USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > Trenton > History of the city of Trenton, New Jersey : embracing a period of nearly two hundred years, commencing in 1676, the first settlement of the town, and extending up to the present time, with official records of the population, extent of the town at different periods, its manufactories, church history, and fire department > Part 22
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In the year 1852, Mr. Lodor built the brick building known as the City Iron and Brass Foundry, on the same site as that occupied by Hoyt & Ramp.
Deane & Valentine commenced operations there the Ist day of September of the same year.
Among the manufacturing interests of Trenton the manufac- ture of bricks, at present, is a very important branch, and, not- withstanding the fact that the art of brick making has been known and practiced since Pharaoh's taskmaster said unto the Children of Israel, "Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you; yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks," but little improvement has been made in the art. As it was in the days of Moses, and to the Children of Israel, a punishment, so it seems to be now. But I find I am digressing ; I will therefore proceed to give a history of brick making in
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
Trenton. Some of the first brick houses built in the city of Trenton were built of bricks brought from the city of Philadel- phia, but the greater part of the bricks used in Trenton, up to the year 1835, were made at or near Attleboro', Pennsylva- nia, on the farm known as Pearson's brick yard, in Hamilton Township, Bucks County, about six miles from Trenton. . There were, however, some bricks manufactured by a Mr. Emly, a gen- tleman who came here from one of the Eastern States, about the year 1817, and who continued the business several years. About the same time, Mr. John Smith, father of Charles B. Smith, manu- factured a few bricks each year, in connection with farming, about six miles north of Trenton, on the Princeton pike. About the year 1824, Morgan Beaks commenced the manufacture of bricks, in connection with farming, on what is still known as Beaks' farm. Beaks continued to manufacture about three hun- dred thousand bricks per year, until about 1842 or 1843, when he was succeeded by Samuel Mulford, who made about fifteen hundred thousand per year for one or two years, when he failed in business. Beaks again took the yard, for about a year, when Peter Grim and George Kulp took it and carried on the business one year. It again fell into the hands of Beaks. Peter and Daniel Fell then took the yard, and carried it on for about six or seven years, making each year about eighteen hundred thousand bricks.
Peter Grim and Joseph Hymer came to Trenton from Phila- delphia the year the prison was built, and took the contract for furnishing two million bricks to the state for the building of the State Prison, and commenced to manufacture them on what is known as the Hayden farm, now owned by S. K. Wilson. They continued the business there until 1837. The partnership was dissolved by the death of Hymer. Peter Grim then bought the lot at the intersection of Calhoun and Pennington streets, and manufactured bricks there until about the year 1844 or 1845, when Grim & Kulp carried on the business on the Beaks place, and, at the expiration of one year, they dissolved, and Peter Grim commenced the manufacture of them on what is now known as Wainwright's flower garden or nursery. He continued there until he concluded that the business was unprofitable, and he
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then built a hotel and commenced keeping the same. The manu- factory then came into the possession of Henry Nice and William King. All of those gentlemen, with the exception of Samuel Mulford and Morgan Beaks were practical brick makers.
The average number of bricks manufactured in Trenton from 1835 to 1850 was about two hundred thousand per year ; from 1850 to 1860, about three hundred thousand per year ; and from 1860 to 1871, about eight hundred thousand per year.
All who have been engaged in the manufacture of bricks from 1817 down to the present day have failed, with the exception of two, Hymer and Christian Fell, who died after being two years in the business ; Morgan Beaks, who had a large farm that supported him ; and Joseph Bond and Charles Gaunt, who both abandoned the business at the expiration of the first or second year ; and those that are now in the business. But what the next generation may have to record in regard to those now engaged in the business deponent sayeth not.
Brick making in this city has gained a celebrity all over the country.
A few years ago Philadelphia was celebrated for making the best pressed bricks in the country, but now Trenton ranks fully equal to Philadelphia, and our pressed bricks are eagerly sought for.
About eleven thousand pressed bricks were made here during the year 1870, and forwarded to different parts of the country.
In 1840, was commenced what was at the time a very small business-that of coffee roasting, for the grocers. In a few years the grinding of spice was connected with it.
Mr. James Yates was the first to embark in this business, and therefore stands as the pioneer of what is now a large and exten- sive business in our city.
Mr. Yates, when he first commenced this business, was unable to realize his board out of it for the first year, but in from ten to twelve years his sales amounted to from twelve to fifteen thou- sand dollars per year.
There are at the present time four or five different parties en- gaged in the same occupation in Trenton, all of whom are doing a thriving and profitable business.
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
The fire brick manufactory was established by Mr. Edward Davis, in 1845, on a very small scale. It was first worked by horse power, its capacity then being but from six hundred to eight hundred bricks per day. It was gradually increased, until Mr. Davis rebuilt and introduced steam power, and at that time its capacity was increased to twenty-five hundred bricks per day. O. O. Bowman & Co. purchased the works January Ist, 1867, and since then they have introduced new machinery, new kilns, &c., and its present capacity is seven thousand bricks per day.
The terra cotta department was first built by Mr. Lynch, some fifteen or sixteen years ago. The works adjoined those of the fire brick works, and were only used for making vitrified pipe. As Mr. Lynch was unsuccessful, it fell into the hands of Mr. Davis, and after that both works were named together, Trenton Fire Brick and Terra Cotta Works. Bowman & Co. also pur- chased the terra cotta works with the brick works.
In August, 1869, the old terra cotta establishment was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt with much larger buildings and more steam power, of the best improved machinery, and three times its former capacity. It did not work over six months, when it again took fire from some unknown cause, July roth, 1870, and was entirely destroyed. It wasagain rebuilt, and is now in good running order, and fully equipped with the best of ma- chinery. Since Bowman & Co. have owned these works, they have introduced the manufacture of chimney tops, chimney flues, garden vases, fountains, and other fancy terra cotta ware. These works cover four acres of ground, and produce, when fully worked, two hundred thousand dollars per annum, and when in full running order give employment to eighty men.
In 1848, Henry Taylor commenced the manufacture of leather belting at No. 30 Stockton street. In 1865, he associated with him his son, Frank H. Taylor, under the firm name of Henry Taylor & Son. They are now manufacturing about sixty thou- sand dollars' worth of belting annually, consuming each year about ten thousand sides of leather, and their business is con- stantly increasing. The trade is chiefly a wholesale one, the goods being sold to jobbers in most of our large cities.
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The Trenton Agricultural Works were commenced in 1853, in a small shop on Stockton street, by Messrs. Melick & Quick.
In 1856, they removed their factory to the present location, on Carroll street, near State. The business, which rapidly increased under the above firm, passed successively into the hands of Melick, Withington & Co. and J. Melick & Co., and in the spring of 1869, was transferred to the present owners, the directors being Messrs. Bennington Gill, of Monmouth county ; (president); John S. Cook, of Burlington county ; Philip P. Dunn and Hiram L. Rice, (secretary and treasurer), of this city. Their manufactory covers nine lots of ground, and gives employment to forty hands, and has a capital of sixty thousand dollars. The machines which they manufacture consist princi- pally of horse powers, threshers and cleaners, corn shellers, grain fans, hay rakes, hay forks, and potato diggers, and are unrivalled for durability and superior workmanship. The improve- ments recently made by this company in perfecting the imple- ments manufactured by them should largely extend their increas- ing business, and, no doubt, will be fully appreciated by the farming community.
The Mercer Zinc Works, located on Third street, in the sixth ward, of this city, employ about one hundred hands, when in full operation, in the various departments of mining, teaming, and transporting of ore from the mines, situated in Wythe county, Virginia, and in manufacturing oxyd of zinc from the ore. The business was originally commenced in 1861, by John S. Noble and Alexander C. Farrington, on the bank of the river Delaware, on the ground previously occupied by Potter, Van Cleve & McKean as a machine and locomotive works. After the expenditure of a large amount of money in the erection of furnaces, buildings, and machinery, the water power attached to the premises was found to be insufficient to drive the necessary machinery, and in 1864, the present site of the works was selected, and the building of furnaces was commenced. Mr. Farrington's death led to the formation of a company, but some of those interested, having failed to perform the stipulations entered into, Mr. Noble undertook to complete the works alone, but not having sufficient capital, an arrangement was made
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with Mr. Joseph G. Brearley, and the entire concern passed into his hands as collateral security for heavy advances made by him, and subsequently Mr. Brearley became the owner of one-half the whole interest. The works, when driven to their full capacity, can turn out about three tons of oxyd of zinc daily. The whole concern is under the management and supervision of John S. Noble and his son, Henry S. Noble, and at the present time is undergoing extensive alterations and improvements. Coal and ore are brought in vessels and canal boats, via Delaware and Raritan canal, to the basin communicating with the canal, directly in front of the works. The establishment has to move annually about twelve thousand tons of freight in coal, ore, refuse material, and manufactured product, and when in full operation in the manipulation of the ore, &c., over fifty tons gross weight has to be handled daily.
The American Saw Company was organized under the laws of New York, in January, 1866, with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The manufactory is located at the foot of Broad street, in this city, with a general office in the city of New York. Its officers, at the date of its organization, were James C. Wilson, president ; Henry G. Ely, treasurer ; Samuel W. Putnam, secretary-all residents of Brooklyn, New York; and James E. Emerson, superintendent, of Trenton.
No change in its officers occurred until January, 1869, when Mr. James E. Emerson resigned the position of superintendent, and was succeeded by William E. Brook, who still holds the office.
The company was organized for the purpose of manufactur- ing movable tooth circular saws, an invention of Mr. Emerson while in California, in 1860, but greatly improved in the more recent invention of September, 1865, and under which patent the company manufacture.
During the summer of 1867, other improvements and inven- tions were made in the manufacture of saws, the principal one being the perforated patent. This invention being applicable to saws of all descriptions, extends largely into the productions of the company.
The saws, as manufactured by the company, are in use in every
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state in the Union, and orders are received from many foreign countries.
This has become one of the important branches of industry of our city, employing one hundred men, at an annual pay roll expenditure of sixty thousand dollars.
It is worthy of note, that at this manufactory was made the largest saw the world has produced, it measuring seven feet four inches in diameter, the plate for which was rolled expressly for the purpose, in Sheffield, England. This saw was manufactured for the Exposition Universaille in Paris, in the year 1867.
The works were destroyed by fire on the evening of the 7th of February, 1870, involving a loss of about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but in four weeks from the time it was burned new buildings were erected, and the hands resumed work as usual.
The pottery business at the present time is more extensively carried on here than in any other city of the Union. There is no kind of ware known but is manufactured here, from the most common to the finest variety. White ware, equal in quality and finish to any ware in this country or Europe, handsomely gilded, with the name of the owners, or with any design fancy may dictate, is manufactured here.
There are about twenty potteries located in the city and its immediate vicinity.
Our manufactories are not surpassed by any city of the coun- try, of the same population-in fact, our facilities for every de- scription of manufacturing purposes are not surpassed by any other city. Railroads and water transportation from all parts of the country centre here, so that passengers and freight can be easily transported to any place on this continent, as well as upon the eastern continent, and the facilities for obtaining every- thing requisite for all manufacturing purposes are unsurpassed. .
We beg leave to give first a general history of the pottery business, from its commencement, before entering into any par- ticular branch of that important business. For this history we are indebted to a gentleman in the business and fully conversant with it.
The rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese
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in 1498, opened the riches of India. On returning, they brought among the curiosities of art, specimens of porcelain from China. This was its first introduction into Europe, and for a long time its sole source of supply. About the middle of the sixteenth century, some French Jesuits brought specimens of Chinese material to France for analysis, and at the same time the Chinese mode of manufacture, from which time its history be- gins in Europe. The history of porcelain in China dates back two thousand years before Christ. It is said to be their custom for a man to use the clay his grandfather prepared, and to prepare an equal quantity for some future generation. This custom is merely mentioned to show the strong probability of the correctness of the Chinese record. And yet, singular as it may seem, discoveries in this century show the present continent of Europe to have been possessed of great knowledge in the art at least twenty-five hundred years previous to the introduction of porcelain from China into Europe. Porcelain is now made in England, France, and Germany, with great success, and there is no natural reason why we should not prosecute the industry in this country with equal success. Indeed, it is being made at the present time quite successfully at Greenpoint, Long Island.
It has been made in small quantities by nearly all our Trenton manufacturers, and even as far back as 1853, in the report of the industries of the New York exhibition, in connection with some remarks on French porcelain, we find recorded :
" We would not overlook the existence of porcelain manufac- tured in the United States, as indicated by the specimens of the United States Pottery Company, of Bennington, Vermont. The results obtained are very encouraging, and the specimens sound, and seem in all respects of a most excellent quality."
The above-named company failed a few years later, owing to bad management, and proved a serious loss to all interested, as Mr. S. H. Johnson, of our city, can testify.
Porcelain differs from our present Trenton ware in being semi-transparent, or translucent, and is much more costly, the process of making being more difficult, and the loss in burning far greater. The tender nature of this material while in the fire, renders it almost impossible to find a perfectly straight piece,
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particularly flat pieces of ware, such as plates and oval dishes. The two kinds of ordinary white earthenware, (such as are manufactured in Trenton), are made in England. She is our great rival, and is doing her best to cripple our young industry by ruinously low prices, so that she can eventually step in and take sole control of the United States market, as she had pre- vious to our last war. While we do not make one-twentieth part of this kind of goods used in the United States, still, we exert a wonderful influence upon English prices. We could name many articles they export into this country in large quan- tities, where they have been compelled to reduce their prices fifty per cent. The incidental protection of gold, during the war, gave us probably the only opportunity we would or could have had in a long time to start the business with any reasonable chance of success. But we have made much progress in the last ten years, and profited by our experience sufficiently to be a very great thorn in England's side, and one destined to stab her to death eventually, so far as earthly life is concerned. It is hardly necessary to make mention of the great artistic vases and figures hoarded up in the various collections of Europe, and valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds, consisting of the most exquisite colors and figures of both ancient and modern art.
Of it we will only say our materials in this country are fabu- lously abundant and wonderfully suited to enable us ere long to produce, with our Yankee perseverance, as great and as good specimens as the Old World has as yet shown us.
England manifests pride in her pottery manufactures, and perpetuates her traditional pleasure, profits, and interest in them by her carefully-written histories and memoirs of the struggles and triumphs of her Wedgwoods, Minstens, and other success- ful experimentists in the art. And shall we not, with propriety, have pride enough in our infant art of "pot making " to write at least a short essay, to leave one small landmark for the future historian of the Trenton potteries (when Trenton shall have become the American Staffordshire), to guide them somewhat in their labors, and to manifest to some extent our small degree of interest and pride in the industry ?
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It is not our intention to disparage the abilities of the early manufacturers of earthenware in this country because they were not Yankees. Neither is it our intention to deny the fact of our being under very great obligations to them for their knowledge, and their imparted secrets in the art, but it is our firm convic- tion that we have been putting too much stress upon old foreign customs, and that the business will not be a complete success until it becomes thoroughly Americanized. The time has passed for "secrets" in the business ; they will no longer deter people from embarking in the business, and capitalists will seek the opportunity to invest as fast as they can feel safe in doing so. It is often asked why Trenton should have so many potteries. We answer, because we were fortunate enough to have the business started here ; because some of our business men saw the advan- tages it offered to them, as well as to the city ; because we are central for our various kinds of clay, flint, feldspar, and coal ; and because we are central for trade between New York and Philadelphia, the two great markets of the country. Trenton will probably continue to take the lead, because the workmen prefer living where they have the greatest number of friends and associates in the trade, thereby rendering it difficult for isolated potteries to keep their hands.
The troubles of England's early manufacturers will be a guide to us. Her ignorance of the composition and utility of her ma- terials, and her many hundreds of years of groping in the dark, (before her great Wedgwood experimented himself into the necessary knowledge), will be of all-important interest and ad- vantage to us in this country, although our materials differ some- what from the English, still the knowledge naturally and easily obtained from the " mother country," as well as other countries, obviate any lengthy years of experiments before we can produce every variety of ware known. It is not a question of time and trouble with us, as it was with them ; it is only a question of op- portunity, and to make it a success in this country, it is for the masses of the people to say to the art, "Go ahead ; invest your capital, gather your skill, we will see your early existence pro- tected and fostered, to the end that you may make the ceramic art in this country the leading, most chaste, and ornamental of
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all the arts, blending as it does the deep research of the chemist with the sculptor and painter. It will be proper here to say that the ware now made in Trenton is sold and used with the foreign article from Maine to California, with entire satisfac- tion to all, except to those fashionable and foolish few who turn up their noses to all goods not made in foreign lands.
Like the iron interest, this industry will soon outlive these weak notions.
There is no branch of art industry in this country more worthy of attention than this; none that will have a more refining influence upon the people ; none that would redound more to the glory and profit of the nation. Is it any wonder, then, that France and China foster by government aid this branch of indus- try, and guard with a jealous care its secrets of manufacture ?
The Trenton potteries have made wonderful strides in the last two years, and it is evident we will at no very distant day be able to cope with the most thriving European nations.
In closing this article it will not be amiss to ask a question for time and history to answer. Who is to be America's great Josiah Wedgwood? Who is to be our great benefactor in the potter's art? Who will have combined with Americanism the same inventive genius and knowledge of the arts?
The pottery known as the City Pottery, located on Perry street, between East Canal and Carroll streets, was pur- chased by Mr. James Yates, of Trenton, and Nelson Large, of Lambertville, in 1856, being occupied at the time by William Young & Co., manufacturers of porcelain knobs. In 1859, Yates & Rhodes enlarged the works, and commenced the manu- facture of white earthenware, white granite, and cream-colored ware, being the first manufacturers in Trenton of that class of goods.
Since the organization of the firm of Yates & Rhodes there has been several changes. Higginson, Rhodes & Yates, and Yates & Titus have since carried on the business.
The present firm is Yates, Bennett & Allan, the works having a capacity to manufacture from sixty to seventy thousand dollars worth of ware per year, and at a comparatively small outlay can double that amount.
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Ralph H. and William I. Shreve were the first to start what is now known as the Glasgow Potteries, situated at the corner of Carroll and Ewing streets. It was first started in 1859, as a yellow ware manufactory.
In 1863, it was rented by John Moses & Co., for one year, with the privilege of buying it at the expiration of that time.
On the first of January, 1865, they purchased the property. It had then two kilns and no machinery, all the work being done by hand, which caused a great amount of work in mixing the materials for the body of the ware.
At the present time they have five kilns and a large amount of the most improved machinery used in the manufacture of crock- ery ware.
In September, 1852, James Taylor and Henry Speeler estab- lished the first yellow rock pottery built in Trenton, the firm being known as Taylor & Speeler.
In October, 1860, Henry Speeler disposed of his interest to Mr. Houdayer, and purchased the foundry and machine shops of Bottom & Tiffany, which he converted into a pottery, and on January Ist, 1868, he associated with him his two sons, Henry A. and William F., forming the present firm of Henry Speeler & Sons. They employ ninety hands, and, it is said, manufac- ture more yellow rock ware than any three potteries in America.
The Etruria Pottery takes its name from ancient Etruria, noted for its pottery, as well as all the arts, having preserved its history through all the ruin and wreck of thirty centuries. At the foundation of Rome, Etruria, or Tuscany, as it is now called, was in its most flourishing condition. Etruria being near Rome, was a guide and father to her, both in politics and the arts. We give this little history because we are so often asked the meaning of the word Etruria.
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