USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 35
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The company has branch offices at 152 Centre Street, New York City; 82 Lake Street, Chicago, and 10 and 12 Wood Street, Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania.
The first engineers in the world have made thorough practical tests of the Joy radiators, in comparison with others, and as a result they certify to its superior merits. It is not by favor or courtesy to individuals, that the Joy radiators are selected for heating such wonderful edifices as Ivin's Syn- - dicate Building, now in process of construction, on Park Row, New York,
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thirty stories high, the highest building in the world; or the Standard Oil Company's new building in New York, or the Hotel Waldorf, or the St. James Building, or the Produce Exchange, the Lorillard Building, the University of the City of New York, the Barnard College new buildings, the Bank of New York, the Hotel Marie Antoinette, the Buttenweiser Building. the W. W. Astor Apartment Building, the Lowe Building, Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, all of New York City. In Philadelphia the Joy radiators heat the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broad Street Station, Reading Railroad Terminal Station, Drexel Building, Drexel Institute, Pennsylvania Institu- tion for Deaf and Dumb, the Presbyterian Hospital, Hotel Lafayette, Glad- stone's Apartment House. Then may be mentioned St. Mary's Maternity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York: Delaware & Hudson Canal Company's buildings, Albany, New York; United States Hospital, Fort Wadsworth. New York Harbor. The above are a few of the public buildings which are heated by Joy radiators. In England, Marlborough House, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, uses these radiators. They were adopted and installed by the eminent firm of engineers, John King, Limited, London. In this country might be mentioned the residence of John Jacob Astor, Rhine- cliff, New York: the residence of Mrs. Robert Garrett, Baltimore, Maryland, and a great many others. The company is behind in its orders, and the works are crowded to their fullest capacity. The central institution, with its great brick pile, occupies a whole square, in Titusville, on Franklin, Mechanic, Washington streets, and Water Street, on the north.
Queen City Tannery .- In 1889, Mr. Samuel G. Maxwell, of Boston. Massachusetts, made a tour through several localities of Pennsylvania, and other parts of the country, in search of a desirable location for a large tan- nery. Among the places which he visited was Titusville, and upon investi- gation he became impressed with the apparent advantages of the point for a tanning establishment of large dimensions. He conferred with certain members of the Titusville Board of Trade, in reference to the starting of a tannery here. Encouraged by what he saw and heard, he returned to Bos- ton and consulted with the firm of Lucius Beebe & Sons, upon the proposi- tion to join with them in building and operating a tannery at Titusville. As a result of the discussion, the Beebes proposed to Maxwell, who had a thor- ough experience in the tanning business, that he, with the assistance of Titus- ville citizens through their local Board of Trade, build the tannery, and they
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furnish the working capital for operating it, he to superintend its con- struction and its manufacturing business, and they to market its product. Should the project be consummated, the profits of the business, after allowing the Beebes a commission of five per cent of the sales, should be divided equally between Mr. Maxwell and the Beebes.
Mr. Maxwell then returned to Titusville, and again conferred with the Board of Trade. The result was that the Board of Trade agreed to furnish the site for a tannery and the necessary funds for constructing the tannery buildings. The money expended by the Board of Trade was to be a loan to the Beebes for the period of ten years, at six per cent interest a year, the interest payable semi-annually. The Board of Trade, through its trustees, five in number, should continue to own the land, as real estate, on which the tannery should be located, until the end of ten years, when upon payment of the loan by Beebes, they would become owners of the real estate as well as owners of the manufacturing plant. This proposed agreement was consum- mated. The Board of Trade has furnished land for the tannery works to the amount of ten acres. The present trustees, who represent the Board of Trade in the contract with the Beebes, are L. K. Hyde, treasurer; Junius Harris, James H. Caldwell, E. O. Emerson and E. T. Roberts. The trustees have loaned in all, to the Beebes, $35,000. They divided the loan fund into shares, each share $100. Those investing in the fund receive on the first day of January, every year, six per cent interest on their investment.
The grounds of the tannery begin at the northwest, where the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. crosses Central Avenue, and now extend eastward about to Monroe Street. The building of the tannery began in January, 1890, and the manufacture of leather at the works began in July following. For the first three years, the production consisted exclusively of upper leather for boots and shoes. Since then the tannery has manufactured only sole leather.
In 1892 the company was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania, taking the name of "The Queen City Tannery." The plant has gradually grown to large proportions. For the last two years it has consumed annually 16,000 cords of hemlock bark, and at present it is turning out 1,400 sides of leather a day. During the last two years its production of sole leather ex- ceeds by far that of any other tannery in the United States. It uses the best machinery and the best processes of tanning known in the trade. The com- pany carries in stock, bark, raw hides and leather, over $1,000,000. It ships
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to the leather centers in all parts of the United States, besides exporting largely to Great Britain, Germany and other foreign countries. Among other parts of machinery at the works, there are five one hundred horse-power boil- ers. The tannery uses only foreign hides. At the last session of Congress Titusville was made a port of entry for the receipt of foreign hides and for the export of leather to foreign countries. This adds a good deal to the advantages of the tanning business in Titusville. .
E. R. Young & Sons .- The plant was founded in 1878 by Edmund R. Young, who has been at the head of the plant ever since. In 1879 he took Robert D. Locke into partnership, which lasted about seventeen years, with the firm name of Young & Locke. In 1896 Mr. Young purchased Mr. Locke's interest, and took his sons into partnership. Since then the firm of Young & Sons have operated the plant. The business consists of a ma- chine shop, boiler shop and foundry. The works are located on 68 and 70 South Franklin Street. The company deals extensively in second-hand oil well supplies, second-hand machinery, pipes, fittings, engines and boilers, etc. The institution has been in operation for twenty years, and it has always done a good business. It is proper to say that Mr. Young is highly respected in the community, both as a business man and as a citizen.
Cyclops Steel Works .- These works_manufacture superior grades of crucible tool steel and extra refined hammered iron. They were established in 1884, and were operated for two years by the firm of Burgess, Garrett & Co. In 1886 the firm dissolved, and Mr. Charles Burgess has been sole pro- prietor ever since. The steel produced is of a very superior quality, equal to the best in the market, whether imported or of domestic manufacture, and is made for all kinds of tools. A specialty is made of self-hardening steel, and other grades for purposes in which extreme hardness, a fine cut and smooth finish are required. It is coming to be universally used in many of the largest works of the country. A grade of extra refined hammered iron of exceptional purity and strength is also produced in considerable quan- tities.
The Titusville Forge Company .- This is one of the manufacturing plants established in the city under the auspices and support of the Titusville Industrial Fund Association. It has been two years in operation. Its pres- ent executive officers are J. T. Dillon, President ; Willis E. Fertig, Secretary and Treasurer. The Board of Directors are J. T. Dillon, W. E. Fertig and
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W. D. Kernochan. The works produce iron and steel forgings. The plant is being enlarged and in a short time it will give employment to sixty skilled mechanics, with twice its present production. It will then turn out from 1,500 to 2,000 tons of finished work a year. It will then consume 7,500 tons of coal and 250 tons of sand a year, also work 3,000 tons of crude iron and steel annually, also use 25,000 fire bricks a year. The forgings manufactured are crank shafts and cranks for steam and gas engines, steamboat shafts, and cranks and other marine forgings, locomotive and car axles, heavy forgings for steam shovels, and mining and dredging machinery. Also forgings for cotton and sugar presses.
The Barnes Smith Company has an iron foundry near Junius Harris' property on East Spring Street.
The Smith Pump Company, in the same vicinity, manufactures pumps for tanneries, paper mills, sugar mills, etc. W. J. Smith is at the head of the business.
Mr. Ed Herlchy has a repair and machine shop in the same locality.
The Keystone Brass and Iron Il'orks, on South Washington Street, have been in operation for many years. The plant has made a specialty of hrass products. W. G. Abel is the present proprietor and manager.
Titusville Chemical Works .- The construction of this extensive plant began in the fall of 1871. Its first proprietors were Rennie, Roberts & Dunn. The works were finished and put into operation the following summer. At that time there was a large oil refining capacity in Titusville which consumed the greater part of the sulphuric acid manufactured by the plant. But not long after the works had begun production, an establishment for restoring spent acid used at the refineries was built at Boughton, two miles south of the city. Previous to this the refiners had discharged their spent acid into somne stream of water which carried it into Oil Creek, or directly into Oil Creek, when the works were situated upon its banks. This was absolute waste. When Hutchings & Farrar started the restoring works at Boughton, they bought all the spent acid at the Titusville refineries, took it to their works and there re-distilled it, with a small percentage lost. The restored acid was bought back by the refineries. This business not only reduced the amount of sales by the Chemical Works to the refiners, but lowered the price, as a result of competition, and hurt the profits of the large plant. There was also some competition from the manufacturers of acid at Cleveland and Pittsburg.
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Finally two rival chemical works at Cleveland combined and bought the Titusville plant. This was in 1874. The combination afterward bought the Boughton works, and it has operated both plants ever since. The name of the new association was "The Titusville Chemical Company." Its first offi- cers were D. M. Marsh, president ; C. A. Grasselli, treasurer; J. H. Mansfield, secretary. Its head office and its largest works are at Cleveland, Ohio. It has other branches at New York; Olean, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Parkers- burg, West Virginia, and Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It manufactures sul- phuric acid, muriatic acid, nitric acid, mixed acid, aqua ammonia, sulphate of soda, refined glycerine, blue vitriol, sal soda, soda ash, glauber salts, sul- phate of zinc, etc.
Titusville Elastic Chair Company, Limited .-- This company was or- ganized March 3, 1884, on a capital stock of $20,000. Its first board of man- agers comprised J. H. Dingman, James H. Davis, E. T. Hall, J. R. Barber, N. Crossman, L. P. Scoville, E. J. Smith. Its executive officers were J. H. Dingman, chairman; L. P. Scoville, treasurer; J. H. Cogswell, secretary. The present board are E. O. Emerson, J. H. Cogswell, N. Crossman, C. S. Barrett, R. L. Kernochian, Theodore Reuting and S. S. Bryan. N. Cross- man is chairman and C. S. Barrett secretary and treasurer. The works of the company extend on West Central Avenue, a little west of the Methodist church. to Reuting's planing mill, and to the north as far as Cherry Alley. It has extensive buildings, with careful provisions against fire. In the summer months the works manufacture elastic chairs. But during the rest of the year they make principally upholstered and cobbler-seat chairs. The elastic chairs are very popular, especially for easy chairs for school rooms, churches and public halls. The company has employed as many as eighty hands, but now it has about forty employees. A large part of its work is done by machinery.
The plant originally known as The Titusville Furniture Company, Lim- ited, is now owned and operated solely by F. O. Swedborg. It is located on West Central Avenue, between Washington and Perry streets. It manu- factures most kinds of domestic wooden furniture, not including chairs and bedsteads, using a great deal of the native wood. The plant seems to be well managed, running constantly on full time, from year to year, an evidence that its products have an established demand.
The Specialty Manufacturing Company .- This institution was incor-
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porated in 1892 under the laws of Pennsylvania. Its first officers were L. T. Gorenflo, president ; R. L. Rice, treasurer ; D. J. Whitney, secretary. Its pres- ent officers are L. T. Gorenflo, president ; Joseph Seep, vice-president ; M. J. Hughes, secretary and treasurer. The industry turns out a large variety of domestic articles of wooden material, with iron connections. In 1897 there was a large addition of buildings and machinery. The demand for its prod- ucts is rapidly growing and its business is now crowding. It uses a good deal of machinery, and employs at present thirty-five hands. It is located above Hale's lumber yard, in the west end.
The Titusville City Mills .- This industry is more than fifty years old. It asks no odds of steam or electricity. Its motive power is water, water, water, flowing perpetually through a conduit, a river diverted from Oil Creek by a dam across the stream at the west end, turning at the mills wheels and wheels, grinding and grinding grain. This is what the mills have been doing more than one-half of a century. For many years genial John Eason has been at the head of the establishment. The wheels go round and round, and John Eason goes around, to see that not a screw is loose, or a cog broken. Long before Titusville had become a city, and before Drake had tapped the oil fountain, these mills were pulverizing the gifts of Ceres. Titusville may go to decay and John Eason be gathered to his fathers, but the water in his mill race will continue to flow, either in its present channel, or perhaps over the native bed of Oil Creek, forever. Generations will pass before the old milis shall be forgotten. Franklin Street is old. But Eason's Mills are the oldest industry by far in the city.
Castle Brothers have long manufactured carriages at their present quar- ters on Central Avenue, facing the Oil Exchange. For more than a quarter of a century they have been engaged in the business. During this time they have given employment to many men. They have gained a reputation for good work.
The Stevens' Barrel Works .- Until within the last twenty-five years the manufacturing of oil barrels in Titusville was for the most part a profit- able industry. It is true that as early as 1873 the importance of white oak staves had become necessary. The forests in the vicinity of Titusville were originally well stocked with white oak. But from 1860 to 1867, the great bulk of crude oil, as well as refined, was shipped in barrels. Wooden tanks mounted on flat cars were gradually introduced, and these in turn soon gave
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place to iron tanks, long horizontal cylinders, which have been in use ever since. But for some time after this, refined oil continued to be shipped from the refineries in barrels, and as a result the woods near the oil country came to be stripped of white oak timber. But still the coopers were able to do a good business until the introduction of machine-made barrels, manufactured often and shipped into the country from places outside. The result was to close down domestic barrel shops. The large cooper shop of C. J. McCarthy on South Monroe Street has done very little business during the last five years.
Mr. George Stevens, who has made oil barrels for more than thirty years, has continued to turn out some work during the dullest periods, by pur- chasing choice timber lands, outside of the State, in forests which abounded in white oak. But barrels made by machinery were offered on the market at prices which largely shut his work out. Finally, becoming tired of the disadvantage, the firm of George Stevens & Company decided to rig up their works, located on Kerr, Spring and Brown streets, with machinery and pro- duce barrels at as low a figure as any one outside could. Having done this, the firm sold the plant to Mr. W. J. Stevens, son of the founder. The new proprietor now proposes to carry on a large business, and employ as many men as formerly. If this is done, the production will be largely increased, and the institution become a benefit to the coopers of Titusville.
Cold Storage .- This plant is a large concern. It was begun in 1897, and completed and put into operation in April following. Its proprietors are Pastorious & Wager. Their building is on Diamond and Martin streets and Central Avenue. It is built of brick, constructed very substantially, five stories high, including the basement. By the use of chemicals and ma- chinery it makes its own freezing agents. It stores on commission meats, eggs, dressed poultry, butter and all other products which require protection against heat, and it buys and sells on its own account, whenever it can do so at some advantage. Its principal motor is a powerful gas engine. It has also a large stationary steam engine, for use in an emergency. It has a large artesian water well, sunk to the proper depth for supplying an unlimited quantity of pure water. The plant manufactures the purest of ice in large quantity. During the summer and fall it has turned out from five to eight tons a day. The great purity of the ice has created for it an unexpectedly large demand. The coming summer the proprietors intend to double their capacity for ice production. An elevator running from the bottom of the
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basement to the highest floor is worked by machinery propelled by the main motor. There is other machinery for pumping water from the artesian well, moving ice, etc. This plant promises to become a very useful institution for the city and the inhabitants of the surrounding country.
The Charles Horn Silk Company was organized in 1897 under the laws of Pennsylvania. Charles Horn is its president and general manager. The building of the works was begun in 1896, and finished the next year. They are located at the head of Brown Street. The main building is 408x60 feet, two stories high, witli walls. It has an addition about 60 feet square, which contains the engines and the dye-house. The motive power of its machinery consists of five gas engines, manufactured in Titusville, each of thirty horse- power. The plant employs at present about two hundred hands. Its produc- tion is constantly increasing. The plant manufactures silk ribbons exclusively. The works were built largely by the money of the local Industrial Fund Association.
The Titusville Gas Company is the present title of the company which, until the present association came into possession of the institution, was known as the Titusville Gas and Water Company. The charter of that com- pany permitted the corporation under it to sell water to consumers, as well as gas. But, as the owners of the charter had never availed themselves of the privilege, and manufactured and sold illuminating gas only, and as the municipal plant furnishes to the inhabitants of Titusville an exceptionally fine quality of water, the present company decided to drop the word "water" from the title of the association. The original charter was obtained in 1865. The mechanical works of the plant were constructed in 1866, and the mains laid so as to be ready for commercial service in the spring of 1867. From that time until the present the plant has furnished the community with manu- factured illuminating gas. It continued to light the streets until 1889, when electric street lighting came into use, and for a time afterward when the early electric plant occasionally was interrupted by a break in the machinery, or some other cause, a return was made to gas for street lighting.
The executive officers of the present company are William E. Fricht- man, president ; Charles E. Fennessy, secretary; James H. Fennessy, treas- urer. The works are located in the west end.
Reuting's Planing Mill and Sash Works .- At the death of George Reut- ing, in November, 1887, his youngest son, Daniel F. Reuting, succeeded to
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the lumber business which the father had carried on for about half a century. In 1888 the son erected a planing mill, and a sash and blind factory, upon a part of the ground of the lumber yard, which he has operated ever since. The entire works and the lumber yard occupy the entire space west of the chair factory, between Central Avenue on the south side and Cherry Alley on the north, almost to Monroe Street. Mr. Renting carries a large stock of seasoned lumber of all kinds, not only at his mill, on Central Avenue, but on the west side of Monroe Street, between Spruce and Elm. He also has a considerable quantity piled at the sidetracks of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. His planing mill business has grown to large proportions. During the past season his orders for dressed lumber have crowded his works to their full- est capacity. He gives constant employment, summer and winter, to be- tween thirty and forty men. He buys the greater part of his lumber in the winter time, and when the close of fall comes he finds his stock worked down to what it was twelve months before.
Shank's Planing Mill .- I. L. Shank, a lumber man, opened a lumber yard in 1897 on East Central Avenue, west of Drake Street, which extends through.to East Spring Street. During the summer of 1898 he erected a plan- ing mill in connection with his lumber yard. During the time his planing mill has been in operation it seems to have had plenty of work.
Hale's Planing Mill .- Mr. Edgar Hale has carried on at the west end, near the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., a planing mill, sash and blind works, as well as a lumber yard, for many years. His plant is among the best known in- dustries in the city.
Titusville Table Wl'orks .- This plant was the successor of the Union Furniture Company, started in 1883. Mr. C. P. Casperson, the superintend- ent, had prospered so well in the management of the business of the company, making the industry highly successful, that he was able to absorb nearly all the stock of the plant. But in the tide of his prosperity he was ruined in a single night by the great flood and fire of June, 1892. Not only was his industry and his home destroyed, but his wife was drowned and in trying to save her he nearly lost his own life. The local relief committee subse- quently gave him enough money for the construction of a new building and new machinery. But he needed capital for operating the plant. So that after rebuilding and putting in new machinery, he did little in reviving the business until about two years ago, and even then he worked only in a lim-
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ited way. But the last two years he has done something. He has taken into partnership Mr. P. Poulson, who, like Mr. Casperson, is a practical mechanic, and the prospects of the new firm begin to have a more encouraging look.
Trolley Railroad .- Beginning in the summer of 1897 the Titusville Electric Traction Company built first a road to connect Pleasantville with Titusville. The privilege of constructing a tramway through the streets of Titusville was granted by the municipal government in 1897. It was ex- pected that the line, after its completion between Pleasantville and Titusville, would be extended to Hydetown. The building of the road from Titusville to Pleasantville was somewhat tardy. But during the winter the company built an electric power plant near East Titusville. Not, however, until the summer of 1898 were the trolley cars running between Titusville and Pleas- antville. The western terminus of the line was at first between Perry and Monroe streets. The track entered the city on the line of the old plank road and then ran into Central Avenue at the old toll-gate. Continuing westward it entered Diamond Street at the junction with Central Avenue, and then passed on to Spring Street at the crossing with Franklin. Then it ran up West Spring, stopping, as stated, first between Perry and Monroe. It was then extended slowly on Spring Street up to within a short distance east of the entrance into Woodlawn Cemetery. It took a long rest at this point until about the first of September, when work was resumed, and during the latter part of the month the cars were running as far west as Bucklin House. Then a larger force of workmen were put on the track, and by the middle of October the rails were laid as far as Hydetown. It should also be stated that a track, connecting with the main line, was laid in the summer from Spring Street on Franklin as far south as the main line of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. The company already has over two miles of track in the city, and next year it is expected that the line will have branches and connections in several other streets. In the short time of its operation the business of the road has yielded unexpectedly large receipts from its passenger traffic.
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