USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of Dayton, Ohio. With portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneer and prominent citizens Vol. 2 > Part 6
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In February, 1865, what are now known as the Miami Valley Boiler and Sheet Iron Works were established by W. P. Callahan, Thomas McGregor, Henry Fisher, and James T. Dougherty, under the firm name of MeGregor, Callahan & Company. In a few years Mr. McGregor sold his interest to Mr. Callahan. Soon afterward Frederick Sartor was admitted to the firm, and then Mr. Callahan and Mr. Fisher sold out to the other three, and the firm became Fisher, Sartor & Dougherty which lasted several years. Then Heury Weber bought an interest in the business and not long afterward sold it to Phillip Leonhard. Mr. Leon- hard retired in a short time, and Mr. Sartor sold his interest to James Brownell when the firm became Henry Fisher & Company. Soon after this, Lyman Leland took Mr. Fisher's interest, and the firm became Leland, Dougherty & Company. At length Messrs. Leland and Dougherty bought Mr. Brownell's interest, and the business ran along for six or seven years without any further change. Then Mr. Leland retired and John W. Graham became a member of the firm, which partnership lasted until May 17, 1886, when it was dissolved, since which time Mr. Dougherty has carried it on alone.
The products of these works consist of flue, tubular, and portable boilers, tank breechings and sheet iron chimneys, penstocks, draft tubes, tanks for oil, turpentine, water, or any other fluid, lard coolers, lard press screens, brewers' tubs, paper-mill tanks, bleach tubs, varnish steam kettles, fire-proof doors, core ovens, furnace cupolas and stacks, and many other articles in the same general line. 28
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HISTORY OF DAYTON.
One of the noted manufacturing industries of Dayton in the days before the war was the ax factory of F. Benjamin. Mr. Benjamin moved from New York City to Lexington, in Preble County, in 1840, with the intention of procuring a small farm on which to spend the remainder of his days in peace and comfort. While arrangements were being made for his occupancy of the little farm, he repaired several axes at the village forge. So skillful was his work that his fame soon spread abroad in the community, and the demand for Benjamin's axes became general. For this reason the project of settling down upon the farm was abandoned and he began to look around for a suitable location, where he could supply the demand which his skill and honest work had created. In the spring of 1846 he came to Dayton and began the manufacture of axes on a small scale, on the east side of St. Clair Street, between Third and Fourth streets. In 1849 his son, J. S. Benjamin, entered his.employ, and under his excellent training learned the trade of making first-class edged tools. Mr. Benjamin purchased the lot on the northeast corner of St. Clair and Fourth streets, and here he increased his facilities and enlarged his busi- ness, which continued to increase until his death in 1861. ITis son then carried on the business until 1869. For several years the edged tools of this establishment were manufactured by hand, and the reputation of the Benjamin axes and cutlery in general was second to none. From 1864, J. S. Benjamin made great improvements in his work. Determined to make his enterprise a credit to the city, as well as profitable to himself, he gradually changed from hand work to machinery, perfecting his machinery as he went along. He ceased making small cutlery and devoted himself to the manufacture of larger cutlery and tools used in the manufactures. The change to machinery changed the current of his business. His wares were called for in all directions, and their merit was such that it was impossible for him to supply the demand. This was the condition of his business in 1869, when he became interested in a stock company then recently established in Louisville, Kentucky, and be removed to that city, thinking that as the war was over every- thing would be prosperous there. He remained there in charge of the edged tool factory until 1875, but the enterprise was not a success, and after several years he returned to Dayton and again commenced the struggle of life on a small scale at No. 32 South Wayne Avenue, where he is at the present time. He has in his shop one of the celebrated Beaudry & Cunningham trip-hammers, the stroke of which is completely under the control of the operator. Mr. Benjamin is doubtless one of the most skillful edged tool makers in the city of Dayton, and is again gradually building up his business.
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Another of the early firms engaged in manufacturing in Dayton, was that of Beaver & Butt. They were located on Kenton Street just below Third. Mr. B. N. Beaver was the first one in Dayton to apply machinery to the manufacture of sash, doors, and blinds. The beginning with him was small, yet the means to increase the facilities of his business came by the active exercise of steady application and industry, aided by ability. Mr. Beaver commenced business in the building occupied by Adam Pritz, on Webster Street, in the winter of 1847. His business proving a success he soon removed to the Pease building on Third Street, just cast of the canal, taking Mr. J. W. Butt into partnership. At this location they greatly increased their facilities and business, and in a few years sold it to T. V. Doup, who removed to Kenton Street, and successfully conducted the establishment for some time. In 1853, Beaver & Butt again purchased the entire establishment and enlarged the business. Their factory was four stories high and a capacious building in every way. Among other articles made by them was a patent .step ladder, the celebrity of which was so great that orders for it were received from all over the country. They soon afterward purchased the building owned by the Hook and Ladder Company which they used as a warehouse. At the beginning Mr. Beaver employed three men, and in 1866 the firm employed thirty-five men, and besides did a great deal of work by machinery.
The most prosperous times, however, did not come to this firm until after 1866. During this year they made a contract with the State to build the asylum for the insane at Columbus, Ohio, at the high prices which were then prevailing, but they did not commence the work until 1870, when prices of materials and labor had largely fallen, the result being that they made a great deal of money on this single contract. In 1869, having, as before stated, purchased the building owned by the Hook and Ladder Company, they bought all the Benjamin property, and the S. N. Brown & Company warehouse property, and erected what is known as the Beaver & Butt building, occupying all the space between Kenton, Fourth and St. Clair streets and the alley. After the erection of this building they did a very large business in the building line, all over the country. This pros- perity continued until the death of John W. Butt, in 1885, since when the business has been closed. The building which they erected is now owned by John Dodds and the C. L. Hawes estate.
The manufacture of lard oil was commenced by J. II. Peirce in 1844, at the present location of the factory of J. P. Davies, on the lower hydraulic, between Wayne and Fifth streets. He was engaged in the business until 1870, his brother, J. C. Peirce, being interested in the factory a portion of the time. After some time D. E. Mead became a.
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HISTORY OF DAYTON.
partner in the company, and the firm name was changed to Peirce & Mead, as it remained until 1865, and in 1866 J. P. Davies became a partner. In 1870 Mr. Davies purchased the interest of Mr. Peirce and has since been engaged in the business alone. The goods manufactured are lard oil, and various brands of laundry soaps; acidless tallow oil is also made. The number of hands employed averages about twenty.
John Rouzer worked at the carpenter's trade in various places from 1844 to 1854, and in the latter year established himself in the business of contractor and builder in this city, commencing in a small way. In 1861, he began the manufacture of building material. He was then located in the old Bomberger flouring mill, where he put in operation the first iron frame molding machine in the United States. In 1862, he commenced the erection of the Turner Opera House, which was opened January 1, 1864. In 1863, he removed to his present location on the Cooper hydraulic, opposite the head of Fourth Street. The building he then occupied was a small two-story brick, which a year or two after- ward he enlarged by adding twenty feet to the front and raising it all one story higher. In 1871, he erected a new building to the north of the old one, three stories in front and four stories high on the canal. Since then he has occupied the two buildings, which are fitted up with the finest machinery to be found anywhere in the State. In 1884, he accepted as partners John H. Pardonner and William T. Mooney, since which time the firm name has been John Rouzer & Company. The number of men employed by this firm varies with the general condition of business, sometimes being as high as two hundred. The amount of work done averages about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year, and covers the large field of the southwestern part of the State, and as far north as Columbus. In Columbus the most noted buildings creeted by Mr. Rouzer are the courthouse, the board of trade building, and a residence for the widow of Ex-Governor Dennison. In Dayton he furnished the inside finishing and the furniture for the new courthouse, and the office. furniture for the offices of the Teutonia Insurance Company, office furni- ture being one of the specialties of this company.
The business now conducted by the Buckeye Iron Works was established in 1844, in a small way by II. L. Shepherd and W. IT. Pease, their works being located at the corner of Third and Wyandotte streets, and extending from Wyandotte to Wayne. The growth of the business was so rapid that it became necessary to increase the resources of the firm, and June, 1876, the present company was incorporated with a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dollars. The works are now where they were first located. The main building is of brick, four stories high,
Bom Roger
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and 56x90 feet in size. The two-story machine shop and iron foundry is 66x140 feet in dimensions, the brass foundry is 100x100 feet, and there is an additional machine shop ou Wayne Street, which is 40x00 feet in size. The machinery is propelled by a one hundred horse-power engine, and a force of 225 men is employed. The business of this firm consists of the manufacture of brass goods for steam-engine builders and steam fitters' usc. A special department of the concern is devoted to the manufacture of tobacco cutting machinery. Linseed oil and cotton- seed oil machinery are also largely made. The specialties of this firm find their way into nearly all parts of the civilized world. The annual output of the works at this time is about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and is constantly increasing. The officers of the company at the present time are: Charles E. Pease, president; W. Krutzsch, vice-presi- dent, and W. B. Anderson, secretary.
The flouring mills now known as the Banner Mills, were commenced in 1847, a small stone building being at that time erected. In 1865, Mr. Jost Durst purchased the property and in 1879 erected the present struc- ture, which is a four-story and basement brick building. The mills are located on East Fifth Street and the railroad. The machinery is propelled by a steam engine of one hundred and seventy-five horse-power, the capacity of the mills being about three hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day. The following brands of flour are made: "Durst's Best," "Ladies' Friend," "Roller Process," and "Telephone." These brands are quite popular throughout Ohio, Maryland, New York, and elsewhere. The officers of the company, since its incorporation in 1887 as the Darst Milling Company, have been John W. Durst, president; Jost Durst, vice- president; C. S. Durst, secretary and treasurer, and E. G. Durst, manager. It is one of the most prominent milling companies in Southwestern Obio.
The manufacture of plows was commenced in 1817 by Jefferson Anghe in a little shop on Third Street. Aughe invented the celebrated " Aughe Plow," which is so well known throughout the United States. Shortly after starting the business he removed to the corner of Front and Crane streets where he erected a two story frame building forty feet · square, where he carried on the manufacture of plows until 1865. At this time John Achey bought an interest in the business which he held until his death in the fall of 1866, after which Charles Parrott purchased Mr. Achey's interest and the firm Aughe & Parrott operated the works until 1871, when Mr. Parrott purchased Mr. Aughe's interest. Mr. Par- rott added to the old building until 1881, when the entire structure was taken down and a new four-story brick building 80x70 feet erected in its place, with necessary sheds, etc., in addition, for storing manufactured
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goods. These new works were taken possession of in October of that year. The firm became an incorporated company in 1882, under the name of the Parrott Manufacturing Company, of which Charles Parrott is president; George Parrott, secretary, and Frederick W. Nolt, superintendent. Among the points in which this plow is claimed to excel, are lightness of draft, scouring in any soil, holding to the ground under all conditions, facility of adjustment, and superiority of workmanship. With ample capital and every necessary facility at command, this company is well prepared to sustain the reputation it has alway's enjoyed.
The Aughe Plow Company, manufacturers of the "S. S. Anghe Plows," was organized in 1885. The works are located on the corner of Front and Crane streets, where are manufactured shifting beam plows, center draft plows, plain clevis plows, patent combination malleable iron plows, and subsoil plows. All parts of these plows are interchange- able and can be promptly supplied direct from the factory. The trade of this company is large throughout the United States, but is especially large in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Washington Territory. The officers of the company at this time are: S. J. Allen; president; J. W. Kennedy, secre- tary and treasurer, and S. S. Aughe, superintendent.
In 1848, D. II. Morrison commenced building wooden bridges for both railroad and county work. For, several years the work was done where the bridge was being built, Mr. Morrison having no shop or factory. In 1868, however, he erected a small shop in the rear of the last and peg factory of Crawford & Company, and there began the manu- facture of iron bridges from a patent of his own. The business kept on increasing until 1882, when it became necessary to have more room, and the present location on Louie Street, between Wash- ington Street and the railroad, was selected, and a brick factory building erected 66x318 feet in dimensions. Here the work has since been carried on, a large number of different styles of bridges being made, among them the Pratt truss, the whipple truss, the triangular truss, arch bridges, deck bridges, plate girders, etc. This company has manufac- tured two rigid suspension bridges, one of them being now in existence and crossing the canal on Main Street, and it has also built two suspen- sion truss bridges, one of which, and the only one now in existence, is the bridge across the Miami River, on Main Street.
D. II. Morrison died in 1882, and the company was incorporated December 18, 1882, as the Columbia Bridge Company. The incorpora- tors were C. C. Morrison, J. Curtis Morrison, Ellis Jennings, Atlas L. Stout, and Warren Munger. The officers of the company were, at first, C. C. Morrison, president; Samuel Craighead, vice-president; and J. Curtis
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Morrison, sceretary. The present officers of the company are C. C. Mor- rison, president; Michael Neil, vice-president, and J. Curtis Morrison, secretary and treasurer. A new frame building was erected in the winter of 1888-1889 for a blacksmith shop, which is 40x75 feet in size. The machinery in these works is exceedingly simple and strong. The boring machine is the largest in use anywhere, being capable of boring a hole eight inches in diameter, through thirty-six inches of metal, and of boring two holes at the same time, fifty-five feet apart in the center. One of the largest punches in existence is in these works, it being capable of punching an eight-inch hole in one-inch iron, and cutting off five-inch rods of cold iron. About seventy men are usually employed in the factory, and about the same number at the bridges which are being built. The annual amount of the work done is from one hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. One of the monuments to the skill and honesty of the work of D. II. Morrison was the oblique ribbed arched stone bridge across the canal on Jefferson Street, which was erected in 1854 and torn down in 1888.
Following is a summary of the manufacturing establishments in operation in Dayton in 1849: There were five oil mills which purchased from the farmers of the surrounding country one hundred and sixty thousand bushels of flax seed annually, at a cost of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, from which were produced three hundred and forty thousand barrels of oil and four hundred thousand pounds of oil cake. These oil mills employed from forty to sixty hands, besides furnishing employment to about twenty coopers in the manufacture of barrels for the oil.
There were five iron foundries which gave permanent employment to one Irundred men, and which cast annually nine hundred tons of pig iron. There were four flouring mills which ground annually from one hundred and fifty thousand to one hundred and seventy thousand bushels of wheat; a last and peg factory, turning out yearly about twenty thou- sand dollars' worth of stock and employing about twenty-five hands. Woolen machinery of all kinds was made, and carpets and coverlets of a great variety of patterns. A. linen factory was established about that time, and there were three paper-mills, employing from forty to. fifty hands and manufacturing about five hundred tons of paper which netted the establishments about eighty thousand dollars.
There were two excellent hydraulic powers in Dayton, termed the " upper " and "lower" hydraulics, and for a distance of some seventy-live rods along the canal the ground was covered with buildings from three to
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HISTORY OF DAYTON.
four stories high, filled with machinery and giving employment to from three hundred to four hundred mechanics and laborers. At that time the upper hydraulic was not in full operation, but it bade fair to soon become the center of great activity.
The Dutton Agricultural Works were erected in 1854 by Rufus Dutton, on Keowee Street and the canal. Here Mr. Dutton continued the manufacture of agricultural implements until 1856, when the property was sold at sheriff's sale to C. Wight, who took into partnership William Bomberger and John Dodds, the firm name becoming Bomberger, Wight & Company. In 1863, these works changed hands, J. B. Pilts & Company becoming the purchasers. Immediately upon the purchase of the works, . J. B. Pitts & Company began the manufacture of the celebrated Pitts threshing machines, the improved double pinion horse-power, and their patent planet power, the latter made entirely of iron. This establishment was immediately arranged in departments and thoroughly systematized. For some little time the threshing machines were shipped " knocked down" from Buffalo, where was located the principal manufactory, to Dayton, and sold from this city as a distributing point, but soon after- ward the manufacture was commenced here and continued until within a few years of the present time. The Pitts thresher and separator was the joint invention of John A. and Hiram A. Pitts, was patented in 1837, and for several years afterward was the most successful machine for threshing and separating grain at one operation that had been invented. . The manufacture of these machines was continued by Pitts & Com- pany until 1866, when Woodsum & Tenney purchased the property and the business, and carried it on until the beginning of 1875, when they sold the business to the Woodsum Machine Company, which was incor- / porated in April of that year. The incorporators were S. F. Woodsum, George W. Shaw, J. F. Perrine, Garrett Perrine, B. F. Hargrave, and S. W. Massey. This company continued the manufacture of the machines at the old place until 1886, when they sold the property to the Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company and discontinued the business.
After Bomberger, Wight & Company sold out to J. B. Pitts & Company, they moved to the shops of the Western Railroad, near the present union depot, and there continued the manufacture of agricultural implements for two or three years, when they sold out. C. Wight had been engaged in the manufacture of Imber in Dayton ever since 1850, and is so engaged at the present time. In 1851 or 1852, he located at the corner of Monument Avenue and Sears Street, and has continued there ever since. In 1878, he commenced the manufacture of sash, doors, and
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blinds, and since then has added the manufacture of a patent fence machine, called the Gem City Fence Loom, gang and lath and picket mills, wire and picket fences, window and door screens, door springs, and detachable or open links. The number of hands employed in this establishment is about sixty, and the annual amount of the business is from one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
The Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company was established is 1849 by E. Thresher and E. E. Barney, under the firm name of E. Thresher & Company. In that year they began the erection of shops in Dayton, for the purpose of building railroad cars, with what would now be considered a very small capital, twelve thousand dollars. From the nature of the business, the establishment became known throughout the country as the Dayton Car Works, and they are so known to the present day. From the first the cars manufactured at these works were noted for the excellence of their material and workmanship. In 1854, Mr. Thresher on account of failing health sold his interest to C. Parker, and during the next ten years the name of the firm was Barney, Parker & Company. During this period the business steadily increased throughout the Northwest, West, and South. In 1864, Mr. Parker's health having become impaired from too close attention to business, he disposed of his interest in the firm to Preserved Smith, and during the next three years the firm name was Barney, Smith & Company. In 1867, the firm was incorporated under the laws of Ohio, with the name of the Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company, and with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars. The capital was increased in 1872, to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and in 1882, to one million dollars, at which it remains at the present time, the surplus now being five hundred thousand dollars. The names of the incorporators of this company were: E. E. Barney, Preserved Smith, James D. Platt, E. J. Barney and A. E. Stevens. The first officers of the company were: E. E. Barney, president; Preserved Smith, vice-president and treasurer ; James D. Platt, secretary, and E. J. Barney, superintendent. Since their incorpora- tion they have greatly enlarged their business, having erected new and more commodious buildings, and added improved machinery of any and all kinds, until now they have one of the best equipped car manufactories to be found anywhere in the United States, if not actually the best. They consume from eighteen to twenty million feet of lumber per year, and from thirty-five thousand to forty thousand tons of iron. They give employment to eighteen hundred men, and turn out from three to four million dollars' worth of manufactured goods each year. They make all kinds of freight, baggage and passenger cars, the latter including
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sleeping and private cars, and being equal in design and finish to any in the world. The buildings and works generally of this .com- pany occupy about twenty-eight acres of ground. The average amount of wages paid to employes during the past few years has been sixty thousand dollars per month, the amount of wages paid out in this one establishment, added to that paid out in other establishments directly and indirectly connected with it in Dayton, would be almost, if not quite one million dollars a year. Ample and complete facilities and extraor- dinary care to even the minutest details of their work, are the secrets of the excellent and wide-spread reputation this company has acquired, and are the reasons for their cars being found in every State and Territory in the Union, as well as in Canada.
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