USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880, Vol. IV > Part 11
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1810-1820. In 1810 the third census of the United States was taken. Inquiries relative to manufactures were now by law included, for the first time, in the schedules for any census. The result was of no particular value, yet it indicated to some extent what was being done. The account for Boston shows a total product for the branches reported of $2,478,391, while it is safe to estimate the product of manufactures of Boston at this period to be not far from $9,000,000: this is a low estimate. The principal products returned at this census were : fur hats, $56,000; clocks and watches, $21,000; gold and silver work, $95,000; copper and brass goods, $21,000; buttons,
1 Hildreth, History of the United States, vi. 111 .. ' Ibid., i. 210.
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THE INDUSTRIES OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
$20,000; tallow candles, $40,000; soap, $30,600; boots, shoes, and slip- pers, $131,225 ; saddlery, $90,400; spirits, $764,400; beer, $57,800; metals, mixed, $151,481 ; cabinet work, $115,000; sugar, refined, $64,000; glass, $36,000; cordage, $545,000; musical instruments, $17,200; spectacles, $10,000.1
The interruption of our commerce with the Baltic enhanced the price, and gave great impulse to the cultivation and manufacture, of hemp used for bale-rope, bagging, and especially for rigging and cordage for the navy. It was the opinion of many citizens that, by reason of Government patron- age, commerce and the fisheries had been unduly extended to the neglect of internal industries. It was considered wise for the Government to endeavor to create, by judicious patronage, a domestic market for the labor and capital which, should war be avoided, would naturally seek employment. To this end memorials were presented to Congress; and, among others, petitions for further protection from the morocco manufacturers at Charles- town, where at this time (1811) one hundred and fifty thousand skins were annually manufactured, out of eight hundred thousand in the United States. Measures were also taken to aid the woollen industry, as the undeveloped state of that manufacture was seen to be a serious evil, now that the supply of woollens from abroad was greatly diminished by the restrictive measures of the Government.
Differences in the exchange on England, growing out of the Non-im- portation Act, brought a large amount of specie to the United States, and this was acting as a stimulant to manufacturing. During the following year, -1812, - war was declared against Great Britain; and, to secure the funds necessary to sustain the war, duties were doubled on imports; and this, to- gether with the interference with commerce caused by the restrictive meas- ures growing out of the war, resulted in an immediate and considerable advance in the price of all necessaries. This advance, and the steady demand for all products of industry required by the war, caused a rapid extension of certain industries, especially those of woollen and cotton ; and manufacturing in general during the continuance of hostilities was exceed- ingly prosperous. Many new industries arose, among others the manufac- ture of emery, pins, and flint-glass. Wood engraving was introduced in Boston, in 1811, by Nathaniel Dearborn.2 A communication to the Secretary of the Treasury states, as an impressive fact, that manufacturing in America outran agriculture in most instances.3
Invention was also stimulated in the line of cotton and woollen machin- ery. In 1813 was erected the mill of the Boston Manufacturing Company,
1 The experiment of taking industrial statistics have been used in all succeeding decennial was repeated in 1820 without success; but no censuses. other attempt was made till 1837, when the State 2 Dearborn's Boston Notions. [Benj. Dear- born in 1814 introduced a new process of printing in colors. See a note in Mr. Stanwood's chap- ter. - ED.] instituted inquiries, the results of which will be given in the proper place. In 1840 schedules relating to products of manufactures were in- corporated in the Federal census system; and 3 Digest of Census, - Coxe to Secretary of Treasury. such schedules, improved from time to time,
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
at Waltham. This, although outside the limits of Boston, deserves to be included in an account of her industries, inasmuch as it was entirely due to Boston capital and the ability of Boston mechanics. This mill marks the first introduction of the power-loom in this country. The loom used in this mill was largely the invention of Mr. Francis C. Lowell, of Boston, and its invention and construction were nearly contemporaneous with the suc- cessful introduction of the power-loom in England. Mr. Lowell's loom was put in operation at Waltham in 1814. He was the first in any country to apply all the processes of the manufacture of textiles - from the raw material to the finished piece - in one factory, as the scientific embodiment of all such processes in complete and harmonious operation. This enter- prise at Waltham was the precursor of the cotton industry at Lowell, within the present territory of which city the first cotton cloth had just been made, and whither the promoters of the Waltham mill extended their operations in 1822.
During the period of the war, and up to Feb. 10, 1815, manufactures throughout the country continued to progress with unprecedented activity. The protection afforded by the war was now withdrawn. After the declara- tion of peace, large importations of foreign goods threatened the immediate destruction of our home industries, many of which had not yet become suf- ficiently strong to compete successfully with those abroad. It was seen that immediate changes must be made in the tariff, and protection afforded to the incipient industries of the country. But before the remedy could be applied many enterprises totally failed. Dec. 5, 1815, Madison, in his annual mes- sage, urged protective legislation. Petitions were poured upon Congress from manufacturers throughout the country. Financial disturbances aggra- vated the evils from which the industries were suffering. Societies for the encouragement of manufactures were everywhere formed. The tariff ques- tion continued to be agitated until the passage of the protective tariff act of May, 1824, and the still more important act of 1828.
In the year 1811 the first successful attempt in this portion of the country to manufacture flint-glass was made by one Thomas Cains, who has been called the father of the business in the Atlantic States. Cains began his operations at a small six-pot furnace, erected at South Boston.1 Perkins Nichols, of Boston, was granted a patent this year on an improved auger ; 2 Benjamin Bell, upon sulphuric acid; 2 and Cyrus Alger, on an improved method of casting rollers for rolling iron.2
The gentleman last named had previously (in 1809) begun the foundry business in South Boston, being associated with General Winslow. In five years he closed his connection with Winslow, and began business on his own account on Fourth Street. The enterprises with which he was after- ward connected were intimately associated with the growth of South Boston, and rank among the most important of Boston's industries. Mr. Alger was a man of unusual capacity and foresight, being thoroughly acquainted with
1 Simonds, History of South Boston, p. 205. 2 Bishop, ii. 176.
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THE INDUSTRIES OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
his business, in which he made great improvements. Besides the inventions we have mentioned, he devised a method of purifying cast-iron, thereby greatly increasing its strength. He also made an important improvement in the reverberatory furnaces for melting iron. He had great skill in the manufacture of cannon, both iron and bronze. This superior skill and in- ventive ability enabled him to build up rapidly a successful and lucrative business. He was employed by the Government in the manufacture of cannon and cannon-balls during the war of 1812. The largest gun ever cast in America prior to 1860 was made at his foundry. His· business was considerably extended by the founding, at a period somewhat later than that we are now considering (in 1827), of the Alger Iron Works, one of the leading manufactories of South Boston. Mr. Alger was the first man in South Boston to introduce the ten-hour system; and it was his custom to make strictly cash payments to his workmen. His pay-roll for many years was upwards of $2,000 per week.1
In 1816 a new American power-loom was invented and put in operation in Boston by E. Savage.2
1820-1830. Soon after 1820 a lead-paint factory was established at Boston.3 The same year the manufacture of chain cables was begun. The factory used for the latter was for thirty years the only successful one in the country. It was finally closed on account of English competition. The business was resumed in 1856.4 In 1822 Jonas Chickering, a Boston me- chanic, began experimenting on pianos. His first instrument was offered for sale in 1823.5 Six years later seven hundred and seventeen were made in Boston in one year. Mr. Chickering was not only the founder of the large and prosperous business still identified with his name, but he may be considered the originator of the piano industry, as such, in the United States ; although a Mr. Osborn had made pianos on a small scale in Boston prior to Chickering. Mr. Chickering came to Boston in 1818, and entered Mr. Osborn's employ in 1819.6 .
In 1822 the well-known ship-yard of Noah Brooks was established at South Boston. Prior to this, ship-building had been carried on in this part of the city to a limited extent, Lot Wheelwright being the pioneer in 1812. Mr. Brooks carried on an extensive business for many years.7 By 1824 the manufacture of flannel in Eastern Massachusetts had largely increased, fifteen thousand pieces of forty-six yards each being now made annually in the vicinity of Boston.8 In 1827 William S. Pendleton founded the first lithographic establishment in the United States at Boston. It was immedi- ately successful. The previous year - 1826 - the New England Society for the Promotion of Manufactures and the Mechanic Arts was established.
1 Simonds, History of South Boston.
2 Bishop, ii. 233.
8 Bolles, p. 355.
4 Bishop, ii. 259.
Bolles, p. 536.
6 See Life of Jonas Chickering, in Hunt's American Merchants. J. Parton on " The Piano in the United States " in Atlantic Monthly, xx.
7 Simonds, History of South Boston, p. 212.
8 Bishop, ii. 294.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
This society held public exhibitions of industrial products, the use of Faneuil Hall being granted it without charge for this purpose. It also held semi- annual sales, the first occurring Sept. 12, 1826. Two million dollars were realized from the sales of the first five years. Premiums were awarded at its exhibitions, and the society exercised a beneficial influence upon the progress of the mechanic arts.1 In 1827 was established the Boston Me- chanics' Institute, for the promotion of science and the useful arts by lec- tures and other means.2
Among the new industries established during this decade was that of . watch-crystals, of which a manufactory existed in 1829.3 The same period witnessed the extension of the factory system, and the incorporation of manufacturing companies ; 4 several of the latter took charters after 1814-15, going into operation between 1820 and 1830. Several mills were erected during this decade at Lowell, - in fact, Lowell found its real origin in this period. In all these undertakings at Lowell, - and indeed many of those whose existence dates from this decade, - Boston furnished the pioneers.
1830-1840. In 1830 Mr. Charles Griffiths began the manufacture of saws at Boston, soon after associating with himself Mr. William Welch. Prior to this there were but two or three saw manufactories in the country, nearly all our saws being imported. Messrs. Welch and Griffiths turned their attention to the manufacture of circular saws, and, in the face of many obstacles, succeeded in establishing a national reputation for their goods, although their failure had been predicted. From time to time the firm made many improvements in methods of manufacture, especially in the mode of grinding both surfaces of a saw at once.
Out of twenty-one glass furnaces existing in the United States in 1831, for the manufacture of flint-glass, six were in Boston and its immediate vicinity. The total annual product of the two largest was valued at $400,000, mostly cut glass. Only one factory for making black-glass bottles existed in the country, and that was near Boston, having a capital of $50,000, and afford- ing employment to sixty-five men and boys. The New England Crown Glass Company, near Boston, made crown window-glass to the value of $100,000 annually, its capital being $450,000.5
Soon after 1830 the manufacture of india-rubber began to receive atten- tion. In 1833 the Roxbury Rubber Company was incorporated, with a capital of $300,000, followed the next year by the incorporation of the South Boston, the Suffolk, and other companies for the same purpose.6 About this time, also, upward of three hundred women were employed in Boston in the manufacture of an article known as Tuscan braid, for bonnets. This braid was composed of silk warp, with Tuscan straw or whalebone filling.7
1 Bowen, Picture of Boston.
2 Bishop, ii. 316.
8 Ibid., ii. 340.
4 [See Mr. Edw: Atkinson's chapter. - ED.]
5 Bishop, ii. 359; also, Report of Committee on Glass to New York Tariff Convention.
6 Ibid., ii. 394.
7 Ibid., ii. 393.
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THE INDUSTRIES OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
Fine castings of statuary and ornamental metal-work were made in 1834 at the foundry of Mr. Francis Alger.1
The establishment of the East Boston Company in 1831 was to give an un- wonted impulse to the industries of the city. The East Boston Sugar Re- finery was the first manufacturing establishment in the Island ward. This company was incorporated March 25, 1834; and its first sugar-house was erected the same year, being afterward much enlarged and improved. By its charter the company was empowered to manufacture and refine sugar, and to buy and sell it and all articles necessary in its manufacture and re- fining. Its capital was fixed at $250,000. Two years after incorporation the company employed eighty workmen, its normal production being about twenty-five thousand boxes of sugar annually. English influence was ex- erted to discourage the stockholders by casting discredit upon the mode of manufacture proposed by Mr. John Brown, one of the chief promoters of the enterprise, who had visited England to inquire into the method of sugar refining in use there. In spite of this, however, the company suc- ceeded in establishing itself, and prospered until the period of financial dis- tress following the year 1837, when, owing to various causes, it was obliged to suspend payment. It soon after was able to resume, and has since had a successful career.
The East Boston Timber Company, incorporated in 1834, was formed " for the purpose of sawing and preparing plank, boards, staves, joists, scantling, and all and every other articles manufactured from wood." The following year the company erected a wharf, warehouse, and timber-dock, the latter being two hundred feet square. This was the depot for large quantities of lumber of the best quality, and the foundation of such an en- terprise was exceedingly beneficial to the ship-building industry, by afford- ing a plentiful supply of material. The company failed in 1840, owing to financial disasters of the previous two years. Ship-building has always been an important industry in East Boston. Every sort of vessel has been built there ; and other industries necessary to the work have grown up along . its water front. The first vessel was launched Aug. 9, 1834, and the second Jan. 28, 1835. These were ferry-boats, to be used between East Boston and the city proper. The first square-rigged ship was the "Niagara," of four hundred and sixty tons, launched Sept. 24, 1835. After 1839 the business constantly increased, and we shall again allude to it in connection with the establishment of some of the important yards.2
In 1835 George C. Thacher, Thomas Thacher, and William G. Billings founded the Fulton Iron Foundry at South Boston, and the next year the firm was merged in a corporation established by act of the Legislature. Mr. George C. Thacher was previously connected with Mr. Cyrus Alger, of whom mention has been made, the two gentlemen being pioneers in this industry in the United States. The Fulton foundry enterprise was at once successful, and large additions were made from time to time in the original
1 Bishop, ii. 386. Sumner, History of East Boston, pp. 679-635.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
works until the establishment extended over several acres.1 In 1836 the Adams Printing-Press Works began business at South Boston.2 The well- known Adams press, patented by Mr. Isaac Adams, of Boston, is still among the leading presses for book-printing. The Messrs. Adams manufactured not only presses, but engines, boilers, and general machinery. The follow- ing year another important industry was established in this part of the city, - Coney's Iron Foundry, devoted to the manufacture of iron steamships and machinery. Business was suspended at this establishment in 1850.3
In 1839 the Boyden Malleable Iron and Steel Company of East Boston closed its works. This concern began business in 1835, making all kinds of iron and steel ware; its product when in full operation being about fifteen tons of malleable iron castings per week. At such times about three hun- dred workmen were employed. Speculative management caused the sus- pension of the works.4
In 1837 the State undertook its first industrial census. The law under which it was taken was very incomplete; many important industries being omitted from the schedules. This census exhibited Boston proper as pro- ducing goods to the amount of $10,063,231, and the cities and towns con- stituting the Boston of to-day over twelve and a quarter millions ; probably twenty-two million or twenty-five million dollars would more correctly rep- resent the products in 1837 of all that makes Boston in 1880.5
1840-1850. Bolles says : 6 " After the tariff of 1842, which gave those who chose to take up bell-founding the protection of a duty of thirty-five per cent, a number of small factories were started, some of which after- ward attained celebrity." Among the latter he mentions one at Boston. Further on he says: "The largest bell ever made in this country was cast at Boston for the City Hall at New York, its weight being twenty-three thousand pounds." In 1843 the Sturtevant Linseed Oil Works were estab- lished at East Boston." The old-fashioned presses were employed, making at first two hundred and afterward three hundred gallons per day. Later (1849) another firm assumed control, and increased the production to twenty- two hundred gallons daily. Afterward the works were still further extended.
1 Simonds, History of South Boston, p. 207.
2 Ibid., p. 206.
8 Ibid., p. 209.
4 Sumner, History of East Boston.
5 The industries in which half a million dollars' worth, or over, were annually produced, so far as reported, were ship-building, book-pub- lishing, manufacture of clothing, copper and brass works, and sugar refineries ; and there were probably some others not reported. The pro- duction of pianos had grown to ten hundred and thirty-three, valued at about $300,000 ; the leather carried $228,000 ; hats made $194,673 ; iron cast- ings, $372,00 ); cabinet-ware, $148,100; straw- bonnets, $182,450; brushes, $93,000; carriages and harnesses, $128,805; saddles, trunks, and
whips, $177,000; machinery, $326,000; looking- glasses, $147,500 ; stereotype work, $157,000. It is much to be regretted that the statistics of industries have not, till recently, been as com- plete as those of population, - even delusive as the latter have been at times. The stagnation of trade and manufactures, on account of the finan- cial distress prevailing at the time of this first industrial census on the part of the State, had inuch to do with the meagre returns. The be- ginning, however, was made, and each succeeding State census has shown increased efforts to secure full information.
6 Industrial History of the United States, p. 350.
7 Sumner, History of East Boston.
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THE INDUSTRIES OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
In 1843 work was begun at the American Flint-Glass Works, South Boston.1 The next year Mr. Uriah A. Boyden, of Boston, invented a turbine water- wheel which effected the utilization of seventy-eight per cent of the power of the water, and soon came into extended use. The first one was employed in a cotton factory at Lowell. Mr. Boyden afterward made further improve- ments in water-wheels, finally utilizing eighty-two per cent of the power of the water,2 instead of about sixty per cent realized by the old wheels.
The celebrated ship-yard of Donald McKay at East Boston was estab- lished in 1845, and those of D. D. Kelly and Jackson and Ewell in 1848.3
The pioneer manufactory of gas, steam, and water-fittings as a separate industry was established in 1842 by Messrs. Walworth and Nason. At the same time Messrs. Joseph Nason & Co. had begun a similar business in New York. These parties were the first to introduce the plan of heating build- ings by steam conveyed through small iron pipes.4
In 1846 the Globe Locomotive Works were founded at South Boston by Messrs. Lyman and Souther. The name "Globe " was not adopted until 1849, when Mr. Lyman retired. At first from twenty to seventy-five men were employed; but the business rapidly increased until three hundred em- ployés were on the rolls.5 In 1847 Harrison Loring began the manufacture of stationary and marine engines and other machinery at South Boston. Other prominent South Boston industries, not previously noted, are the Mount-Washington Glass-Works, the wire-works established by Henry S. Washburn, and manufactories of wagons, soap, ploughs, one or two brass- foundries, the Suffolk Lead Works, and the works of the Bay State Iron Company.6
In 1848 the Boston Locomotive Works were incorporated, Mr. Holmes Hinkley being President and Superintendent. Mr. Hinkley had in 1826 begun business as a machinist, in a small way, upon Boston Neck. He soon after began the construction of stationary engines, in which he met with such success that previous to 1840 he had made a larger number than any other manufacturer in New England. In 1840 he turned his attention to locomotives, constantly enlarging his business until it was merged in the corporation above noted, which was the predecessor of the Hinkley and Williams works of the present day.7
The first regular machine shop in Roxbury was started in 1843 by Mr. J. C. Pratt, who in 1847 was succeeded by the firm of Chubbuck and Campbell. Mr. Chubbuck, of this firm, had previously made improvements in engines, and is well known as the constructor of novel and ingenious machinery. The first tubular boiler made in the vicinity of Boston was constructed by Messrs. Chubbuck and Campbell.8
In 1845 Messrs. Mason and Hamlin laid the foundation of their extensive
1 Simonds, History of South Boston, p. 214.
2 Bolles, p. 303.
8 Sumner, History of East Boston.
4 Bishop, iii. 288.
VOL. IV .- 12.
5 Simonds, History of South Boston, p. 214.
Ibid., p. 216.
7 Bishop, iii. 297-299.
8 Ibid., iii. 302.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
business by beginning the construction of reed organs on a large scale.1 The sewing-machine invented by Elias Howe, Jr., of Cambridge, in 1846, was very imperfect, and other inventors aided in remedying its defects. Among these was John Batchelder, of Boston, who in 1849 constructed an automatic feeding device. The same year Messrs. Blodgett and Lerow, also of Boston, invented a rotary shuttle for use in making the lock-stitch.2
The second industrial census of the State was taken in 1845. The Fed- eral census of 1840 included inquiries as to manufactures, but the results were of no value; the Federal census of 1850 was valuable in this respect. The State census of 1845, while an improvement upon that of 1837, was exceedingly unsatisfactory, both from its many omissions of important in- dustries and its methods. The results did not show that much advance had been made in the value of products; in fact, this could hardly be expected, for manufactures had not fully recovered from the effects of the reverses of 1837. The total value of the products of Suffolk County, including all the territory now comprised therein, reported at this second census was about $14,000,000. The United States census of 1850 gave the Suffolk County of that year $32,013,869 worth of manufactured goods, -a sum much too small. Probably the products for the year 1845 amounted to over $35,000,- 000, and for 1850 to nearly $45,000,000.
1850-1860. In 1850 Edward Howard and others, associated under the name of the "Warren Manufacturing Company," began the manufacture of watches at Roxbury. These were the first watches made in America. The enterprise originated in the experiments of Mr. Howard and Mr. A. L. Den- nison, who a year or two before had commenced studying the manufacture ·
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