USA > Rhode Island > Biographical history of the manufacturers and business men of Rhode Island, at the opening of the twentieth century > Part 7
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The water power that supplies the mill is one of the best privileges in the State, the stream be- ing formed by the waters of the Clear, Pascoag and Nipmuck rivers. There was formerly, in the early years of the last century, a saw and grist mill located on the site of the present mill, when the place was known as Rhodesville, in honor of Capt. William Rhodes. A little later Andrew Harris purchased the privilege and
and still later, prior to 1853, a Mr. Burgess was proprietor of the mill. In 1853 Stephen and Jason Emerson purchased the property, the latter finally becoming the sole owner, who pro- ceeded to build a new mill, which was the mill bought by Steere & Tinkham in 1856, and which has developed so extensive a business during the past half century under Mr. Tink- ham's management and ownership.
Ernest W. Tinkham was born in Harrisville, R. I., September 25, 1857, who now carries on the bulk of the business that was established by his father in 1856, and which has developed into one of the largest woolen plants of Southern New England.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Peace Dale Manufacturing Co .- Manufactur- ers of woolen and worsted goods for men's and women's wear, rugs, shawls, etc. Business established in 1801 by Rowland Hazard, who was one of the first to begin the manufacture of woolen goods in the State. Incorporated in 1848. Capitalized for $500,000. Works located in Peace Dale, R. I., where the business was first established. Employ 600 hands. Officers : Rowland G. Hazard, President ; William C. Greene, Treasurer ; James W. Drysdale, Super- intendent ; William T. Stedman, Secretary.
built here. The aim of the Company has always been to make strictly first-class goods, and to build up a pleasant and home-like village about the plant. The Hazard Memorial was built in the centre of the village in 1889, in memory of Rowland G. Hazard, and contains a good library, assembly hall, gymnasium, etc., for the use of the people of the place.
Swinburne, Peckham & Co .- Manufacturers of doors, sash, blinds, window frames, mould- ings, and general builders' supplies. Also deal- ers in hardware. Business established in 1871.
Hazard Memorial, Peace Dale, R. I.
Power is furnished by the Saugatucket River and about 1,200-horse power of steam. The works are lighted by electricity generated by the company's dynamos. There are 160 broad looms, and the product is about one-third woolen and two-thirds worsted goods. The village was practically founded by Rowland Hazard at the beginning of the last century, and the business has been carried on by his descendants up to the present time. The pro- duct was at first coarse woolen cloth, and was entirely confined to the manufacture of woolens either in cloths or shawls until 1872, when the first complete worsted mill in America. was
Mill located on Peckham's Wharf, Newport, R. I. Store, 215 Thames street. George W. Swinburne was born in Newport, R. I., in 1830. J. A. Peckham is also a native of Newport. Power for the works is supplied by a fifty horse power Corliss steam engine. The plant is equipped with all of the modern wood working machinery required in a business of this kind.
Warwick Mills .- Manufacturers of lawns and fine cotton yarns. Incorporated in 1896. Capi- talized for $400,000. Employ 350 hands. Works located in Centreville, R. I. Officers: R. B. Sew- all, of Boston, Mass., President; E. B. Townsend, of Boston, Mass., Treasurer; J. T. Ferguson, Superintendent.
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Plant of the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, Peace Dale, R. I.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
National Paint Mfg. Co .- Manufacturers of dipping paints, used more especially for ma- chinery, and sold all over the United States, among machinery manufacturers. Business es- tablished in 1888 by G. W. Paine on Dorrance street, and the works removed to the present location at 42 Garnet street, Providence, in 1898. George W. Paine, the proprietor of the business, was born in the town of Foster, R. I., in December, 1838. After leaving the public schools he entered into active business pursuits, and the result of his endeavors in the manufac- ture of paints has been the production of certain grades of dipping paints that are said to be superior to any- thing of the kind made in this country, and of which Mr. Paine claims to be the pio- neer manufacturer. Painting is as ancient as Egyptian sculp- ture, as records of the art as early as the Nineteenth Century B. C., give evidence of in plain language, but the producing of paints, such as are in use to-day for the various manufactur- ing purposes, as well as for art, was the work of the century just closed, and not until the end of the century was the highest degree of per- fection attained, both as to the perfect blending of colors and the durability of the liquid when applied to iron or wood surfaces. Mr. Paine had noted that the paints in ordinary use for the covering of wooden surfaces or iron with a brush were fairly up to the requirements of the times, but it was impossible to use those paints for dipping purposes, because when the sur- faces became dry they were streaked and un- even, and wholly unfit for the market on ac- count of their unsightliness. Recognizing a new field, Mr. Paine devoted many years in de- veloping a line of paints that should meet the
George W. Paine.
requirements, and to-day he is turning out dip- ping paints in almost any color that may be re- quired, that give the appearance of enamel when the surface is dry, with no cracks or streaks, making an immense saving in labor as well as providing a superior surface for all kinds of machinery, so much better than the ordinary machinery paint that is put on by brushes that few manufacturers of machinery and castings in this country will use anything else when once they have become acquainted with its quality. Not only small frames or castings are treated in this way, but large castings such as loom frames, where two men are required to handle them, are dipped with equal ease, and they look as well when dry as the smaller pieces, they being hung up like sides of beef for three or four hours, when they are suffi- ciently dry to take down and make room for a second lot. The drying process leaves the surface perfectly smooth, the paint be- ing evenly deposited over the surface of the whole casting. Two men will do the work that is ordinar- ily done by twenty men. One manufac- turer was employing three men to paint a certain kind of casting, and they were hardly able to keep up with the men who were setting up the machinery. When the dipping paints made by the National Paint Mfg. Co. were sub- stituted for the kind that they had been using, one boy at a cost of six dollars a week did all of the work that had formerly cost them six dol- lars a day, and he performed the work better than brushes could possibly do it. Vermillion, the most difficult color for a dipping paint, has been brought down to perfection by Mr. Paine, and the general line that he has been able to give our manufacturers has done more in the
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way of economy than anything that has been brought out in many years. Information about this kind of work may be procured at the National Paint Mfg. Co.'s Works, 49 Garnet street, Providence.
Perforated Pad Co .- Manufacturers of har- ness specialties, such as fronts, blinds, rosettes, pads, etc .; patent leather and felt goods for the harness trade. They are the manufacturers of the famous Becker & Wickser's sore-back sad- dle. Business established by C. H. Horton and Palmer Brown in 1877. Incorporated in 1882. Capitalized for $50,000. Factory located in Woonsocket, R. I. Employ 65 hands. Officers: Etienne C. Delabarre, President, who is a native of Belgium; Charles H. Horton, Secretary and Treasurer, who is a native of Rehoboth, Mass. This is probably the largest manufacturing business of its kind in the State.
Dr. Seth Arnold Medical Corporation. - Manu- facturers of proprietary medicines. Dr. Seth Arnold's Cough Killer, Soothing Cordial, and Anti-Bilious Pills. Originally the manufac- turers of Dr. Seth Arnold's Balsam. Business established by Dr. Seth Arnold in 1842. In- corporated in 1873. Capitalized for $ 100,000. Officers: Alexander S. Arnold, President and Treasurer; William B. Lincoln, Secretary. Laboratory located at 158 Park avenue, Woon- socket, R. I. One of the largest medicine con- cerns in the State.
Mason Mfg. Co .- Manufacturers of mill and laundry soaps, and make a business of the ren- dering of tallow and grease, also manufacture fertilizers. Business established by Stephen N. Mason in 1837. Works located in Woonsocket, R. I. Fred P. Fenton, the present owner, is a native of North Hudson, N. Y., where he was born September 29, 1857. Was employed in the works some time prior to purchasing them.
Woonsocket Shuttle Co. - Manufacturers of shuttles for all kinds of textile work. Business established by John Johnson, a native of Scot- land. Works located in Woonsocket, R. I. Consolidated with the American Shuttle Co., in 1898, whose headquarters are in Boston, Mass.
Woonsocket Reed & Shuttle Co .- Manufac- turers of shuttles for cotton, woolen and silk mills. Business established in 1892 by John Shambow. Works located in Woonsocket, R. I. Consolidated with the American Shuttle Co. in 1897.
WOONSOCKET, R. I.
This place very soon began manufacturing in the textile line after Samuel Slater had invented his spinning frame and put it into successful operation in Pawtucket, but before this, fully one hundred years, the town that became known as Woonsocket was manufacturing various arti- cles from iron, which probably gives it the distinction of being the first to begin the manufacture of iron and steel goods in the state. The first wheel turned by the waters of the Blackstone River, at the Falls, was that of a sawmill, which stood where the tower of the old Ballou mill now stands, not far from the dam, which is said to be about the year 1666. A corn and fulling mill was the next to be built, which was in 1712, the builder being John Arnold .. The power for this mill was supplied by two water wheels, one above the other, set in a narrow trench cut out of the rock, part of this trench now being visible, the action of the water having worn away the greater part of it. The next was the "Old Forge," or what was then termed under a second name as the "Winsokett Iron Mill." This forge was built between the years 1712 and 1720, near the Ballou Manufacturing Co. Mill, and had three water wheels. This was a hundred years before the textile business was begun. This forge was used extensively during the Revolu- tionary War; so much so that the owners were enabled to reap quite a snug fortune for those days. William Hopkins was one of the owners in 1720. The next was a scythe factory, and all of these were located at and received their power from the Falls of the Blackstone. The great freshet of 1807, when the water was higher than it was ever known before or since, carried away or disabled all of the first manufacturing estab- lishments of the village of Woonsocket, only the scythe factory resuming business.
The owners of the water privileges of Woon- socket, when the manufacture of textiles began to be agitated along about 1810, were James Arnold of the Blackstone River privilege, Joseph Arnold of the Mill River privilege, and Stephen Wilcox of the Peter's River privilege. A meet- ing was held to consider the advisability of establishing a cotton mill, October 24, 1810,
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
those present at the meeting being Nathan, Ariel and Abner Ballou, Eber Bartlett, Job and Luke Jenckes, Oliver Leland and Joseph Ar- nold. As a result of this meeting the Social Manufacturing Co. was organized with the cap- ital stock set at $16,000, there being only sixteen shares, two shares for each member of the com- pany. The first mill that was built was a small wooden structure where the present Social Mill is located, with a capacity for 2,000 spindles. Therefore, it was decided by this company that the waters of the Mill River should turn the first spindles that were to be set in motion in Woonsocket, and which were the beginning of an industry that has made
tractive and complete cotton factories ever built in the state, now devoted wholly to the spinning of cotton yarns.
In 1822 W. & D. Farnum and others were finishing satinets in a factory built by James Arnold for the purpose of utilizing his water privilege on the Blackstone at Woonsocket Falls. This mill was burned in 1829 and a new factory erected in its place the following year. March 26. 1831, there was a real estate transac- tion that meant more for the town than any other similar sale has ever developed, and Edward Harris, the pioneer woolen manufacturer, was the man who made this transaction of so much importance, not only to Woonsocket, but to the
The Manufacturing City of
the town and city famous as one of the great textile centers of the country. The company continued in a small way for a number of years, until 1841, when Dexter Ballou became the sole proprietor of the business. Not long after this other men became interested in the company, Orin Ballou being President, Henry Lippitt Treasurer and Charles Nourse Superintendent. From this time the Social Manufacturing Co. made great progress. The Social Mill was erected, destroyed by fire, re- built on a larger scale, and later the Globe Mill, on the Blackstone River, became a part of the company's property, and still later the Nourse Mill was erected, which is one of the most at-
country at large. When we say "pioneer woolen manufacturer," we mean "pioneer" in the sense that applies to the first American woolen fabrics that stood on a par with the cassimeres that had before that time been imported from European countries. Other manufacturers had contented themselves with producing a fair or passable quality of satinets, while nothing short of the best woolen goods that could be made direct from the raw material from the sheep's back could satisfy Mr. Harris, and as a result of this ambition there was hardly a Rhode Islander as early as 1850 who was sat- isfied to wear any kind of a suit unless he was convinced that it was cut out of the "double and
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twist" made in the Harris Mills of Woonsocket. Mr. Harris began his remarkable career here in this mill, which was afterwards known as Harris Mill No. I. He built other mills, but his great- est effort was the Harris Privilege on Mill River, above the Social Manufacturing Co.'s Mills on the same stream, which was completed in 1863, and is today owned and operated by the Lawton Spinning Co., the mill property having been enlarged and refitted specially to meet the requirements of a modern yarn mill. When the property was first completed it was consid- ered one of the best woolen mills in the United States, and it certainly produced the finest suit- ings in the line of cassimeres and worsteds that
stone from the Falls, the latter taking the waters from the mill trench just before it joins the river proper again, which is fully half a mile from the Falls, where the trench begins, and which dis- tributes power for the various manufacturing plants that are located on its banks. Then more recently the Perseverance Worsted Co., Reliance Worsted Co., the knitting companies, Woonsocket Worsted Mills, the River Spinning Co., and others, and finally the great rubber industry as represented in the Alice Mills, of the Woonsocket Rubber Co. Great machinery working plants have been erected here, the largest being the Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Co., and the Woonsocket Machine and Press
y of oonsocket, Rhode Island, 1901.
were made in America, and equal in quality to those of the best foreign productions.
In 1821 another factory that James Arnold had built to make use of the power at the Falls, was conveyed to Daniel Lyman, which has since been known as the Lyman Mill, and which passed into the hands of J. P. & J. G. Ray, the business being carried on under the same name at the present time. Dexter Ballou was one of the first to lease rooms in this mill after it was built, which was for the purpose of spinning cotton yarns. Since that time the Lippitt Woolen Co.'s mills have been built, utilizing the same water privilege, the Eagle Mills, Clinton Mills, both of which use the waters of the Black-
Co., which, combined with the various textile plants, make the city of Woonsocket one of the busiest manufacturing centers in New England. The time-honored name of the Social Manufac- turing Co. has this year been swallowed up in the newly incorporated Manville Manufactur- ing Co.
There was a stone mill built on Peter's River, at what is now Jenckesville, in 1822, by Job Jenckes and others, and it has been used more or less for textile manufacturing ever since, but the water privilege here was not sufficiently large to stimulate as vigorous a growth as was developed on the Blackstone and Mill River privileges.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Manville Company. - Manufacturers of fine cotton fabrics for women's wear, also sheetings, shirtings, twills, sateens, etc. Business estab- lished in 1810 as the Social Manufacturing Co., in the town of Woonsocket, that part of the present company being incorporated in 1855, with a capital of $1,000,000. The present com- pany was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, in May, 1901, the incorporators being Chas. H. Merriman, Chas. W. Lippitt and Henry F. Lippitt, of Providence, R. I., and George B. Duren, of Newark, N. J. Capital- ized for $6,000,000. Officers : Henry F. Lip- pitt, President and General Manager ; Chas. H. Merriman, Treasurer; Hol- der Borden Bowen, Secre- tary. Employ about 4,000 hands. The mills of the company are : The Man- ville Mill, main building erected in 1876-7, at Man- ville, R. I., which, with the adjoining property, has a tax valuation of $890,000 ; the Social Mill, Nourse Mill and Globe Mill in Woonsocket, R. I., form- erly known as the Social Mfg. Co., which name has stood for nearly a hundred years, but which now loses its identity in the new corporation, has a tax val- uation of $1,231,450, which makes a total tax valuation of the property of the con- solidated companies of $2,121,450. The manufacture of cotton was begun on the Blackstone River at the village of Manville, then known as Unity Furnace, in 1812. Another mill was built in 1826, and this came into the possession, in 1861, of the Man- ville Company, organized in that year and com- posed of Tully D. Bowen, Henry Lippitt, William H. Reynolds, Charles H. Merriman, Samuel Chace and Harvy Chace. The original mill was enlarged several times after coming into the possession of the new company. A large weave shed in the rear of the main mill is the latest addition, which was completed in 1900. The Social Mill was built in 1874, on the site where the first Social Mill was burned,
Charles H. Merriman.
which was built near the site of the original factory, a small affair, where the business of the Social Mfg. Co. was begun in 1810. Henry Lippitt, senior, Ex-Governor of Rhode Island, and father of the President of the present com- pany, was one of the prime movers in develop- ing the business of both of these companies, which have finally been merged under one man- agement. The Nourse Mill was built in 1883, which is now turned into a yarn mill, and the Globe Mills were purchased by the Social Com- pany in 1876. These four mills are among the best in the State, all of which are equipped with the most modern machinery, and the most com- plete power plants.
Charles Henry Merri- man, the Treasurer of the new company, was born in Augusta, Ga., October I, 1833. Few manufacturers of the State have had the extensive experience that Mr. Merriman has had in the manufacture of cotton goods. He was the Treas- urer of the Manville Co. from 1863 to 1866; Treas- urer of the Silver Spring Bleaching and Dyeing Co. from 1863 to 1871; Treas- urer of the Smithfield Mfg. Co. from 1860 to 1866; Treasurer of the So- cial Mfg. Co. from 1891 to 1901, and Treasurer of the Lippitt Woolen Co. from 1866 to the present time. Mr. Merriman has also been President of the Providence Board of Trade and President of the Bank of North America. His long and suc- cessful career has made him one of the best known of our Eastern manufacturers, and the State of Rhode Island owes to such men the reputation that she enjoys to-day of being one of the great successful textile centres of the world. Henry F. Lippitt is a native of Provi- dence, where he was born in October, 1856. After graduating at Brown University, he entered the employ of his father and schooled himself in the textile business, mastering every detail. He has been for a number of years the Agent of the Social Mfg. Co., and Treas- urer and Agent of the Manville Co., of which he is now the President and General Manager.
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Mills and Weave Shed of the Manville Company, Manville, R. I.
Social Mills of the Manville Company, Woonsocket, R. I.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURERS
The Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Co .- Manu- facturers of machines and mechanical special- ties. The works, which are among the largest in Rhode Island, are located in Woonsocket. Daniel W. Taft, Treasurer ; E. J. Peirce, Jr., Agent and Superintendent. They have their own electric lighting plant, and everything about the factory is modern and up-to-date in every respect, the power being furnished by steam. The Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Co. are
contract work entirely. They make no machin- ery for themselves, having no lines of their own which are manufactured, the entire thought and energy of the concern being devoted to the various manufacturing companies throughout the country, for whom they build machines and tools. Their specialty is the construction of any class of machinery and mechanical devices with interchangeable parts, and the re-designing of machines for economical manufacture. Among
Plant of the Taft - Peirce Manufacturing Co., Woonsocket, R. I.
one of the best known machinery builders in America. The shops, as shown herewith, are large and commodious, three stories high, of brick construction, and they are very strongly built so as to contain heavy machinery without causing too much vibration. There may be said to be two main buildings, with connections, besides a boiler and engine room in a separate building, and storehouses. The entire plant is fitted throughout with the most modern ma- chinery of every description that is required in a first-class machine shop. The company do
the companies for whom work has been done for some time past are the American Knitting Machine Co. of Woonsocket; the Universal Winding Co. of Boston, Mass., and Providence ; Puritan Manufacturing Co. of Boston, Mass .; Tabulating Machine Co. of Washington, D. C .; McTammany Ballot Co., Providence; The Lans- ton Monotype-Machine Co., Washington, D. C .; The Lanston Monotype Corporation, Ltd., Lon- don, England; The National Knitting Co. of Milwaukee, Wis .; F. A. Hubbel, of Detroit, Mich., and others. The kind of machinery
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AND BUSINESS MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
made by this company is widely diversified, in- volving work of the finest accuracy and most in- tricate detail where nicety of construction is the most essential element. It is by this high-class work that the company have achieved a reputa- tion that is unsurpassed for fine work, both in the line of special tools and interchangeable machine parts.
Twice within two years the company have been compelled to enlarge their works in order to accommodate the growing business. The present area of floor space contained in the works is three and a half acres. The manage-
as the "Old Forge" at Woonsocket Falls, which, during the Revolutionary war, made their owners comparatively rich men, so much was the demand for their crude productions. These modern machinery plants, several of which have been established in the city, have prevented the textile industries from making it wholly a textile manufacturing town. The works of the company are situated just off of North Main street, not far from the famous Harris Mfg. Co. plant, where Edward Harris made his world-famous cassimeres, and com- peted successfully with the textiles made in
Woonsocket Falls, Blackstone River, Woonsocket, R. I.
ment of the company is in the hands of experts in the line of mechanical construction, and the force of skilled workmen is representative of the present high standard of American mechanics. There is probably no better class of skilled laborers collected together in one es- tablishment in this country.
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