded the struggle for independence he was active and well known as a man who had the welfare of his country at heart; and during the war he was a most determined friend of liberty, not alone in
1 See Appendix XXXI.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
words, but as major and afterward as lieutenant-colonel, he saw service in a regiment of artillery. After the Suffolk Resolves had been passed, Paul Revere was selected to con- vey them to the Continental Congress sitting at Philadelphia. This journey he performed on horseback. The Hon. George B. Loring, in his address at the one hundredth anniversary of the hanging of the lanterns in the old North Church in Boston, pays the following tribute to Paul Revere: -
" He was a skilful mechanic, but he was never satisfied until he had turned his skill into the patriotic cause of his times. He must have had unusual fidelity, and a wit which never forsook him ; for in all important crises, he it was who carried the tidings, and appealed for sympathy and aid. He was swift and impetuous enough for Warren, and sagacious enough for Samuel Adams. He was a genu- ine representative of Revolutionary Boston ; and his deeds will always remain as a part of the annals of his native town, upon which the his- torian will love to dwell, and from which the poet will draw inspiration for his highest tribute to what is heroic and devoted in his fellow-man. As an example of eternal vigilance he has no superior in our Revolu tionary history."
He acquired the art of engraving on copper, and produced an engraving of his friend Dr. Mayhew, whose preaching, says an historian, he preferred to the teachings of Calvinism. A print of this engraving once belonged to General Gridley, also an admirer of Mayhew, and having been purchased at Gridley's auction, is still preserved by Mr. Augustus Gill in his rare collection of ancient documents. It bears the follow- ing lines in the handwriting of General Gridley : -
" Proud Genius, blush ! Behold this shade, this Name, The last proud Refuge of a good Man's Fame ! E'en Mayhew's shadow, with instruction fraught, Strikes full Conviction of the Truths he Taught. Cou'd great Desert, cou'd Genius loftier soar ? Cou'd Man by Heaven distinguished wish for more ? Cou'd Fame, cou'd Friendship greater honor give, Or cou'd the human mind be more and live ? Yet Mayhew, Godlike Mayhew, dies to prove What dust we doat on, when 't is man we love. This pourtrait Hollis rescued from the grave, 'T was all the patron, all the friends could save."
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Drake, in his " History of Boston," in writing of this picture says, "It is the most perfectly awful-looking thing of the kind I have ever seen." Paul Revere also produced in 1766 a print emblematical of the repeal of the Stamp Act; in 1770, " The Boston Massacre ; " in 1774, " The Land- ing of the British Troops at Long Wharf." He engraved the plates for the Massachusetts provincial money, and was active in planning and executing the seizure of the tea in Boston Harbor. He was sent by the provincial government to Philadelphia to ascertain the method of manufacturing powder, and was thus thrown into intimate relations with those engaged in erecting the powder-mill at Canton, and so became informed as to the value of the privilege, which was subsequently his property. One writer asserts that " at the request of the Provincial Congress, he established the first powder-mill in the province, and the second in the colonies," and soon after established a powder-mill at Canton. Another writer says that "he put in operation the first powder-mill in the colony."
Before coming to Canton, Revere purchased, June 28, 1792, a piece of land in Boston on what was then Lynn, now Commercial Street, bounded on the north by Sliding Alley. It was the site of the air furnace, and Revere may have occupied this site as early as 1785, as he is said to have had a brass foundry where bells were made, and "very neat cannon cast at this place." Mr. Revere began at Canton the manufacture of rolled copper bolts, spikes, and nails, in addition to casting bells, cannon, etc., which he continued until his death, the firm name at one time being Paul Revere and Son. Here the copper bolts used in the construction of Old Ironsides were made, and in 1812 copper was sent to Philadelphia in teams drawn by oxen.
July 12, 1828, the Revere Copper Company was incorpo- rated. It consisted of Joseph Warren Revere, Frederic Walker Lincoln, James Davis, and James Davis, Jr.
Joseph Warren Revere, the son of Paul Revere, was born in Boston, April 30, 1777; he was named in honor of Joseph Warren, one of the associates of his father. When a young
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
man he was a member of the Boston light infantry; and those who knew him at the age of ninety could well under- stand the commendation bestowed on him and his compan- ions by General Knox, when they marched up State Street in 1798. His sons, Edward H. R., and Paul J., will long be remembered for their devotion to their country, even unto death. Mr. Revere died Oct. 12, 1868. He was a represen- tative to the General Court from Boston, and was on the board of aldermen in 1833. His residence in Boston was on Tremont Street, opposite the Common.
Frederic Walker Lincoln, a nephew of Paul Revere, and adopted by him, was born in Boston, in 1796; he was the son of Capt. Amos and Deborah (Revere) Lincoln. He came to Canton as a young man, and was active in town and parish matters. He held many offices of trust, - was the first president of the Neponset Bank and the Canton Institu- tion for Savings; he was also president of the Stoughton Branch Railroad; he was for many years moderator of our town meetings. In 1854-55, he was lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Washburn. For forty years he was the agent of the Revere Copper Company; he was hospitable and public-spirited, - a busy, cheerful man.
Some time after the organization of the Revere Copper Company, a mill was erected for the purpose of manufactur- ing sheet copper, and about twenty men were employed. A rolling-mill, erected in 1834, turned out copper bolts which until then had been forged with trip-hammers. In 1850 a large brick mill was erected for making yellow sheathing- metal for the bottom of ships. In 1845 thirty-eight men were employed ; at present there are about one hundred. In 1862 the company made eighty twelve-pound brass cannon for the government. These guns weighed on an average 1,230 pounds, and cost about six hundred dollars each.
Copper is sometimes loaded on cars in California, brought to Canton, and in sheets or bars returned to San Francisco.
Beaver Brook, at Springdale, had never risen to any other use than turning the wheel of a saw-mill until 1785, when we
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THE RISE OF SOUTH CANTON.
find two or three buildings on the map, occupied by Ezra Dickerman as a fulling-mill. Cloth was carried to Enoch Dickerman's in 1804 to be dried.
The .privilege used since 1847 by Reed's cutlery-works was bequeathed by Dudley Bailey to Capt. Charles Leonard, the son of " Quaker" Leonard. In 1823 he erected a forge which was burned Nov. 29, 1825.
About 1833 John and Alexander Kennedy, who originally came from Paisley in Scotland, manufactured carpets here. The building which was used for this purpose was burned Dec. 10, 1836. They occupied also a new building which was situated on the upper privilege, having been raised June 2, 1835. In 1839 the building was owned by Mr. George Downes. The following year Mr. James Adams succeeded to the business, and in 1845 employed twenty-seven persons. In 1854 Mr. Frederic W. Urann manufactured curtain fix- tures, and was engaged in that occupation until the burning of the building, June 16, 1861.
Mr. Samuel Chandler engaged, in 1824, in the manufacture of satinet on the middle dam; he was succeeded by Abijah Carter and Spencer Everton. This factory was burned Nov. 30, 1835.
About 1790 Gen. Elijah Crane bought of John Withington the grist-mill on Bolivar Street, the site of the present shovel-works. In 1812 the privilege had become more valu- able for other purposes, and Gen. Elijah Crane and David Wilde erected a building, and began the manufacture of cot- ton goods. In 1815 the Steep Brook Cotton and Woollen Factory was incorporated with a capital of fifty thousand dollars; in 1823 it was occupied by Col. John Gay and James White. In 1824 this mill was purchased by Jonathan Messinger, and the following year the name " Bolivar " was given to it in the Act of Incorporation. Hence the town in 1840 named the street opened in 1792, on which the mill stood, Bolivar Street. This factory stood a few feet nearer the village than the present shovel factory, and was destroyed by fire, Jan. 29, 1841. The present building was erected in
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
1845, and occupies the exact site of the original grist-mill and the small hoe manufactory.
The dam at the Upper Silk Factory privilege, situated where Shepard Street crosses Massapoag Brook, was built by Lieut .- Col. Luke Shepard and his brother Joel. Colonel Shepard was a prominent man in civil and military affairs; he was the son of Thomas Shepard, who purchased the old Pierce house, which stood between this dam and the street, in 1799. For some years the wheelwright business was carried on here. Here Mr. William S. Otis built his first excavator, assisted by young Charles H. French, then just out of his apprenticeship. In 1847 the building was owned by Tilson and Messinger. In 1865 Proctor and Crandon began the manufacture of stockings. They erected the mill now standing and used as a silk factory.
About 1780 William Crane (the son of Henry), who was born Aug. 12, 1749, and died May 8, 1820, who lived on the Packeen road, in a house since known as the Ferry place, made tall wooden clocks. He was also a gunsmith; his daughter Hannah married Elijah, and another daughter mar- ried Henry, Morse. These men built the house near the rail- road bridge known as the Chapman house. In 1819 they began the manufacture of clocks, and many of them still adorn the ancient homesteads of the town, and bear on their faces the names of H. and E. Morse. I have seen only two that bear the name of Simeon Crane. William Crane was the first to bring water up the hill in what is now the cemetery; it was forced through wooden pipes by clock-work.
In 1836 a bounty was offered by the State for the purpose of encouraging the manufacture of silk. A great business immediately began in the selling of mulberry-trees, and trees worth two or three cents were sold for two or three dollars. Jonathan H. Cobb, a native of Sharon, prepared, at the request of the government, a manual on the subject. The results of the experiment were not commensurate with expectations; but in Canton silk manufacture has proved successful. The first silk factory was started in 1841 by Virgil J. Messinger; it was in operation until 1842, when Mr.
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THE RISE OF SOUTH CANTON.
Messinger left town. He returned in 1844, and with his brother Vernon erected the present lower silk factory. In 1842 the quantity of silk manufactured in Massachusetts was only 5,264 pounds, while in 1845 Canton sent out 5,200 pounds. The business, under the firm name of Messinger Brothers, was continued until 1863, when it was sold to Charles Foster, who associated with him J. W. C. Seavey, who had been for many years in the business, having entered the em- ploy of Mr. Messinger in 1853. In 1869 the firm became Seavey, Foster, and Bowman, afterward the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company. They employ about three hundred hands.
The mill now known as Mansfield's, situated on the first water privilege on Massapoag Brook, south of Sharon, was erected in 1821. The dam was then built for the first time. Here Simeon Presbrey made thread and twine until 1844, when he sold out to Thomas Baker Vose, who sold to William Mansfield in 1849. It is now occupied by George H. Mans- field and Company, and is used in manufacturing fish-lines.
The use of the privilege on Walnut Street is modern. The dam was constructed in 1846, and soon afterward a building was erected by William Mansfield and Jedediah Morse. Here for some years were manufactured the steam-power printing-presses of Stephen P. Ruggles, under the direction of Morse. The buildings on this privilege were burned in June, 1870, during the occupancy of Draper and Sumner. It has since been rebuilt by Mr. F. A. Sterry, and in 1882 was converted into a silk-mill by Messrs. Seavey,' Foster, and Bowman.
The privilege known as Shepard's was, in 1725, purchased from Israel Leadbetter by Uriah Leonard, and was called, until his death in 1772, "Leonard's forge; " the same year his grandson, Enoch, sold it to Richard Gridley and others. Gridley began a new forge this same year, having purchased the old house on the hill, where Uriah was then passing the last days of his life. Here Gridley manufactured some im- plements, and continued the grist-mill; and on the maps of 1785 and 1794 the place is called Colonel Gridley's mill.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
The old forge of Gridley was torn down May 11, 1809; a new one, raised May 16, was burned August 13.
Soon after the opening of the present century (1809) Deacon Thomas Dunbar carried on the manufacture of steel from iron-ore in a small way.
In 1814 James Bent and James Dunbar made swords.
In 1821 Adam Kinsley, Jr., made sleigh-shoes and plough- shares.
In 1820 a building on the easterly side of the road was erected, afterward called the old Red Factory, and soon after- ward occupied by William C. and John Danforth Dunbar. In 1830 twelve hands were employed making iron candle- sticks, by Jarvis Manley and Joseph Leavitt. In 1833 this mill was burned. In 1834 cotton yarn was manufactured by William Jenks, and cotton cloth by George F. Sanford in 1843. Jedediah and Ashael Southworth were employed in making thread from 1847 to 1849.
The building on the westerly side of the road was raised in 1835, and till 1838 was occupied by the Canton Hardware Company. Jonathan Robinson was the agent of this com- pany, and pruning-knives, ferules, and screw-drivers were manufactured. At this time the neighborhood received the name of "The Hardware." This building was burned Jan. 18, 1840, and February 10, another was raised. Mr. James Stratton Shepard purchased, in 1849, the business of manu- facturing wicking. He soon after engaged in the manufacture of twine, and occupied the factory on the easterly side of the street, which has from time to time been enlarged, until now, under the name of the American Net and Twine Company, this business is an important factor in the material prosperity of Canton.
The manufacture of knit-goods in Canton began at the Corner in 1851. Thomas Draper, a native of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England, born in September, 1808, was the pioneer of this industry. He first began to manufacture in Chelsea, Mass., but in April, 1851, moved his machinery to this town, and purchased the old Withington house of Mr. Benjamin B. Tilt, corner of Washington and Pleasant streets,
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THE RISE OF SOUTH CANTON.
and began the manufacture of fancy knit woollen goods and rubber-boot linings, in a building immediately in the rear of the dwelling-house. These were the first knitting-machines operated in Canton. Hand-power only was employed; and in time the demand for the goods kept the factory running night and day during the business season. Thomas Draper died May 29, 1856, after which the business was carried on by his son, Charles Draper, and Charles H. French. In 1858 Mr. French purchased the old privilege in West Stoughton, owned originally by Deacon Stearns, and until 1860 the firm of French and Draper continued the manufacture of goods, running the Stoughton mill and the one at Canton Corner. The firm dissolved in 1860, and divided machinery, Mr. French taking his portion to the Stoughton mill, and form- ing a partnership with Henry Ward, a native of England, who had been a foreman in the employ of French and Draper.
This firm still continues under the name and style of French and Ward, and is one of the large industries of Stoughton. Mr. Ward died March 29, 1880.
Charles Draper continued to manufacture at the old mill at Canton Corner until 1863, when he formed a partnership with Mathew Townsend, an Englishman, who had had con- siderable experience in the knitting business. The new firm organized under the name of Draper and Townsend, and in 1864 they purchased a portion of the old Billings farm, near the corner of Washington and Dedham streets, and erected a large factory and a number of tenement-houses. The old mill was abandoned, and a part of the buildings moved to the new site. After manufacturing less than a year, in 1865 a corporation was organized under the name and style of the Canton Woollen Mills, of which Messrs. Draper and Town- send were a part; and in 1866 this corporation advertised a paid-in capital of one hundred thousand dollars. The mills were in operation about two years, when the company failed, and in April, 1869, the property was sold by auction, Messrs. Draper and Sumner being the purchasers.
The woollen factory at " Springdale," Canton, was erected by Charles Draper in 1870, after the failure of the Canton Woollen Mills Corporation.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
Mathew Townsend manufactured goods for a time in the small mill located at the pond on the Bemis place, but finally moved his machinery to Worcester, Mass. He came to Can- ton again in 1878, and was associated in business with George F. Sumner in the Everett mill building in the manufacture of woollen and cotton goods, in which he continued until his death, which occurred March 31, 1879. Mr. Townsend was the inventor of the knitted carpet-lining and stair-padding now manufactured by the company at their mill at Canton Corner. He was also the inventor of a patent knitting latch-needle.
The firm of Draper and Sumner was organized about the year 1861 for the manufacture of woollen goods. James Draper, the senior partner, was a brother of Thomas, and was born in Melbourne, Derbyshire, England, Sept. 17, 1813. He came to Canton with his family in April, 1851, and assisted his brother Thomas in the organization of his business, and was for several years connected with him. In 1856 he rented that part of the Everett building that had formerly been used as a store, and began to make fancy knit woollen goods, being by trade a maker of lace fabrics, and thoroughly acquainted with the machinery that produced this class of goods. He was in business for himself until 1861, when the partnership with Mr. George F. Sumner was formed, and the entire building used for the business. In February of 1865 the firm purchased the Morse shops and privilege at South Canton, and used it for the manufacture of yarn until June, 1870, when the buildings were destroyed by fire. In April, 1869, the firm bought the Canton Woollen Mills property at the Corner, erected more buildings, and were doing a large business at the time of Mr. Draper's death, which occurred May 23, 1873. In 1875 the firm dissolved, Mr. Draper's children continuing the business at the mills under the name of Draper Brothers, and Mr. Sumner for himself at the Everett mill building.
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