USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 52
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In 1851, John Brooks Nichols, a Lynn shoemaker, saw in a Boston paper an advertisement of a lot of Singer sewing machines for sale. He bought one, and in Boston established a shop in which he sewed trousers on contract for tailors. Being a shoemaker, he wondered why it could not be made to sew leather as well as cloth. He made a machine which proved his theory correct. He took in a partner, William B. Bliss, of Worcester, and they set up business in Boston. In demonstrating his machine, this inventor came in contact with a bright young lady who told him, "I'd like to see you hung on a sour apple tree. You have made a machine that will rob me of my daily bread." Men still living well recall that when youths they had to come home from school early, in order to turn the sewing machine for mother. Later, water and steam power propelled the larger sewing machines.
With the advent of the Civil War, in 1861, great was the instant demand for men's army shoes. Many of the loyal shoemakers of Lynn left their "kit" in the shop and put on the blue in defense of the flag of the Union. But what men sometimes call "Providence" came along, in the person of Col. Gordon Mckay, who brought out a sole-sewing ma- chine, and so wonderful was it that it took the place of thousands of shoe- makers at once. Moreover, it provided the people with more shoes and at a less price than ever before known in the world. This machine was
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invented by Lyman R. Blake, a Yankee genius, born in South Abington, August 24, 1835. He worked in a shoe shop until of age, saved up $1,400, and purchased an interest in a shoe factory, as then styled. He set to work to make a machine to sew soles to the uppers. He whittled out his first models and patterns, and made his machine, also patented it in Washington. In 1858 he sold to Col. Gordon Mckay for $70,000; $8,000 was paid down, the remainder to come from the profits in the company. A syndicate of Lynn shoe men tried to buy his machine, but they failed. Again he improved the original machine for Mckay. Between 1861 and 1876, the Blake machine, its inventor testified in patent court, had made 177,665,135 pairs of shoes, and that at least eighteen cents per pair had been saved the makers by use of his invention. The Civil War period caused wages to increase, and men who had made shoes at the cobbler's bench for from four to six dollars per week (and worked fifteen hours per day), now commanded as high as $20 per day to run one of the Mckay sewing machines, in sewing the uppers to the soles of shoes. However, it should be stated that this was paid in greenbacks and "shinplasters", worth thirty-three cents on a dollar. Under normal conditions, about 17,000 people find employment in the business of manufacturing and shipping shoes from Lynn. In the year 1920, Lynn produced shoes to the value of $75,000,000, while in the same year the allied products reached nearly $45,000,000.
The Goodyear machine did even greater things for the shoe trade than the Mckay. It multiplied the product, increased the wages and provided the people with better foot wear. The original welt-machine reduced the cost of sewing both welt and soles to ten cents a pair, four cents of which went as royalty to the patentee. The total saving on a pair of shoes of this machine was sixty-five cents. The best hand-sewed shoes used to sell at from ten to fifteen dollars, but today as good a pair may be purchased (or could before the late war) for five dollars. As to the whereabouts of these various inventors of shoe machinery, it may be stated that Blake traveled through Europe, demonstrating his machines, and died, at the age of forty-eight years, in 1883.
Colonel Gordon Mckay established the royalty system still in use, and became the promoter of the United Shoe Machine Company. In his will, he left $5,000,000 to Harvard University, saying: "Inasmuch as a large part of my life has been spent in the study and invention of machin- ery, I instruct the president and fellows to take special care that the great subject of mechanical engineering in all its branches, and in the most comprehensive sense, be thoroughly practiced from my endowment." Mr. Metzeliger died in young manhood, even before he knew what a blessing he had been to humanity, almost as much so as he who causes "two blades of grass to grow where one grew before."
The city directory in 1920 gave the number of firms engaged in the manufacture of shoes in Lynn, proper, as being one hundred and thirty-
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four. There were also listed six shops making heels, three shoe forms, five concerns handling shoe machinery, nine making shoe patterns, 15 shoe stock manufacturers and 28 shoe trimming houses. This gives a total of sixty-six concerns handling shoe goods, besides the one hundred and thirty-four shoe factories.
Reaching back to 1918, the more prominent and extensive shoe manu- factures in Lynn included the following: J. S. Barnet & Sons, calf and cowhide shoes; the A. G. Lewis Leather Company, organized in 1906; Hilliard & Merrill, organized in 1883; J. L. Libbey & Son; Williams, Clark & Co., organized in 1891; J. J. Grover's Sons, organized in 1865, the oldest concern in this country ; the Cotter Shoe Company, organized, 1905; A. M. Creighton, organized 1878; the Harwood Counter Company (biggest in the world), organized in 1869; Littlefield & Moulton, box makers, established in 1818; G. W. Herrick Shoe Company, makers of heels, plant now covers ten acres ; Bartlet, Somers Company ; the Thomas A. Kelley & Co., makers of kid leather, established in 1885. Other con- cerns of greater or less magnitude are John L. Walker & Co., the Adams Shoe Company, incorporated in 1911; Mitchell-Gaunt Company, organ- ized in 1910; Tufts & Friedman, Young & Sampson, C. P. Stanborn & Co., established in 1883, shoe machine makers; T. J. Kiely & Co., The Watson Shoe Company, etc. The Federal and State Bureau of Labor Statistics give the following figures concerning the shoe trade in Lynn for the dates indicated :
1918-Values of Shoes produced $47,084,181
Persons employed
10,384
Value of Cut Stock.
23,463,081
"
"
1,489
Totals
$60,547,262
12,323
1919-Value of Product
66,457,349
"
12,123
Boot and Shoe Findings
30,210,359
1,758
Totals
$96,667,708
13,881
1920-Value of Shoes
56,468,484
"
9,340
Value of Cut Stock
17,579,293
"
"
1,316
Totals
$74,047,777
10,356
Lynn leather was evidently a very early commodity. One of the first five men who settled in what is now Lynn was Francis Ingalls; he was a tanner and carried on' the trade on what is now Burrill street, Swampscott. By many it is claimed his was the first tannery within the Massachusetts Colony. George Keysar was among the next to operate a tannery, which he did from 1649 till he removed to Salem in 1680. He had sons in both Salem and Haverhill in the tannery business. In 1635 a child by the name of Elizabeth Newhall was drowned in one of the tan- vats of the Keysar tan-yards on Boston street. Robert and Nicholas Potter, father and son, were also pioneers in the business. Deacon John Lewis, Samuel Lewis, his son, and Daniel Newhall, were all early in this line, in Lynn. Joseph Moulton bought these premises in 1844. There
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CITY OF LYNN
was a fine spring of water, and hard by was Strawberry brook, running through the tan-yard. In the latter part of the eighteenth century Ben- jamin Phillips had a tanyard and mill at Waterhill. There he had good water power and operated a fulling mill for the hides he tanned. Winth- rop and Sylvanus Newhall had tan-yards on Market and Broad streets, then called Blackmarsh. Likely Winthrop was the last of the old-time tanners of leather here, the morocco trade having supplanted the other business in tanning. Salem and Danvers, from that time on, took the lead in this industry. The morocco business was commenced in Lynn by William Rose, on the same spot where the Burrills once operated their tannery. Later he had a tannery where now stands St. Stephen's Church on South Common street. Another early tanner of goat and sheep skins was Daniel Collins on Boston street. He was followed by Levi Robin- son, and later this developed into a large establishment. The U. S. cen- sus report for 1880 gave these figures concerning the business in Lynn: Number of establishments, 23; employees, 768; wages paid during the year, $409,000; capital invested, $910,000; stock used, $1,658,000; value of product, $2,309,000.
It may be added that morocco was first manufactured in this country in about 1809, by William Rose, of Lynn. The leather industry, hide tan- nings, etc., began in New England in 1630. At present, the leather in- dustry in, Lynn consists of the business transacted by the following tan- ners: J. S. Barnett & Sons, Consolidated Tanning Company, and Kist- ler, Lesh & Co., and the following engaged in the production of morocco: Thomas A. Kelley & Co., A. B. Hoffman & Son, Donohue Brothers Leather Co., Benz Kid Factory Co., Agoos Leather Company.
The world-wide-known Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company, one of the firmly established institutions of Lynn, was founded in a small way in 1873-74, and through liberal advertising in all the newspapers of this and foreign lands, Mrs. Pinkham's remedies have become known throughout the world. The founder of these family remedies died a num- ber of years since, but the well-founded business goes on as extensively as ever. Their laboratory and beautiful residence are passed on the street cars by tens of thousands annually. As now organized, the com- pany comprises the following officers; William H. Gove, president and general manager; Arthur W. Pinkham, vice-president and secretary ; Mrs. Aroline P. Grove, treasurer.
It has been remarked that the prosperity of any industrial com- munity can be measured by the success of its printing business. In the Perry & Elliott Company alone, both the city of Lynn and the county of Essex have a satisfactory symbol of their own progress. Founded more than twenty years ago, this concern has steadily developed on its own well-earned reputation for quality, intelligence, and service, until it now embraces one of the largest and finest organizations in all New England. The plant itself at present consists of its original and unusually complete
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shops at No. 17 Stewart street, Lynn; its newer subsidiary shop at No. 72 Loring avenue, Salem; and the offices of its sales and service depart- ment at No. 146 Summer street, Boston. The Lynn plant especially handles that most difficult of all branches in printing-advertising, which includes high grade catalogues, booklets, and folders of an unusual or special nature. Here are produced the most artistic half-tone work and color reproductions. The machinery is all propelled by individual elec- tric motors and automatically fed presses. All presses and heavy ma- chinery are set on solid cement bases, thus eliminating all vibration. The entire plant at Salem is devoted to publication printing-magazines, periodicals, books, etc., where long runs are required. Every known im- proved press, with other machinery, is employed in these offices. Be- sides the printing business, this company deals extensively in fine grades of printing papers, and is known as one of the most liberal buyers of paper in New England. The sales department, with the service cor- poration, aids the customer in producing the best results in advertising campaigns. Here are developed the best, most effective types of print- ed matter, the main object being not merely to accept orders for printing, but to create printed matter that will produce orders for customers. This company by its skill and scientific plans is well-known throughout all the Eastern States. Throughout the printers' "strikes," this concern stood the test and was running full force, doing its own work and also helping out neighboring cities where labor trouble existed. The present officers of this company are William H. Perry, president and general man- ager; and Frank S. Elliott, treasurer.
From such sources as the historian has been able to obtain, the his- tory of the great General Electric Company, now employing in busy seasons about fifteen thousand persons (in the Lynn division alone), the importants facts are here given :
The foundation of the Lynn electric industry was the arc light and the appliances that produced the light. In the winter of 1879, Prof. Elihu Thompson, a teacher in chemistry in the Philadelphia high school, with his fellow professor, E. J. Houston, of the same school, invented the three-coil arc dynamo, which formed the basis of the arc lighting system introduced by the Thompson-Houston Company. It was first in- stalled in a Philadelphia bakery. Wisely, these two inventors sought capital, and a stock company was formed, the American Electric Com- pany, which operated in Philadelphia, and later in New Britain, Con- necticut. After this company was formed, it was proposed to Profes- sors Houston and Thompson that they abandon school work and devote their time exclusively to the development of this new enterprise due to their inventions. Professor Houston failed to comply, but Professor Thompson yielded, and now enjoys a world-wide fame. In 1880 and 1884 more than sixty applications for patents were granted him. In
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CITY OF LYNN
1882 the Brush Light Company, feeling that the competition was too strong, bought a controlling share of the stock of the American Electric Company. About this time, some Lynn shoe men visited the plant, and became interested. As a result, a small arc light plant was brought to Lynn and installed in the Lennox building, on Market street. This plant convinced some Lynn investors of the value of the patents, and they soon purchased a controlling interest in the American Electric Company, the name of which was changed to the Thompson-Houston Electric Company. The plant was moved to Lynn in the summer of 1883, to a place on Wes- tern avenue, now known as "Factory A." The first officers of the re- organized company were: H. A. Pevear, president; C. A. Coffin, vice- president ; S. A. Barton, treasurer; J. J. Skinner, secretary; and Elihu Thompson, electrician. B. F. Spinney and J. N. Smith were among the directors. In 1884 there were working in the shops of this concern 144 men; by 1892, the number had reached 3,492; in 1913 it was 12,000; and in 1916 the number of persons employed was 14,000 in the Lynn division of the General Electric Company.
This company was incorporated in 1892, acquiring at its forma- tion all the capital stock of the Edison General Electric Company and that of the Thompson-Houston International Electric Company. More than five hundred different types of apparatus were here produced in 1916, including practically every class of industrial power application, lighting systems, mining and street railway appliances, ship propulsion, central station systems, etc. The products of these works include everything from a 50,000 horse-power turbine to the miniature Mazda lamp, and each article is tested to make sure of its being perfect. This vast indus- try at Lynn is now worked out day by day, by the energy and brains of about 15,000 persons. The ground area of the Lynn plant is about two hundred acres; floor space, three million square feet. It has the largest building in the world devoted to the manufacture of electric motors.
The works at Lynn are second only in size to the same company's plant at Schenectady, New York, where their main offices are located. The Lynn plant of this company makes thousand upon thousands of dif- ferent electric appliances, by which heat, light and power are made to serve the best interests and convenience of the public. They light the six months' long night-time of the years and drive the wheels of industry through their motors. It requires five thousand motors to drive the ma- chinery in use at these factories. The current for these motors is sup- plied from the great power plant on the Saugus river, where fuel is landed by barges at the coal pockets of the company. The plant is also situated on the line of the Boston & Maine steam railroad.
For the benefit of the thousands of employes, the company usually styled the "G-E", (General Electric), has provided several restaurants nearby, where the workers may secure their meals and lunches at a rea- sonable cost. There are also a public hall, with picture shows, and a
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training school for the young men who expect to follow the electric busi- ness ; as far as possible, the company is developing the co-operative plan. It issues stock for services rendered, in small denominations, ever looking to the interests of the army of employes.
The Campbell Electric Company was founded in; Lynn in 1900 by two brothers, Fred A. and Charles E. Campbell, who began in the base- ment of the Keith building at No. 54 Central Square. The first business engaged in was wiring and construction work. Soon the demand for cer- tain new appliances caused them to expand, and among other enterprises they commenced to make in large quantities a very simple and cheaply constructed electric switch, known as the "time switch". It was design- ed to turn off the current, at any given time of day or night, and was much used for turning off the street lights and signs using electricity. Many United States patents were granted this company. Hospitals, doctors and dentists in many parts of the country demanded certain novelties made by this enterprising company. Then came the manu- facture of motors for street railways and also transformers. The quar- ters soon became too small, and the brothers bought the old site of the Electric Light and Power Company, at No. 17 Stewart street. The business was incorporated in 1909 by the two Campbells. Their sales were large five years ago. The marine and army hospitals of the United States; the field hospitals on the Mexican border-land, as well as the hospitals of France, England, Russia, Germany, Japan and China, all gave large orders for the various electric devices made in these works. In the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco in 1915, awards were made this concern for the best in their line. They have kept pace with the years and are today one of the leading indus- tries in Lynn.
In 1919 the City Directory reported the following concerning its various interests: Value of manufactured products, $200,000,000; six- teen solid banking houses with assets amounting to $75,000,000; 32,000 people employed in various industries ; 55 churches ; 4 hospitals ; 5 pub- lic libraries ; 48 public schools; 5 parochial schools; has the largest amount of women's shoes made of any city in the world.
The following paragraphs will tell the story, in brief, of many fires within the city of Lynn since Civil War days, the first of which was in May, 1865, when the fine mansion on Ocean street belonging to the widow of William H. Prescott, the celebrated historian, and where he had performed much of his work as an author, was destroyed.
September, 1866, Central Church edifice, Silsbee street, totally burned. It was a wooden structure erected in 1850.
Christmas night, 1868, occurred the greatest fire to that date from which Lynn had ever suffered. It started in the Lyceum building, on Market street, corner of Summer. The Central National Bank was in that building, and the vaults and safes proved to be indeed fire proof.
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CITY OF LYNN
The postoffice was also destroyed, as well as Frazier's Block, which had cost $60,000 and Bubier's, valued at $65,000. All told, the fire cost Lynn $300,000.
Sunday evening, Christmas Day, 1870, the large frame church edifice of the First Church, on South Common street, was totally burned. So great was the light from this fire that it was easily seen from Lawrence.
February 20, 1871, a fire occurred on Walnut street, near the Saugus line. It started in the house of Mr. and Mrs. M'Kenney. The loss in- cluded the life of Mr. M'Kenney, who perished in the flames.
In 1873, in Union street, on the morning of August 25th, French's furniture store burned; 400,000 gallons of water were used to quench the fire.
In 1874, morning of January 10th, fire broke out in the barns of the Glenmere stage line, on Chatham street. The building was destroyed, along with ten fine horses.
July 26, 1876, there occurred a serious fire on Market street. The greatest loss was the store of R. A. Spalding & Co., Mrs. Lancey's mil- linery shop, and W. T. Bowers' store.
April 7, 1877, Sweetser's block, Central avenue and Oxford street, was burned. It was fitted up for the shoe business; the loss of property amounted to $115,000.
June 2, 1880, "Summit Villa," the fine mansion in Swampscott, was burned to the ground. The loss was $15,000; it was leased for the season for $3,000.
September 3, 1885, the large brick building owned by Lucius Beebe & Son, Western avenue, corner of Federal street, used as a glove-kid shop, was burned at a loss of $75,000.
July 8, 1887, was the date of the burning of the old Saugus River Mill, at the Boston street crossing. For generations this had been an historic mill. Here were ground not only flour and meal, but also snuff and spices. It was this mill that really started the famous Childs Choco- late article, which had a world-wide market.
In 1887 Thomas Green & Company lost their factory by fire on May 15th. Loss $21,000. A fire about that date at Lamper's wharf burned nineteen horses.
The Lennox brick factory, on Market, with other buildings, was burned December 22, 1888. Loss, $136,000.
January 30, 1889, the planing mill on Commercial street was burned, with several smaller buildings, involving a total loss of $27,000.
In the whole history of Lynn, no greater calamity ever overtook her than the conflagration of November 26, 1889. To this day, it is styled the "great fire." At noontime on that bright, sunny autumn day the fire broke out in the boiler-room of the large wooden building on Al- mont street, known as Mower's Block. The wind was blowing a stiff gale, and it was not very long before the numerous adjoining buildings were in flames. The firemen were powerless in their every effort. Tele- graphic mssages were sent to Boston, Chelsea, Salem, Gloucester, New- buryport and other nearby places, imploring speedy aid. These towns and cities responded quickly, and joined forces with the Lynn fire de- partment, in doing all they could to stay the fire so rapidly destroying the city. In less than two hours, a number of four and five story brick
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structures had been destroyed, together with numerous less valuable buildings. The fire still swept on, in its relentless course, taking all before it. The First National, Central National, National Security and the Lynn Institution for Savings banks were in ruins and homeless, so far as banking building property was concerned. The two city daily newspapers-the Bee, and the Item,-were destroyed. The Lynn Press, which had announced its initial publication, was wiped out of existence on the day of its birth. The enterprise was never revived.
This fire covered an area of thirty-one acres, including streets and squares, and was in the heart of the business portion of the city. The Chief Engineer's report and that of the State Commissioner fixed the loss at $4,959,911. It was also stated that the amount of insurance carried on the property destroyed was $4,133,516. The number of buildings destroyed was 334, some of them huge brick and stone buildings, along with wooden structures, such as factories and frame dwellings.
The good people making up the rank and file of Lynn citizenship have ever been generous and mindful of the sufferings of those in other sec- tions of the country, in times of calamity and distress. As examples, one may refer to the Chicago, Portland and Boston fires, a half century ago; to the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood, the Marblehead fire, etc. So, in the time of her need, these municipalities came to her rescue. Little did Salem think when she was aiding Lynn that twenty-six years later Lynn would be assisting her in the great fire of 1914.
The great fires in the winter of 1868-69 brought about a new senti- ment in favor of providing some adequate system of water supply. Large reservoirs had been built in many sections of the city at no little expense, but did not prove satisfactory. The water was then taken from Flax Pond. Pipes were laid along the principal streets and the supply was first set flowing on the 8th of December, 1869, the first that Lynn had ever received water from any sort of an aqueduct. This was found in- sufficient for the growing demand for a water supply. An engineer was engaged to survey the situation, and he examined several water sources including Flax Pond, Sluice, Humphrey's and Breed's Ponds. Land was finally purchased around Breed's Pond and the work of construction pushed rapidly forward. The first cost of the Breed's Pond property was $21,500, exclusive of laying the pipes. Extensions were later made, pumps and reservoirs installed, and by 1880 the supply of water from Breed's Pond reached a million gallons daily. In January, 1885, it was shown that the expense thus far for the water works then in use had cost the city of Lynn $1,343,000; the average consumption was then about two million gallons a day. There were then seventy-four miles of pipe line in the city. The water department was then paying all expense of maintenance, the interest on the water debt, and had a surplus of $27,- 000 on hand. At present (1921) the city is using seven million gallons of water daily, the population of Lynn and Saugus being supplied with
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