History of the town of Shirley, Massachusetts, from its early settlement to A.D. 1882, Part 4

Author: Chandler, Seth
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Shirley, Mass. : The Author
Number of Pages: 836

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Shirley > History of the town of Shirley, Massachusetts, from its early settlement to A.D. 1882 > Part 4

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In 1877 this privilege, with the mills that had been erected upon it, the appertaining dwellings and contiguous buildings, were purchased by Nathaniel W. Cowdrey, late of Lunenburg, an enterprising business man and manu- facturer. He introduced the making of "leather board" and has continued the occupation unto the present time, turning out, upon an average, five. tons of this product per week.

At the commencement of the year 1881, Mr. Cowdrey added to his existing works a new mill for sawing lumber and stave material, and during the year, just closed, has sawed out 700,000 feet of lumber and 600,000 staves. In these different occupations Mr. Cowdrey has kept in his service an average of fifteen employes.

Immediately connected with this sawing establishment is a coopering manufactory, which is under the conduct of Granville Fairbanks, who turns out 12,000 casks, of dif- ferent dimensions, per month.

The third cotton manufactory was built on the site of the first corn-mill, and its machinery was propelled by the waters of the Catacunemaug. Israel Longley, Sen., was its original proprietor, but he dying before its completion, it became the property of Thomas Hazen. It was ready for use in 1824, and was for many years rented by John Smith, Esq., who subsequently removed to Barre, and was there extensively. engaged in the manufacture of cotton fabrics unto the period of his death. This manu- factory-known as the Shirley Cotton Mill-was subse- quently stocked with machinery, and operated by Israel

Autoglyph Print, W. P. ALLEN, Gardner, Mass.

FREDONIA MILL.

CIVIL HISTORY.

Longley-son of the original proprietor-for many years. It had 2,400 spindles, and, in connection with Fort-Pond Mill, manufactured 698,880 yards of brown sheetings annually. This mill was destroyed by fire May 26, 1867.

The fourth cotton manufactory is also situated upon the Catacunemaug, a few rods below the bridge which spans the river at the principal thoroughfare of the village. It bears the name of Fredonia Mill, and was built by a company of the same name, which was incorporated Feb. 16, 1832. It is one hundred and fifteen feet long, thirty-six feet broad and three stories in height. It runs 3,280 spindles, and sixty-eight looms, and employs fifty-six operatives. It manufactures 1, 189,000 yards of light brown sheetings per annum. Unto the year 1863, from its commencement, Messrs. Israel Longley and Willard Worcester were the proprietors of this establishment, who from an early date ceased its operation under its original act of incorporation. Upon the death of one of these gentlemen it passed into the possession of L. and C. W. Holbrook and C. W. Smith, under the name of Levi Hol- brook & Co., and so remained unto the year 1868, when the Holbrooks sold their interest in the company to J. E. Smith. The firm is now known as that of C. W. & J. E. Smith. They are the enterprising sons of John Smith, who for a time rented and run the Shirley Cotton Mill. Connected with the Fredonia mill is a spacious boarding house, and several smaller houses erected for the accom- modation of married operatives. The whole is under the personal charge of Mr. Levi Holbrook, whose careful habits and courteous manners well adapt him to the responsible position to which he has been appointed.

Near the saw-mill erected in 1829 by Mr. Samuel Hazen, at the village called "The North Bend," the same enterprising proprietor built a cotton-mill in 1840, with several tenement houses. It bore the name of "Lake Mill," and was first occupied for a short time by Mr. Oliver Barrett. It was subsequently enlarged and run by 7

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

the proprietors of the | Fredonia mill for a few years, when it passed into the occupancy of a company from Boston who continued to rent it up to Sept. 17, 1866, when it was destroyed by fire, communicated by a defect in the picking machine. This mill, the fifth cotton manufac- tory, was furnished with two thousand spindles, fifty- two looms, and manufactured 524,000 yards of brown sheetings per annum.

The sixth cotton manufactory stands on the lower privilege of the Catacunemaug, but a short distance above its junction with the waters of the Nashua, and but a few rods below the Fredonia mill. It was built by the Shaker Community, who gave it the name of " Phoenix Mill." Its foundation was laid in 1849, and its super- structure completed in 1850. The building is of brick, and is one hundred and forty feet long, fifty feet broad, and three stories high exclusive of the attic, which is filled with machinery. It is surmounted by a tower in which is a fine-toned bell. The whole structure was finished with great care and expense. Connected with it are three blocks of brick houses, two stories high, and each block has four tenements. These are designed for those opera- tives who have small families and wish to be housekeepers. Exclusive of these, is a large boarding house, built of brick, three stories high, and sufficiently large to accom- modate all operatives, not connected with families, and who wish to be boarders. A large, beautiful and well situated mansion, for the use of the company's agent, belongs. to the establishment,-furnished at the expense of the proprietors.

When ready for occupancy the buildings and privilege were rented to a firm from New Bedford, that originally bore the name of "Steam Mill Company ;" but which, on coming to Shirley, dropped that appellation and assumed that of "Phoenix Company." The lessees supplied the mill with shafting and machinery and took possession of it in the spring of 1852. They give employment to about one hundred persons, a large portion of whom are foreigners,

Autoglyph Print, W. P. ALLEN, Gardner, Mass.

PHOENIX MILL.

CIVIL HISTORY.

and more than one-half females. The mill runs 5,688 spindles,-3,168 mule spindles and 2,520 ring and traveler spindles,-and 130 looms. The fabrics made are brown and bleached sheetings. The amount capable of manu- facture in a year-the mill in full operation-is 1,050,000 yards. Through the careful supervision of the agents, the community connected with this manufactory have observed the moral proprieties of life, though many of its members are of the lower class of foreigners, and pos- sessed of little mental or educational culture.

This mill has added much to the valuation of the town, and to its business facilities; and, notwithstanding the disasters to which it has been subjected during its brief history, it has been a source of no mean income to its original or its present proprietors. The capital stock of the company is $60,000 .*

To give this mill a supply of water in times of drought, and also to secure the same facilities for other privileges on the stream, a reservoir company was formed by the interested parties, by whose efforts the value of the water-power in the valley of the Catacunemaug was greatly increased. The northern branch of this river is supplied by two large ponds, which, in their natural state cover areas, one of sixty acres, and the other of one hundred and twenty acres. In the year 1852 the Reser- voir Company threw a dam across the stream at a feasible point, and thus enlarged their area of water by the addition of seven hundred acres of pond. And should the manu- facturing business of the valley demand the expenditure, a similar improvement may be made on the southern branch of the river, which has for its source Fort Pond in Lancas- ter. In its present state this pond covers an area of one hundred and fifty acres.

On the second day of July, 1856, the reservoir dam gave way, and. the mass of water which it had held in reserve poured down the valley, overflowing its banks, and inundating fields and meadows with its turbid waves.

*See Appendix D.

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

Four road bridges, five mill-dams, two blacksmith shops, one saw-mill, and some smaller buildings, with one rail- road bridge, were swept away, and other structures were partially undermined and injured. This was a sad day for the town in general and for its manufacturing interests in particular. The estimated loss occasioned by this dis- aster-public and private-was about $50,000.

The cause of this calamity has not been fully determined. The dam had braved all the force of the spring freshets, and at the time of its failure the water was two and a half feet below the mark of high water. Undaunted by disappointment and loss, the Reservoir Company immediately commenced a reconstruction of their dam, and in prosecuting their work they aimed to place their structure in a position of such security as to bear any pressure of water to which it could be subjected. The roll is of stone, bedded on a solid foundation and jointed with great care. This foundation is protected by plank spiles driven five feet into the solid earth. These spiles are continued the whole length of the dam, and its massive embankments are sustained by a central wall of strong brick masonry, and the whole is declared finished in a substantial and workmanlike manner. * The Phoenix Mill, with its dependencies of canals, dams and general fixtures, is a work highly creditable to the enterprise of that peaceful, retiring, and, as some falsely suppose, inert people, the Shakers. After a time, they conveyed this property to the company that had occupied the mill from its erection. In 1881, however, it was purchased by C. W. and J. E. Smith, the enterprising proprietors of the Fredonia manufactory, who turn out the same kind and quality of goods as their predecessors .*

The seventh cotton manufactory in town came into being these latter days, being founded in 1865, by N. C. Munson,-whose name will frequently appear in these pages. It stands on the privilege of the first cotton-mill and very properly bears the name of "The Edgarton

*See Appendix D.

CIVIL HISTORY.

Manufactory." It is an imposing structure, three stories in height, one hundred and fourteen feet in length, and forty-five feet in breadth. It runs 3,400 spindles, 80 looms, and employs fifty operatives. The fabric which it manu- factures is brown sheetings,-14,000 yards per week. It is composed of brick, and is an exhibition of correct taste, both in the form of its structure and neatness of its finish. It is warmed by steam, which pervades every part of it and emits a very even and healthy temperature. It gives employment to several families, adds to the val- uation of the town, and is a monument of the enterprise of its proprietor.

The paper enterprise, in point of time and impor- tance-stands next to the manufactory of cottons. In the latter years of the last century, Jonas Parker-a native of Shirley-and his brother Thomas Parker, left their home and resided one year in Waltham, where they acquired the art of paper-making. They returned to Shirley, and in connection with John Edgarton, Esq., built the first paper-mill. It was located on the Catacunemaug-on the spot afterward occupied by the fork manufactory of Messrs. Pope & Co. The announcement that paper- making was about to be added to the other enterprises of the town created quite a sensation among its yeomanry, and all looked with anxiety for a full development of the plan. It was, however, but a humble effort compared with what has since been put forth in the same direction. The mill had but one engine, and that of an inferior quality ; and no other drying process was then known but the slow one by sun and air. The enterprise was, not- withstanding, a great novelty in this vicinity.

After a few years of trial, without any marked results, the Parkers sold their interest in the concern to Lemuel Willard and Brother, who eventually conveyed the property to Joseph Edgarton & Co. This firm, after an indifferent run of business for several years, suspended it in that place, and the building was converted into a batting-mill. It continued in that use until the year 1837, when it was destroyed by fire.

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

The Edgarton Company having, by this initiatory experience, become interested in the paper-making busi- ness, now resolved to push forward the enterprise on an enlarged scale. They accordingly, in 1828, built a second mill on the Nashua river, near the saw and corn- mills erected by Joshua Longley, noticed on a preceding page.

Henry P. Howe was appointed superintendent of this mill, which was two stories in height, the upper part being entirely occupied for drying purposes. Mr. Howe was a skilful machinist, and he devised various artificial methods to remedy the long process of air drying. He finally hit upon the plan-which was subsequently patented-of the "fire-dryer." The wonderful machine, after many trials, alterations and amendments, was at length completed, and put in operation with satisfactory results. It is hardly possible to describe the astonishment which the new enter- prise created. The dull way of grinding the material, pressing it into sheets, and then passing it through a long season of air drying, was a tedious method of producing one of the most important articles of domestic and business use ; and such was the imperfection of the material thus produced that it would hardly be regarded worthy the meanest service to which paper is devoted at the present day. By the invention of Mr. Howe, the pulp was received at one extreme end of the machine, and after passing through a complicated process of change and preparation, was discharged at the other end, finished paper, ready for immediate use.

The reputation of the inventor was now sufficiently established to warrant him in undertaking the manufacture of paper-making machinery with the fire-dryer. He accordingly fitted up a machine shop-near the paper-mill -in 1833, and there carried on the business for the space of three years, when he removed to Worcester, where he soon after died. The fire-dryer, which promised so much in the outset, has been superseded by steam drying, which is the most felicitous way of making paper that ever has or probably ever will be invented.

CIVIL HISTORY.

The Edgarton manufactory now assumed a new appearance. Four engines were added to the four already in use, and while an extension of the building was required, the spacious drying-room above was no longer needed. Under the direction of different con- tractors the work was continued until June 15, 1837, when it was destroyed by fire with all its contents, including several tons of finished paper. John M. Sherwin, one of the operatives, fell a victim to the conflagration.

For a few years after the destruction of this mill the privilege remained unoccupied ; but in 1842 Mr. Eli Page purchased it, and erected upon it another building for a paper-mill. When finished it was first rented to Moses Carlton of Lancaster, but soon after it was transferred to John L. Hollingsworth, who greatly enlarged and im- proved the establishment. Its pecuniary capital-while in charge of Hollingsworth-was $20,000, and the amount of paper manufactured yearly was 50,000 reams.

In 1852 it passed into the occupation of Stephen Roberts, an old paper-maker, who, for several years did a large business, and a business as profitable as large. When in successful operation he turned out one ton of manilla paper per day. It was made of ropes-the cast- off cordage of vessels-and dyed with ochre. It had a smooth surface, strong texture, and was used for wrappers, envelopes, and various other purposes. To keep the mill in constant action required three hundred and fifty tons of coal per annum.

When Mr. Roberts left the town, the old mill building was removed, and a new and stately structure was erected in its place. This was occupied by John Roberts, son of Stephen, for a short time, when it shared the fate of so many of the Shirley manufactories, being destroyed by fire.

Its place was soon supplied with another building, but since the territory on which it stands has ceased to be a portion of the town, we must leave any further account of it to the future historian of Ayer.

The next paper manufactory was set up in the South village, by William Edgarton, son of Joseph Edgarton,

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

the veteran manufacturer of Shirley, whose name is more largely connected with manufacturing enterprise than any other. And it is worthy of note, that in this establishment of his son he spent his concluding days of labor, and went from the daily toils of the mill to the retirement of domes- tic regard and attention to die! It is also a singular coincidence that the very edifice which was the first dawn of the manufacturing interest in town,-where the first cotton machinery was employed, and where Mr. Edgarton expended a large share of his business life,-should be so far recuperated, after years of neglect, as to open to him a theatre of industrial action for the waning period of his existence. But so it was. After the business pressure of 1834, it was dismantled of its cotton machinery ; its upper rooms were never more improved, and it presented only the outward semblance of its former glory. The base- ment, however, was improved as a paper manufactory, as the reader has seen. It was furnished with a steam-dryer, and turned out about four hundred reams per week. It was a coarse wrapping-paper, the material out of which it was wrought being principally straw.

In 1837 the building on the Squannacook river, which was erected by the Messrs. Rockwood as a clothier's establishment, was enlarged and made the fourth paper-mill in Shirley. It was conducted by dif- ferent, proprietors until 1853, when it became the property of Oliver Howe, who rented it for a few years to Harrison G. Hartwell. In 1857 Mr. Howe sold his interest in the mill to Benjamin F. Bartlett of Pepperell, who for a season devoted it to the manufacture of coarse wrapping-paper. It is now owned by Edwin H. Sampson, the enterprising proprietor of the larger works on the Groton side of the river. Another structure, with a steam engine, has been connected with it, and both mills are used for the ·

manufacture of leather-board. The amount manufac-

tured on the Shirley side of the river is one ton per day.

In 1868 Mr. Samuel Hazen built the fifth paper-mill in town. It was located near the site of the Lake Mills,

CIVIL HISTORY.

then recently destroyed by fire. When completed it was occupied for a time by Andrew and Granville Williams, but eventually was rented to Stephen Shepley, a native of Shirley, but who then resided in Fitchburg, and who was largely engaged in paper-making and in book and stationery traffic. From Mr. Shepley it passed into the occupancy of its present proprietor, B. S. Binney, who manufactures four tons of paper per week, all of which he converts into bags for the use of grocers, etc. These bags are made by machinery, and are turned off at the rate of one hundred and twenty thousand per day.

The manufacture of farming implements from iron and steel, has engaged the attention of individuals from time to time in Shirley.

Not far from the close of the Revolutionary war, Ebenezer Pratt erected a "forge"-as it was denominated in the parlance of that day-near the spot on which the Wilson carding-mill afterward stood, on the waters of the Mulpus. Here, in company with three of his sons, he made scythes for a few years; but, as the facilities of despatch in this kind of business which have recently made it profitable were then unknown, it was found to require much labor for a small return, and was accord- ingly discontinued after a fair trial,-and the building, having fallen into disuse, was left to decay.

A few years later John and Benjamin Edgarton built a similar establishment on the Catacunemaug, which was conducted for several years by the latter gentleman, but it was never attended with very signal success, and after a trial of some ten years was abandoned.

In the autumn of 1850 a mill was established on the Catacunemaug, for the manufacture of farmers' tools, and was kept in successful operation for several years. Messrs. Pope and Parsons were the proprietors. Hay and manure forks were the implements to which their attention was mainly given, though their craft was by no means , confined to these. While in successful operation they em- ployed from eight to ten workmen. They consumed

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

nearly 1,000 bushels of charcoal and fifty tons of pit coal, and wrought into utensils some eight tons of cast steel, per annum. The annual amount of finished articles did not fall short of five hundred dozens. The forks that were made in this establishment were of excellent finish and character, and it was a matter of common regret that the business should be abandoned in town.

Nail-making has also received some patronage in Shirley. Not far from the year 1810, William McIntosh engaged in the manufacture of cut nails, to which business he devoted his labor for several years, but he eventually left it for other employments.

In the year 1850 the "Old Red Mill," which was the first cotton manufactory in town, and afterward became a paper-mill, was converted into a shingle and planing es- tablishment. It was used for this purpose until May of 1855, when it assumed its last phase of usefulness. It became a nail factory. William B. Edgarton and brothers employed its water-power in making horse nails. Six machines were used for this purpose, and the business, in that and in the building which succeeded it, was con- tinued unto the year 1865. Each machine was expected to manufacture twenty-five pounds of nails per day.

On the eighteenth of September, of the year in which the "Old Red Mill" became a nail factory, it was con- sumed by fire. This occurred on a clear, still evening, and the flames had unbroken ascent, in spiral forms, pre- senting the spectator with an imposing scene, and giving him to understand that, though he could not wrest their victim from their grasp, they should seek no further sacri- fice at that time. Thus, after an existence of thirty-eight years, fell this early monument of the Shirley manufactur- ing enterprise. It may be said to have passed away by degrees, for nothing but its basement story was occu- pied after its true glory had departed, with its cotton machinery, in 1837.

Mrs. Sarah C. E. Mayo-whose name has before occurred in these pages as one who sung the praises of

CIVIL HISTORY.

the river on the banks of which this manufactory stood- resumed her lyre, at a subsequent date, in honor of the "Old Red Mill." She did not live to witness its fiery end, else that might have found a prominent place in her song. In the extract which is here made from her poem, the reader will notice the tenderness with which she alludes to her father, whose last labor was in this mill, and to her sister, a few years her elder, and but a few years before her in the spirit land :

"Bright in the foreground of wood and hill, Close by the banks of my native rill, Rumbling early ere dawn of light, Rumbling late through the winter night, When all the air and the earth is still, Toileth and groaneth the old red mill.

" Fair forms once moved through those spacious rooms, Fair hands once tended the clattering looms ; Those walls, with the spider's tapestry hung, With the music and laughter of youth have rung ; But now the song and the laugh are still, In the upper lofts of the old red mill.

" But down below, still the work goes on ;- In the groaning vortex the "waste " is thrown ; While heavily turneth the ponderous wheel, And the web comes forth o'er the whirling reel ; Good, honest service it doeth still, That shattered and wind-swept old red mill.

" And one,-who with long and patient care Kept guardian watch o'er the labors there, Who at early morning, and evening late, By those groaning engines was wont to wait, That he with comfort his home might fill,- No longer treads through the old red mill.

" No more we see him, with silvery hair, Slowly ascending the broken stair That leads from the doorway, with rubbish strewed, Up the steep green bank to the village road ; Or, pausing awhile on the brow of the hill, Gaze thoughtfully down on the old red mill.

HISTORY OF SHIRLEY.

"He has passed away with his kindly smile, With his heart so cheerful and free from guile ; Sweet is his memory, sweet and dear To the friends that loved him while he was here; And long will the deeps of our being thrill To the memories linked with the old red mill.

"The sire has passed, and ah ! not alone, Another link from our chain is gone ! Another, whose heart of love is cold ; Whose form has passed to the dust and mould; No more will SHE cross our cottage sill, Or gaze with us on the old red inill.

"Then let old Ruin about it lurk ; Let it rumble on in its dainty work. It will pass away as they have passed, For we all must tottle and fall at last ! Well would it be could we each fulfil As patient a lot as the old red mill."

In the early part of the present century, carriage- making became an occupation in this town. One Thomas Hunt established the craft in the south village. He owned and occupied a house-to which a shop was attached- which stood on the ground upon which Dr. Augustus G. Parker afterward erected the house that was lately owned by Mr. Hiram Longley of Chicago. The work of Mr. Hunt was generally of a coarse description, and did not extend beyond the labor of his own hands. After he left town the work was discontinued in that place.

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History of the town of Shirley, Massachusetts, from its early settlement to A.D. 1882, Part 4

Author: Chandler, Seth Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Shirley, Mass. : The Author Number of Pages: 836

Author: Chandler, Seth
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Shirley, Mass. : The Author
Number of Pages: 836