USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Douglas > History of the town of Douglas, (Massachusetts,) from the earliest period to the close of 1878 > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
Mr. Cragin's success in selling axes led to an arrangement whereby he was to dispose of all that could be manufactured, and to furnish the iron and steel- an arrangement which was found to be profitable to all parties, and served greatly to increase the business. As often as once a week he carried a load of axes to Boston, and invariably found for them a ready market.
An increase of business necessitated an increase of room and power, and consequently a new shop was built, which was used
UPPER WORKS.
LBU
HOWE FACTORY.
GILBOA.
WORKS OF THE DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
256
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
for forging and grinding. This building is now standing near the- site of the original shop, and is used for an ice-house. About the year 1823 the old shop on Main street was destroyed by fire, and another was erected in its place. After many years of service this was torn down to make way for important improvements on Main street.
The first axe stamp was made with two cold chisels, one of them straight and the other round. The round one was made by punching a hole in the end of a piece of round steel, and then filing the circle to an edge. With these tools the marks made upon the axes were about as follows, which were supposed to stand for " Joseph & Oliver Hunt" :-
IOH
The improvements made in stamps are no less conspicuous than those which pervade all other departments of the works. Instead of using cold chisels, clean and symmetrical inscriptions are now cut by skilled workmen upon steel, which is afterwards hardened, and these impressions are left upon the axes in well-defined letters, giving all necessary information in regard to the manufacturers, etc. Much of the labor then performed by hand is now accom- plished by the introduction of valuable machinery, some of which was invented by men employed by the company, and used in no. other manufactory. One of the most important of these machines is called the "rolls," which was invented by Mr. Charles Hutch- ins, and the patent right is now held by the Company.
Warren Hunt took the management of affairs into his own hands when about eighteen years of age. The first men employed by him were Charles Parish and George Reynolds, who worked in the upper shop, making cast-steel axes. Previous to that time the axe-bits were made of "blister steel," welded on the pattern in- stead of set into it, as now. Mr. Hunt immediately commenced enlarging the works, and built the "brick shop" on the side of Legg's fulling-mill that had been carried away by a freshet. This building was used for drawing patterns, grinding, polishing, black- ing, handling, etc. ; and all the boxes for packing were made here besides. Then the stone factory was built, on the opposite side of the river, and the grinding, polishing, and a part of the forging was removed to it. Solid " blind-eyed" hatchets were forged
1
LOVETT WORKS.
HEAD AND BIT FORGING SHOPS.
.
WORKS OF THE DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
17
258
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
here, the eyes being drilled out by Aaron M. Hill. The drilling- machine used for this purpose was an invention of Cullen Whipple.
The old hatchet shop was originally a barn, and was used for a forge shop. The tempering shop was built afterwards, and ad- ditions were made to each. The shop next to the road was built about 1855. These were all burned by an incendiary fire in Octo- ber, 1875, and more commodious shops were immediately rebuilt on the site of the old ones.
About the year 1832 a partnership was formed between Warren Hunt and Capt. Alexander Scudder. Captain Scudder was a man of considerable means, having followed the seas for the greater part of his life. His brother (Mr. Charles Scudder of Boston), wishing to induce him to give up that mode of life, and knowing that Warren Hunt was in need of more capital for his increasing business, finally persuaded the Captain to settle down and engage with Mr. Hunt in axe manufacturing. For nearly three years a flourishing business was carried on, during which time Captain Scudder built as a residence the house now owned by Mr. Edwin Moore. Although comfortably situated and pros- perous in business, he was not satisfied. His longing for a sea- faring life grew upon him, and at last became so strong that he could resist it no longer. He decided to weigh anchor, and sold out his interest to Mr. Hunt, who remained sole proprietor until 1835, when a stock company was formed, under the name of the " Douglas Axe Manufacturing Co.," of which William T. Eustis was President (with the exception of two years, when Mr. Rogers filled the office,) till his death, which occurred May 5th, 1874. L. W. Swett, Esq., was his successor. The present board of officers consists of A. T. Perkins, Esq., President ; D. D. Dana, Treas- urer ; E. Moore, Agent.
The following men were among those employed in axe-making prior to the incorporation of the Axe Company, many of whom are now living, and their names will be at once recognized by our older residents : Otis Hunt, Oliver Hunt, Anderson Hunt, Joseph Hunt, George Reynolds, Jonathan Sprague, Caleb Legg, Solon Tupper, John B. Hunt, Estus Balcome, Frank Marcy, Gird Marcy, Thomas Dimsy, Michael Herral, Benjamin Smith, George Wade, Murray Lovett, Luther Stone, and William Hemenway.
MECHA
ANIC
SS
AWARDED
AT THE
TWELFTH
EXHIBITION
1874.
ASSOCIATION
MAS
*
FOUNDED 1795. INC.1806.
B
WARDED BY
ITED STATES
ENTENNIAL
COMMISSION
000
A
CO
EON
EMPEREUR
DOUGLAS
NAPOL
AXE M'F ℃.
EXPOS
COMPANY.
PARIS
RECOM
PENSES
MEDALS AWARDED TO DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
CCOO
N
CO.
DOUGLAS
AXE
1862
LONDINI
HONORIS
CAUSA
DOUGLAS
AXE MTC, CO
THE WORLD'S FAIR, LONDON, MEDAL, 1862.
OESTERREICH KOENIG VON BOEHMEN
FRANZ JOSEPH I., KAISER VON O U ETC.APOS KOENIG VON UNGARN
DOUGLAS AX
WELTAUSSTELLUNG 1873
WIEN.
DEM VERDIENSTE
DOUG
THE VIENNA EXPOSITION MEDAL, 1863.
262
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
The year 1847 was a severe one for manufacturing interests generally, and the Company decided to allow Warren Hunt to take the business into his own hands, they furnishing the stock and making an arrangement with him in regard to a percentage on sales. But the market for axes unexpectedly revived, so that the works were taxed to their utmost capacity to supply the demand. The result was that at the end of the year Mr. Hunt's net profits amounted to about $10,000. In view of these encouraging pros- pects the Company decided to resume the business permanently, and enlarged their works, as business increased, until they have reached the present proportions.
The principal portion of the Company's works at that time were located at Gilboa, which were originally owned by O. Hunt & Brothers and used for the manufacture of scythes. The Axe cor- poration leased them for the manufacture of axes until the time when they acquired possession of them by purchase, which was in 1854.
For some years subsequent to the time when the shops were built there was no public road leading from East Douglas village to Gilboa, and the water for driving the machinery was supplied by means of a trench. In severely cold weather the water in this trench would become so clogged by the ice that the shops would be obliged to suspend work in consequence. This came at length to be a source of so much trouble that various experiments were tried for its abatement. One of these was to sink a number of junk bottles through holes cut into the ice, first filling them with powder, and then exploding them by the aid of a fuse. This suc- ceeded, so far as shattering the ice was concerned, but the cold quickly congealed the mass of broken ice into a worse condition than before, and the experiment had to be abandoned. It was finally seen that the only effectual plan was to purchase and flow the "Knapp Interval," so-called, which not only broke up the troublesome ice embargo, but also furnished a more reliable supply of water for driving the machinery.
In the old shop, which is now standing below the trench, Mr. Ephraim K. Copeland drew the steel for the axe "bits." The trip-hammers then in use were called "jumpers," and have since gone out of date. A pair of heavy shears for cutting the bars of iron stood in a building which is now used as a shed, west of the
OLD RED SHOP, COTTAGE STREET, 1878.
FARM BUILDINGS OF DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTURING CO., EAST DOUGLAS.
264
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
stone shop. The rolls, invented by Mr. Charles Hutchins, were set up by him, assisted by Mr. Dexter Whipple, in the low stone shop. They were started in 1842 by Mr. Whipple, who has con- tinned to run them ever since. After removing them from the stone shop to the one built of wood, near the road, they were again removed (in 1854) to the new shops then just completed at. East Douglas. Another set of rolls was started at the same time, and have since been run by Mr. MeDonough Whipple.
In 1858 the Company commenced the manufacture of Spanish machets, cane-knives, etc., at Gilboa, and more than one hun- dred and fifty patterns of these tools have been made. During the War (in 1862 and '63) swords and sabre bayonets were manu- factured. The knife business continued until 1869. Axe-forging and grinding, however, has been carried on there uninterruptedly since the manufacture of scythes was discontinued, and at present the works' are used for forging picks, mattocks, bench axes and adzes, grinding all these tools, and for repairing machinery.
The Lovett mill was purchased by the Company in 1854, at the same time of the purchase of the premises at Gilboa ; and the Howe factory was bought in 1864, both these establishments being converted into axe shops at the time of changing owners, and ad- ditions made to them as required. In the summer of 1869 the upper new shops were enlarged, two additional shops being con- structed, one 40x40 in size, and the other 40x60, by which the facilities for manufacturing were increased about one-third.
THAYER'S GRIST AND SAW-MILL.
The mill now owned by A. J. Thayer was built by Moses Knapp, Esq., about the year 1853, and was known as " Knapp's Mill" until 1872, when Mr. Thayer became its proprietor. At that time it consisted of a circular saw-mill and grist-mill, with but one run of granite stones, which were driven by a breast- wheel of the rudest construction. About a year from that date the old machinery was removed, to make way for one of the Lane Improved saw-mills. In 1878 the buildings were greatly enlarged, and the grist-mill facilities more than doubled by the introduction of one of Lane's Monitor turbine wheels of forty-horse power. The mill has now two run of French burr stones, two elevators, and a corn cracker, and furnishes storage room for six thousand
265
AXE MANUFACTURING.
bushels of corn, sixteen hundred bushels of oats, one car-load of shorts, and has considerable storage capacity outside of the mill itself.
LOGEE'S CARRIAGE MANUFACTORY.
The building owned by S. Logee, and previously occupied for about twenty years by Mr. Logee as a country blacksmithery, Mr. Gleason's wheelwright-shop and Luke S. Keith's paint shop, was destroyed by fire Nov. 16, 1870, but was immediately rebuilt by Mr. Logee, who continued the blacksmith and wheelwright busi- ness, W. C. Brown run the shoeing department, Hugh Greene the harness-making business, and E. Burgess, Amasa Buffington, A. N. Bridges and Adelburt Hamar successively occupied the paint- ers' premises. Mr. Logee in 1877 added to his facilities a ten -. horse-power engine, together with a band and circular saw and lathe.
WELLMAN'S GRIST-MILL.
During the winter of 1877-78 the steam grist-mill owned and run by William H. Wellman was built. It is favorably situated near the depot, on the line of the New York and New England railroad, from whose cars the grain is unloaded direct. The mill is capable of storing sixty tons of grain, and has one run of French burr stones, which is driven by an eighteen-horse-power engine.
THE LEE & MURDOCK SHODDY-MILL.
In 1863 the large wooden factory now occupied by Lee & Murdock was erected by Dea. Warren Hunt, near the old Eagle grist-mill, the Mumford river furnishing water-power for fifty- eight looms. It was used by him for the manufacture of cotton goods for nearly a year, when it lay idle until 1867. The property then passed into the hands of Nelson Williams, who at that time. operated the Eagle grist-mill near by. On the 30th of Septem- ber, 1869, the mill, land and machinery was sold at public auction to C. P. Whitin, for $14,700. A. F. Jones bought thirteen of the looms for $1,375. In 1870 a portion of the Eagle grist-mill was rented to Lee & Whittemore, who manufactured shoddy for about a year, when they went into bankruptcy. The whole estate was soon purchased by Moses Taft of Uxbridge, and others, and a
266
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
copartnership was formed between D. M. Lee of East Douglas, and L. H. Murdock of Uxbridge, who leased the entire estate and commenced the manufacture of shoddy, under the style of Lee & Murdock. They have since increased their facilities from time to time, and at the present time are doing an extensive business.
In 1874 they erected a brick fire-proof picker honse, 60x31 in size, and a two-story engine-house in 1875, into which they put an eighty-horse-power engine built by Corliss.
They have now eighteen cards and six pickers in operation. Their work is all done under contract for other parties, and they have the reputation of manufacturing as good all-wool shoddies as any firm in New England, their goods being used in the finest textile fabrics, and the quality and staple being nearly equal to wool. On the 1st of April, 1878, a stock company was incorpor- ated, with a capital of $50,000, the real estate consisting of the mill, the water-power, and the Preston House, transferred to them. Lee & Murdock still continue the business.
MECHANICS' BLOCK
is a building 28x80 feet in size, two stories high, and situated on the south side of Main street, in the rear of the Methodist church. This block was erected in 1871 by Messrs. Luke S. Keith, Joseph Bowen, George A. Gleason and W. W. Brown. Being unable to lease suitable workshops for their increasing business, and being dependent upon each other in their business relations, they formed themselves into a copartnership on the 9th of June in that year, under the name of the " Mechanics' Association," for the purpose of erecting a building in which they might conduct their business more successfully.
The building is occupied by a wheelwright and undertaker's shop on the first floor, and for sign-painting, carriage-painting and trimming and harness-making above. The land which it occupies was purchased of the Trustees of the Methodist church. To accommodate the carriage business more completely, a piece of land was presented by the Association to Mr. Sypline Rivers, upon which he erected a blacksmith shop, 38x40 feet, which was also completed in 1871, providing facilities for a complete harness and carriage manufactory, and also one for the manufacture and repair-
267
AXE MANUFACTURING.
ing of furniture, not omitting a much-needed equipment with steam · power by two of the parties in the building, thus making it a first- class establishment of its kind.
The parties now occupying the building are the following : George A. Gleason, wheelwright shop, furnished with a twelve- horse-power engine, and a circular-saw for heavy work ; Joseph Brown, undertaker's shop and cabinet factory, and repair shop, with a two-horse-power engine, circular saw, lathe, and band and jig-sawing machinery ; L. S. Keith, carriage and sign-painter ; Willard Whipple, successor to W. W. Brown in the harness shop ; Sypline Rivers, horse-shoeing and general blacksmithing.
EAGLE GRIST-MILL.
There is now no means of determining when the original Eagle grist-mill was built. It was standing long before the old forge was built, and was then in so dilapidated a condition that it seemed as though it might tumble down at any time. The second one was erected in its place about the year 1795, at which time a new dam was built. It came into the possession of Colonel Preston about 1800, through his wife's father, Timothy Taft, who owned and run it for many years before, and continued to run it till 1827, the time of his death. It was then carried on by Dorris Willard and Frank Taft until the death of Mrs. Preston in 1838, when it passed into their hands, they being heirs of Colonel Preston.
Willard Taft built the present mill, using therefor a portion of the old timber, and putting in an iron wheel. The mill was run by Frank Taft and Justin Whipple, who manufactured plow beams and handles for about a year. It finally came into the hands of Deacon Hunt, who built a new mill, and added to the regular bus- iness that of grinding bones and plaster.
CHAPTER XVIII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKS OF THE DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY.
e
HAT an enterprise so apparently unpromising at the start as was that of axe-making in Douglas a half century ago should attain so prominent a rank, and also a celebrity so nearly world-wide in that interval, is rare indeed. Nevertheless, so it has come to pass ; and the intrinsic interest involved in this fact would seem of itself to render desirable a general description of a branch of purely American industry so judiciously managed as has been the fact with this, and also as much as practicable of its de- tails. The following slip shows the reputation acquired abroad for this Company's productions : -
" Schliemann labored long with Mr. Gladstone before the latter would commit himself to the delicate task of writing a preface for ' Mycena,' but a firm at Sheffield, England, which is making American axes, was more fortunate. In a critical review of this useful implement the ex-premier says : 'I am very glad you have added that useful article, the American axe, to the list of our home productions ; and I thank you for favoring me with a speci- men which seems, on as much trial as I have made, to possess all the merits of the original. I find it necessary to study efficiency in proportion and weight, and it is under this issue that I think the American axe comes out well, especially for soft or free- grained woods. The handle is, I think, excellent ; but I always wish it were cut straight across at the end, at a right angle to its direction or axis.'"
The capital required to conduct the business of the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company amounts to $400,000. This is in- vested mainly in the large number of buildings and - mechanical
HUNT'S SUPERIOR AXES MANUFACTURED: . FROM BEST REFINED CAST STEEL BY THE
HUNT'S SUPERIOR AXES MANUFACTURED EROM BEST REFINED CAST STEEL
BY THE
DOUGLAS AXE MFG Co EAST DOUGLAS MASS.
DOUGLAS AXE MFG CS EAST DOUGLAS, MAS'S.
A
B
HUNTS
SUPERIOR AXES MANUFACTURED FROM
BEST REFINED CAST STEEL
BY THE
EAST DOUGLAS, MASS.
C
HUNT'S SUPERIOR AXES MANUFACTURED FROM BEST REFINED CAST STEEL WAY THE DOUGLAS AXE MFC CO LAST DOUGLAS, MASS.
HUNT'S' SUPERIOR AXES MANUFACTURED FROM BEST REFINED CAST STEELE DOUGLAS AXE MFG CO EAST DOUGLAS MASS
D
E
PATTERNS OF AXES MADE BY THE DOUGLAS AXE MANUFACTURING CO. A Ohio, B Yankee Bevel, C Double Bit, D Michigan, E Kentucky.
DOUGLAS AXE MFG Co.
270
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
appliances which extend for a full mile along the banks of the Mumford river, in the central portion of the village of East Douglas.
The departments into which axe-making naturally divides itself are four, each of which requires separate buildings more or less. in extent and number. The most diversified of these departments. is that in which the forging of the axes is done, which also gives employment to the largest number of workmen ; then comes that in which the grinding is performed, four different processes being necessary in this stage of the work ; next the tempering of the axe is attended to, and the polishing and grading of the tools. come in as a finality.
For the accomplishment of all these features of the business, of which the above is merely an outline, no small amount of motive power must of course be provided. This the unpretentious stream flanking the various laboratories happily supplies, through the nu- merous water-wheels with which they are equipped. In case this reliance should ever fail, however, a powerful steam-engine is qui- etly awaiting the summons to duty as a substitute in operating the multitude of trip-hammers, ponderous grindstones, and emery- wheels of all dimensions.
The amount of iron requisite for the average annual production of the establishment reaches twelve hundred tons, into which over three hundred tons of cast-steel are incorporated. The item of coal yearly consumed foots up twenty-five hundred tons; the quantity of grindstones used up in the same time amounts to, twelve hundred tons, full $100 worth being ground away during every working day; nearly $30,000 worth of axe and hatchet handles is required per year ; and the monthly pay-roll averages. $13,000.
With this general profile of what is requisite for the manufac- ture of axes, let us now turn our attention to a few of the princi- pal details involved, tracing the process from the long, rough bars. of iron at the doors of Shop No. 1 to the tastefully-finished imple- ment awaiting our inspection in the packing-room.
Powerful shears first cut up the iron bars into " blanks " of about. six inches in length. A furnace receives these till they are brought. to a red heat, when they are run through a set of rolls, which gives to the lurid metal the tolerable appearance of the head and
271
AXE MANUFACTURING.
about half of the blade of an axe. A little further on, after a some- what lengthy series of hand and trip-hammer manipulations, the embryo axe is completed in form by having added to it nearly a pound of the best of steel for the blade, which is so imbedded in the bitt of the tool, by careful welding and repeated hammering, as to insure a good cutting edge for years of hard usage and grinding. There may be many brands of axes in the market that can show a greater spread of steel on the surface of the blade, but the aim of the Douglas Company is to produce one whose cutting quality is re- tained as long as there is enough of the im- plement left to be called an axe. The numerous trip-hammerings as well as hand beatings through which the tool passes is quite as much for the purpose of securing the utmost scientific form and symmetry as to give it complete solidity, since the shape of the tool, as regards the face, edge and sides, has more to do with its efficiency in cutting than a cursory thought would suggest.
And when, at length, the tool drops from the tongs of the last in the list of forgers, it is ready for the next stage, that is, unless the inspector in his inexorable round of duty should chance to condemn. it as not being up to standard, either in shape, welding or forging. In this case it goes directly back to the unwary man OVERCOAT STEEL. THE DOUGLAS at whose door the fault lies, since every AXE BIT. finisher's stamp tells instantly who is to blame. The visitor can hardly fail to be struck with the fact that this is no place for a bungler. He would be kept so constantly at the profitless task of reconstruction that he could not stand it, any more than the Company could afford him shop-room or mate- rials for such a costly experimentation.
The formative stage is now complete, and the grinders next have charge of the axe. It may startle the reader somewhat to
272
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS.
be told that among all the men employed in this division of the establishment not one can be enrolled on any life insurance com- pany's books. But nevertheless such is the case, so perilous to an average length of life is the grinder's task. The huge and rapidly- whirling stones over which they bend in their daily toil not only wear away the hard metal from the axe, but the almost impalpable dust developed in the process, both from the iron and the stone, so pervades the room that its inhalation with almost every breath is inevitable, notwithstanding the stones themselves are constantly dripping with water. The " grinders' consumption " is the doom of only a few years' postponement in most cases. Adding somewhat to the peril, many of the men seem really to be sitting astride their stones, " riding horses " as it is termed, that they may bring their whole avoirdupois to bear upon the tool while grinding, and thus materially expediting the work. The rate at which these huge grindstones are used up is astonishing. One of them measuring full seven feet in diameter will have been so worn away by three weeks' use as to require replacing with a new one. And now and then, but fortunately not often, a stone bursts, in consequence of some imperceptible flaw, or the too great centrifugal force acquired in its rapid motion, when the track of the flying fragments is marked by the fearful mutilation if not the instant death of the man who chances to be grinding probably, but certainly by the terrible shattering of the machinery or building.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.