USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Memorial history of Syracuse, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 28
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The South Syracuse Canning Company, located at 230 Brighton avenue, was organized March 1, 1SS3. During the season from 100 to 125 people are employed, and the annual sales amount to from $5,000 to $25,000. The President of the company is John A. Webster, the Superintendent is William Cannon, and the Secretary and Treasurer is S. Beeman.
Louis Windholz, for the past twenty years a citizen of Syracuse, in 1888 bought land and built a factory 132 x 48 at 610 Cortland avenue, and began canning corn and tomatoes. His yearly production averages 350,- 000 cans. In the spring of 1891 lie added the manufacture of malt, wine, and cider vinegar, making twenty-five barrels per day. During the busy Season 200 people are employed and the yearly sales amount to $30,000.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
Mr. Windholz is caterer at the State Camp of Military Instruction at Peekskill.
Shirtmakers .- Shirt manufacture in Syracuse has had a checkered ex- perience. Ten or twelve years ago it was on a flood-tide of prosperity, with two large factories running at full capacity and employing perhaps 400 hands. Good prices for the manufactured goods prevailed, and the oper- atives made good wages. Sharp competition came from other cities, especially from Troy, where makers sold shirts at nearly cost for the sake of introducing collars and cuffs at a good margin of profit. Later still the Jewish manufacturers of New York city came into the field, and now con- trol the larger share of the trade in the cheap grades of cotton shirts and in flannel shirts. All this applies to what are known as stock shirts-the com- paratively low priced goods sold by dry goods dealers. In the better grades of custom-made shirts the dozen or more makers in Syracuse have built up a good trade, which they are steadily increasing. They are, however, two or three makers of stock goods here who, in spite of the fierce competition. are securing large sales. One of these, C. A. Tiffany, has a factory in the Industrial Building, which he opened two years ago with a small capital and four hands. He now employs fifty hands and his sales last year reached $35,000. He manufactures all grades and colors of stock goods as well as custom shirts and overalls and jackets. The number of persons employed in the industry in Syracuse will approximate 300 and the value of the product $200,000 annually.
Cooperage .- Early in the history of Syracuse the cooper's trade assumed a prominent place on account of the heavy demands of the salt industry. The manufacture of the barrels necessary for the enormous product of the salt springs has been vividly described in the chapter of this work on that industry, written by the Hon. Thomas G. Alvord. The decline of the salt business in recent years has dwarfed the business of the coopers hereabouts to a minor industry, which has been counteracted only in a small degree by the demands of the brewers. Twenty years ago there were about fifty shops in the city, which gave employment to 400 men. Now there are cleven shops, employing approximately fifty men. Five of these are in the First ward, four in the Second, and one each in the Fifth and Tenth wards. Four of these shops make tight-work for the brewers, a branch of the in- dustry that employs about thirty men, and five shops are sufficient to sup- ply the demand for salt barrels, as far as the city is concerned. Charles G. Haendle & Co. began in the business in Basin street about twenty five years ago. They now make 50,000 slack-work barrels and kegs, 2,000 beer kegs, and 1,000 pork barrels per year. It is the only shop in the city where all kinds of work are done, and employs from ten to fifteen men In 1890 Mr. Haendle took his son, Henry, into partnership.
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Charles Schug & Son .- Charles Schug came from Germany to Syracuse in 1853 and learned the cooper's trade at slack-work in 1862 of Henry Goettel, and in 1866 the tight-work portion of the business of Jacob Schweizer. In 1871 he opened a shop in Lodi street for tight-work, and in 1883 removed to Basin street. Mr. Schug has three sons, Charles, William, and Louis, all of whom work in his shop, and William is a member of the firmn. They now make flour barrels for Jacob Amos, plaster barrels for the Adamant Company, besides 27,000 salt barrels, 5,000 lime barrels for A. E. Alvord, and 1,200 pork barrels, making a product in 1890 of over 60,000 barrels, and giving employment to from ten to fifteen men.
James Westfall arrived in Syracuse from Schenectady on the memorable day of the Jerry Rescue, and rented a cooper shop in Deacon Spencer's building, in Fulton street, where he made salt barrels for seven years, when he removed to Geddes. There he made flour barrels for J. W. Barker, be- sides supplying the Ashton and the New York State Salt Companies with barrels. Seven years ago Mr. Westfall contracted with the Solvay Com- pany to supply all of their barrels and kegs, which he has since continued to do, turning out about 600 per day, all hand-made. In one year the num- ber reached the enormous figure of 250,000 barrels and kegs. During the seven years a little over 700,000 have been made by him. He keeps twenty-five men employed, and gets his stock chiefly from Canada and Michigan.
Edward D. Atherton, manufacturer of salt, flour, and fruit barrels, and dealer in wood, came to Syracuse in 1869 and worked at his trade as a cooper two years for Jacob Fellows in Carbon street. He then began the business alone in Wolf street, and was afterward, until 1880, in Center street, when he removed to Geddes, foot of Emerson avenue, his present location. Since that time he has been the largest producer of salt barrels in Syracuse. The first year in Salina he made 25,000 salt barrels, and one year 50,000. During the past ten years his least annual production has been 100,000 bar- rels, and his greatest 175,000. Ilis wood yard is supplied from timberland which he owns on Oneida Lake, and brings here by boat. He employs constantly twenty-five men. Mr. Atherton represented his ward on the Board of Supervisors three successive years, 1887-89.
I .. Burkhard is a tight-work cooper at No. 205 Basin street, where he has made from 10,000 to 12,000 barrels, hogsheads, tubs, and kegs for beer and liquors per year since 1884, employing fifteen men.
David A. Powers began making salt barrels at the corner of Lodi and Wolf streets in 1862, and has turned out from 25,000 to 50,000 per year since that time. He employs from five to ten men.
Willow Baskets .-- Two-thirds of the willow baskets used in the United
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
States are made in Onondaga county, and the industry is so closely identi- fied with Syracuse that it deserves mention here. The baskets are made wholly by hand labor and their manufacture gives employment to about 300 families, of which number forty families live in the city and the remainder in the vicinity of Liverpool. The industry was started in the early days of the war period, when a few German salt boilers took it up for winter occu- pation, and others rapidly followed. The baskets were then peddled around the country by the wives of the makers. In 1864 Henry Lacy, now Cashier of the Third National Bank, but then in business at Liverpool, began ship- ping baskets to other localities. In 1868 he sold out to Francis Alvord, who merged the business with what was known as the American Peat Com- pany. This company engaged in willow cultivation on an extensive scale; but for some reason the company failed, and was succeeded by William Gleason, who is now the principal shipper at Liverpool. Two years ago the basketmakers of that section formed a syndicate and employed Mr. Gleason to manage the sale of the product, and he still acts in that capacity.
In 1882 Hoyt H. Freeman and Henry L. Loomis formed a partnership as dealers and shippers in willow baskets, and in one season this firm alone shipped as high as 18,000 dozen throughout the country from Maine to California.
To supply the workman in this industry with material requires 3,000 tons of willows annually, for the production of which 7,000 acres must be kept under cultivation. The annual production has now reached 40,000 dozen, which brings an income of about $150,000.
The only other manufacturer of baskets in Syracuse of much impor- tance is L. L. Thurwachter, whose salesroom is in West Fayette street. He shares the monopoly of the industry with those before mentioned, hav- ing begun it in 1868.
Hides and Leather .- In the very early history of Syracuse there was a small tannery located on Onondaga Creek, near where Water street now crosses it: but the first one of much importance and permanency was estab- lished in Water street near Grape, by the late H. W. Van Buren, in the year 1825. He carried on his business there with success until about 1858, when he removed it to a building which stood on the site of the present new R., W. & O. freight depot. Many years ago he opened his leather store in Hanover Square, where the trade was successfully conducted for many years. Mr. Van Buren died in 1887, and a year later the tannery was closed.
In 1856 Joseph Falker began a trade in both hides and leather in Water street near Warren. In 1864 his son, August, acquired an interest in the business, and upon his father's death in February, 1889, became sole
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owner. The establishment has always done a large business, but it has been exclusive of tanning. Mr. Falker is now the only person in the city who handles both hides and leather.
Jacob Marshall began purchasing and selling hides and pelts in 1853, at his residence, No. 222 Cedar street, using his barn for a storehouse. In ISSo he took in his son under the firm name of Jacob Marshall & Son, and . in ISS3, the business demanding larger accommodations, it was removed to Nos. 126-128 James street. To provide still larger facilities the firm has recently purchased the building in North Salina street formerly used by Mckinstry & Son, as a soap and candle factory, and a four-story structure will soon be erected there. The firm handles wool in addition to their hide traffic, and their stock comes from New York and adjacent States.
In the year 1866 August Finck began tanning on a small scale in East Division street, where he continued for twenty years, but was compelled to give it up on account of the difficulty in obtaining bark. In 1886 he bought the stores at No. 650 and 652 North Salina street, and is carrying on a successful business, dealing in leather and findings, shoe store supplies, cut soles, etc.
Although the leather trade is not one of the more prominent industries of Syracuse, there is still a large capital invested in it, in its various lines, and it adds materially to the wealth of the place.
The Simmons Hame Company .- This firm comprises J. F. Cockings and W. H. Simmons, and the works are located at 2005 Park street. The ompany was established in 1890. The sales of their specially manufact- ured wares have met with a very large demand, and have exceeded the pres- ent capacity of their factory. They employ fifteen men and their goods are sold mostly in the West.
The Solvay Process Company .- This is probably the leading manufactur- ing industry of Syracuse in point of magnitude and importance. The com- pany was incorporated in ISS1, with a capital of $300,000, which from time to time has been increased until it now is $1, 500,000. The first officers were: President, Rowland Hazard; Secretary, O. V. Tracy ; Treasurer and Gen- eral Manager, William B. Cogswell; Directors, Rowland Hazard, William B. Cogswell, William A. Sweet, G. E. Dana, F. B. Alvord. The products of the works are soda-ash, caustic soda, and bicarbonate of soda. The manufactory is located in Geddes on the line of the Erie Canal and the N. Y. C. & H. R. Railroad, and covers fifty-five acres of ground. In the year 1882 sixty men were employed, and the number has now reached 1,500. The greater share of this success is due to W. B. Cogswell. The present officers of the company are as follows: President, R. Ilazard ; General Manager, W. B. Cogswell; Treasurer, F. R. Hazard ; Secretary, O. V. Tracy; Directors, R.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
Hazard, W. B. Cogswell, George E. Dana, R. G. Hazard, W. A. Sweet, and F. R. Hazard.
The Split Rock Cable Road Company was organized in June, 1888. The first officers were John L. King, President ; O. V. Tracy, Secretary ; Will- iam B. Cogswell, General Manager ; and F. R. Hazard, Treasurer. The Directors were John L King, Edward N. Trump, and R. G. Hazard,- The object of this company was to build an elevated cable tramway of the sys- tem patented by Adolph Bleichert, of Leipsig, Germany, for the transpor- tation of limestone from Split Rock quarries to the Solvay Process Works, for their use and for other purposes. The distance is about three and one- fourth miles, and the capacity of the line is 750 tons of limestone per twenty-four hours. This line has been in active operation since May, 1889, and the quantity of limestone already transported amounts to more than 200,000 tons. The present officers of the company are those originally chosen.
The Tully Pipe Line Company was organized in April, 1889, with the following officers : l'resident and General Manager, William B. Cogswell ; Secretary, Jolin L. King ; Treasurer, F. R. Hazard; Directors, William B. Cogswell, George E. Dana, O. V. Tracy, Edward N. Trump, John L. King, R. G. Hazard, and F. R. Hazard. The object of this company was to bring down saturated brine from the newly-discovered salt fields at Tully to Syracuse for the use of the salt manufacturers and other industries in this city. The plant of the company consists of a twelve-inch inain extend- ing from the brine wells at Tully to the large reservoir near the works of the Solvay Process Company, and includes this reservoir, which has a capacity of 5,000,000 gallons, and a smaller one in the town of Cardiff, which will hold 1,000,000 gallons. The distance is about twenty-two miles. Work was begun in May, 1889, and the pipe line was complete and in operation in November of the same year. Since that time this pipe has delivered daily a very large quantity of brine. The full capacity would furnish brine sufficient to produce 15,000,000 bushels of salt per year. The present offi- cers and Directors of the company are those originally chosen.
Onondaga Pottery Company .- This company was incorporated on the 20th of July, 1871, with a capital of $50,000; and the following officers : President, N. S. Gere; Vice-President, C. D. Avery ; Secretary and Treas- urer, Mills P. Pharis, who with C. E. Hubbell, A. C. Morey, E. B. Van Du- sen, R. N. Gere, G. W. Draper, and Charles Mitchell were the first Direc- tors. The works were begun in what was then Furnace street, near the present site in the Tenth ward, and employed about fifty hands. The buildings were burned in 1884; but new buildings had been erected in 1881, on the corner of Fayette and School streets, which comprise three
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structures four stories high, and two which are two stories. About 200 01)- eratives are now employed, and the product consists of china and ironstone china dinner and toilet ware, plain and decorated. The present officers of the company are : President, Mills P. Pharis; Vice-President, E. B. Jud- son, jr .; Secretary, C. D. Avery ; Treasurer, M. P. Pharis; General Mana- ger, F. F. Alexander. The Directors include the above and Charles E. Hubbell, Charles R. Hubbell, Giles Everson, and Jacob Crouse.
Central City Pipe Works .- The manufacture of cement tile and sewer pipe was commenced in this city by George and Thomas G. Bassett in 1864. Their works were in East Water street, in what was long known as the " Old Barrel Factory." Here they remained but a short time. As their business increased they were obliged to remove for want of room to the corner of Harrison street and Renwick avenue, where they did an immense business for one so young. They used only Rosendale cement and Onondaga gravel, but did excellent work, much of which still attests their honesty in the selec- tion of materials and skill in manipulation. About 1872 the plant and good will were purchased by M. G. Field & Company, who removed it to South avenue, where it continued with varying success till 1879, when it was purchased by Mansfield J. French, who has continued the works till date. On the accession of Mr. French he commenced the use of Portland cement, believing it to be in most cases far superior to any other, either natu- tal or compounded. He employs more than a dozen men, and uses over 2,500 barrels of cement annually and produces $35,000 worth of manufac- tured goods. There are many miles of sewer in the streets of the city, vary- ing in size from three feet in diameter to less than one foot, and thousands of feet of side drains of smaller dimensions, of his manufacture. These sewers, of this material, when well laid, have given general satisfaction.
Lefever Arms Company .- Among the inventors who have become cele- brated in connection with improvements in firearms is D M. Lefever, of Syracuse. This company was organized in 1884 for the manufacture of fine guns under the patents of Mr. Lefever, who had carried on the busi- ness since 1867. The works are located in Maltbie and North Clark streets. The buildings have 140 feet front in Maltbie street, and are forty- five feet deep and three stories high. Beginning with twenty-five men the business has been so successful that 100 are now employed, and the capacity of the works has been doubled. The guns made by this concern have a deservedly high reputation throughout the country. The officers of the company are as follows: President, A. A. Howlett; Treasurer and Mana- ger, J. F. Durston; Superintendent, D. M. Lefever.
Adamant Manufacturing Company .- This is a manufacturing enterprise peculiar to and originating in Syracuse. The company was organized in
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
January, 1887, with a capital stock of $150,000. The company began bus- iness in a small way in the old match factory building in East Water street. Much of the work was done by hand, and the little machinery was crude and insufficient to meet the rapidly increasing demand. Machinery had to be invented and adapted to this special work, and much time and money were spent in working out the problem how to produce adamant rapidly and cheaply. Early in 1888 buildings were erected in the eastern part of the city, on the canal at the foot of Teall avenue. These consisted of a mixing station 120 x So feet, two stories high ; a chemical building 40 x So feet; and a boiler-house. The office is at 309 East Genesee street. A fire in Octo- ber, 1888, destroyed the chemical building and damaged the others. New and better buildings were at once erected, and the plant now covers over an acre of ground. This is the parent company. It owns numerous pat- ents and issues rights to other parties to mix and sell, while it retains the right to manufacture the chemical which forms the basis of the plaster, and which is furnished to its licensees at a guaranteed price. There are now over thirty companies operating under the several patents in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The Adamant wall plaster has been thoroughly tested in hundreds of prominent buildings, and fully proven its great superiority. The officers of the company are as follows: E. W. Parmelee, President; W. E. Abbott, Vice- President ; C. T. Brockway, Treasurer and New York State Manager; W. E. Hopkins, Manager chemi- cal department ; S. S. Ruston, Secretary. The Trustees are E. W. Parme- lee, WV. E. Abbott, W. E. Hopkins, C T. Brockway, S. S. Ruston, George F. Hine, and George West.
The Paragon Plaster Company .--- This company was organized June 22, 1888, with a capital of $30,000, which was increased to $75,000 in 1889. The first officers were Jacob Amos, President; W. K. Niver, Vice- Presi- dent ; A. E. Nettleton, Treasurer ; George C. Cook, Secretary. The mills are situated at West Fayette and Magnolia streets and the Erie Canal in the Ninth ward. About twenty men are employed. The product is a pat- ented wall plaster which is a valuable substitute for the old-fashioned lime and hair mortar. The company owns the patent for the United States, and is the parent organization. The office is at 209 Warren street, and the present officers are Jacob Amos, President; W. K. Niver, Vice-President ; Ira O. Goodrich, Secretary ; Lucius Moses, Treasurer.
Syracuse Glass Company - This company was organized in 1863 with a capital of $60,000 The plant is located in East Water and East Wash- ington streets, and the office is at 1016 East Water street. The entire plant covers an area 300 x 160 feet. There are three furnaces and twenty- four pots in operation, producing about 9,000 boxes of glass monthly, and
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giving employment to about 120 operatives. All kinds of crystal, window, picture, and car glass are manufactured. In addition to the establishment in the streets named above the company occupies a three-story building on the corner of East Water street and Crouse avenue, which is used for stor- age. The present officers of the company are E. B. Judson, President ; Jacob Crouse, Vice- President ; J. G. Wynkoop, Treasurer ; F. W. Bennett, General Manager. The first three, with Charles J. Glass, E. R. Plumb, W. E. Abbott, and E. B. Judson, jr., constitute the Board of Directors.
H. Finn & Sons. - The manufacturing of soap and candles has been carried on in Syracuse for more than fifty years, but has never attained great magnitude as it has in many cities. The late Alexander Mckinstry carried on the business here for many years and made it successful. Ilis factory was ncar the Oswego Canal bridge in Salina street. H. Finn caine to Syracuse, May 1, 1838, and was employed in the soap factories of A. Mckinstry, Mckinstry & Dunham, Oliver Orcutt, and Orcutt & Beardsly. He began making soap in 1859 on the north side of the canal, in what is now the West Shore Railroad freight house. When the railroad was built in 1883 the business was removed to its present quarters in East Water street, where ten men are employed. G. M. and A. G. Finn, sons of the founder of the business, were taken in as partners in 1872. The present factory is 50 x 80 feet and three stories high. The special article made now is the Salt City soap.
American Bleach and Chemical Company ( successors to the Eureka Chemical Company ) .- The Eureka Chemical Company was organized in 1884, with a capital stock of $25,000; this was increased in 1885 to $200,000. The officers were A. E. Dewey, President : G. S. Farmer, M.D., Vice-Pres- ident ; H. C. Townley, Secretary ; and L. F. Phillips, Treasurer. These officers were all of Watertown, N Y., and with F. A. Fletcher, Hiram Cop- ley, Charles H. Remington, E. II. Thompson, and A. E. Nettleton con- stituted the Board of Directors. The buildings were located on the R., W. & O. Railroad, near Marsh street, and consisted of a sulphate of soda building 40 x 93 feet, a condensing building 20 x 98 feet, and the "still" house 40 x 90 feet. In 1885 was added a sulphuric acid and bleach plant 82 x 234 feet, also a building for packing and drying 40 x 76 feet, and an engine-house and machine shop 28 x 52 feet. The bleach chambers and lime- dressing plant are in another building 36x275 feet, while the office and laboratory are in still another structure. There were employed at first about thirty men. In the spring of 1887, on account of the sulphate ma- chinery giving out and the plant needing repairs and improvements, the works were shut down. On the first of April, 1890, they were leased to the American Bleach and Chemical Company.
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The Eureka Company had in view the manufacture of bleaching powder (chloride of lime) for general bleaching purposes. There were imported last year 60,000 tons, while none was made in this country; but the development of such an enterprise, where perfection of detail is not fully understood, is al- ways a work of time and sometimes of disappointment. While the works of this company were shut down they perfected a new process for manu- facturing bleaching powder, upon which patents were secured in America, England, and Canada. Where the old process required three tons of salt to produce one ton of the powder the new process produced a ton of thirty- eight per cent. powder from a ton of salt, while all of the raw material used is reclaimed and again used, except hydrochloric acid, which is converted into chlorine, and this into bleaching powder proper. The making of these experiments demonstrated the need of greater capital, which led to the leas- ing of the works to the American Bleach and Chemical Company on the Ist of April, 1890. The capital stock of this company is $25,000, and the works have been placed in order and are in operation. It is intended to produce sulphuric acid, chloride of lime, bleaching liquor, muriatic acid, sulphate of iron, sulphate of soda, etc. The officers of the company are H. H. Loomis, President ; James Van Vleck, Vice-President ; T. J. Brower, Treasurer ; A. Achilles, Secretary ; and A. E. Dewey and A. H. Sawyer, of Watertown, T. J. Brower and W. S. Firman, of Rochester, and John N. Babcock, James Van Vleck, and H. H. Loomis, of Syracuse, Trustees.
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