USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > Nashville > History of Nashville, Tenn. > Part 24
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The City Mills were erected in 1871 by the Nashville Cotton Seed Oil Company. They were soon sold to Thomas S. Hays, who took E. Mc- Iver in as partner. Soon afterward Mr. McIver bought out Mr. Hayes and took into partnership J. S. Lipscomb, the firm now becoming Mc-
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Iver & Lipscomb. These mills were run until 1885, when they were dis- continued. They were of 150 barrels capacity.
The New Era Mills were erected in 1877, at the crossing of the Nash- ville and Decatur railroad and South Franklin Street. Holding, Wilkes & Hancock and John J. McCann were the first proprietors. In 1879 the New Era Mill Company was organized, composed of J. H. Wilkes, E. Hancock, and G. W. Stainback. The company was incorporated in 1881, and E. Hancock was elected President. F. M. Blume was elected President in 1882, and J. L. Gaines in 1885. The Secretary was- John D. Smith until 1885, when O. M. Yerger was elected. E. Hancock was Manager during 1883 and 1884; E. McIver, in 1885. During 1887 the mills burned down.
The Noel Mill, Elevator, and Warehouse were erected in 1874 at the corner of Mulberry Street and Ewing Avenue by O. F. Noel. E. T. Noel became proprietor in 1883, and changed the mills to the roller proc- ess, the capacity being at that time 300 barrels per day. Since then the capacity has been increased to 1,000 barrels per day. In 1888 the Amer- ican Mill Company was incorporated and the following officers elected, who still retain their positions: E. T. Noel, President; Seldon R. Will- iams, Secretary and Treasurer; and E. T. Kelly, Superintendent.
The Nashville Mill Company was incorporated in 1883, and organized with the following officers: William Litterer, President; W. C. Myers, Secretary and Treasurer; and John J. McCann, General Manager. These officers still retain the same positions. The mills of this company are located on the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad, near Spruce Street. Originally the mills had a capacity of 150 barrels per day, which was increased in 1884 to 250 barrels, and in 1890 to 1,000 barrels.
The Lanier Mill Company was organized in 1881, with the following officers: L. H. Lanier, Sr., President; L. H. Lanier, Jr., Manager; and John J. McCann, Superintendent. The mills are located on the Nash- ville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad, near Gleaves Street. These were the pioneer roller process mills of the South, and were originally of 300 barrels capacity. They have since been increased to a capacity of 500 barrels. The officers at the present time are L. H. Lanier, Sr., President; and L. H. Lanier, Jr., Manager.
The Riverside Mills were established by Cornelius & Webber in 1870. They were run by Craighead & Ford from 1879 to 1882; by D. Gilky & Co. from 1884 to 1885; by Elmore & Caldwell from 1886 to 1887; and by Spottswood & Morgan from 1887 to the present time. These mills are located on South First Street, just north of Woodland Street, and
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have a capacity of 300 barrels of flour per day. They are what is known as combination mills.
Prewitt, Spurr & Co., manufacturers of wooden ware and lumber, are located south of Fatherland Street and opposite the steam-boat landing. The business was established in 1866. The grounds cover twenty-eight acres of land, almost entirely occupied by the lumber-yards and buildings. There is a river front of over twelve hundred feet. The buildings consist of a saw-mill, forty by one hundred and ten feet; a planing-mill and stave saw department, one hundred by one hundred and thirty feet; a bucket factory in the second story, the same size; besides other necessary build- ings. The products of these works are red cedar buckets, churns, well- buckets, packing buckets, and all kinds of lumber. About three hun- dred hands are employed, and from 25,000 to 50,000 feet of lumber are consumed each day. The machinery is propelled by steam, there being four boilers each sixteen feet by sixty inches, and two engines of one hundred and fifty horse-power each. Since 1877 the officers of this com- pany have been as follows: President, Samuel Watkins until 1879; Baxter Smith until 1883; M. A. Spurr until the present time. Secretary and Treasurer, M. A. Spurr from 1877 to 1883; D. S. Williams until the pres- ent time.
The business now carried on by the Phillips & Buttorff Manufacturing Company was established in 1865 by Phillips & Brother, at No. 32 South College Street. In 1866 W. P. Phillips was alone at No. 49 South Col- lege Street, and in 1867 the firm was Phillips & Ashley, at No. 17 South Market Street. In 1869 the firm became Phillips, Buttorff & Co., con- sisting of W. P. Phillips, H. W .. Buttorff, and B. J. McCarthy, at No. Io North College Street. The style of the firm has ever since remained the same, though the membership has been subject to several changes. In July, 1881, the firm became an incorporation, since which time the officers have been as follows: President, H. W. Buttorff; Vice-presi- dent, W. P. Phillips; Superintendent, B. J. McCarthy; Secretary, W. L. Clarke until 1885, J. W. Hopkins until the present time. The busi- ness commenced in a small way, and consisted of the manufacture of stoves, copper ware, tinware, and sheet-iron ware. It is substantially the same now, but has been very much enlarged and extended, and is to-day the leading business of the kind in Nashville.
The business of B. G. Wood was established in 1859 by Wood & Simpson, and consists in the manufacture of engines, boilers, sheet-iron work, tanks, etc. In 1881 Mr. Wood became sole proprietor, and has continued since that time to conduct the business alone. The plant con- sists of three main buildings and a foundry. About thirty operatives are
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employed, and the trade of the firm extends over Middle and West Ten- nessee, Southern Kentucky, and North Alabama.
The Rankin Manufacturing Company was established in 1869 as Ran- kin & Co. It became incorporated in 1886, with a capital of $120,000 authorized; and with D. P. Rankin, President; G. P. Thruston, Vice- president; and W. P. Rankin, Secretary and Treasurer. The factory is located at the corner of the public square and Bridge Avenue, and is forty by one hundred and fifty feet in size and four stories high. About one hundred and fifty hands are employed, the products consisting of ready- made clothing, of which about six hundred suits per week are made.
The Nashville Trunk Manufactory was established in 1884. The fac- tory is located at Nos. 144 and 146 North Market Street; the wholesale department, at No. 110 public square; and the retail department, at No. 183 Union Street. About fifty workmen are employed, and one thou- sand trunks are made each month. The officers of the company are: J. S. Reeves, President; William Porter, Vice-president; and J. L. Hill, Secretary.
The Edgefield and Nashville Manufacturing Company was incorporat- ed November 12, 1874, with a capital of $100,000. The original officers were: E. R. Driver, President; J. M. Sharpe, Treasurer; George W. Jenkins, Secretary; William Sutherland, superintendent of saw and plan- ing mill; Charles Rich, superintendent of the furniture department; and W. K. Miller, in charge of the wareroom. The grounds of the company originally covered about ten acres, and were located between First Street and the Cumberland River, starting on Main Street and running north. They now cover about twenty acres, and are studded with substantial brick buildings. This company manufactures a cheap grade of furni- ture and all kinds of builders' materials. It makes a specialty of bank, store, and office furniture, mantels, and all kinds of interior decora- tions. These goods are distributed in all the Southern States, and are noted for their excellence in quality and fine workmanship. The present officers of the company are: Edgar Jones, President; W. R. Warren, Vice-president; W. K. Miller, General Manager; and C. W. Rich, Sec- retary and Treasurer.
The Tennessee Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1869, and organized on September 20 of that year, with the following officers and di- rectors : President, Samuel D. Morgan ; Directors, A. G. Adams, James Whitworth, R. H. Gardner, Thomas Plater, Michael Burns, W. D. Tal- bot, Samuel Pritchett, and K. J. Morris. James Plunkett was chosen Secretary and Treasurer; and W. B. Taber, Superintendent. Contracts for the erection of a building were entered into January 1, 1870, and a 15
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brick building was completed by August 3, 1871, under the supervision of Messrs. Morgan, Whitworth, Gardner, and Adams. This building is four stories high above the basement, and together with the necessary out- buildings contains room for four hundred looms and thirteen thousand eight hundred and twenty spindles. The mill was put in operation early in 1872, with one hundred and fifty looms and seven thousand five hundred spindles, propelled by a two hundred horse-power engine. In October Mr. Morgan retired from the presidency, and was succeeded by Judge James Whitworth. Under him the company purchased the remainder of the nec- essary machinery, and introduced the manufacture of heavy brown sheet- ings. Of these sheetings there were several brands: The Nashville 4 4 -2.85 sheeting; Nashville 7 8-3.35 sheeting; Rock City 4 4-3.35 sheeting ; Nashville-2.82 drillings; and Rock City-4.25 shirting. For the year ending September 1, 1873, the factory consumed one mill- ion one hundred and six thousand four hundred and sixty-five pounds of cotton, manufacturing two million five hundred and ninety-six thousand one hundred and sixty-one yards of the different kinds of goods, at a cost of $90,159.14. The number of operatives employed was two hun- dred and two females and sixty-six males, the average wages paid be- ing $5 per week. The capital stock of the company was then $320,- 187.10, and the net profits for the first year's work were $41,300. The factory was not affected by the panic of 1873, but continued to run on full time, consuming thirteen bales of cotton per day. The annual consumption of these mills at this time exceeds ten thousand bales of cotton. At the present time the buildings of this company comprise about two hundred and fifty thousand square feet of space for manufact- uring purposes, and about sixty thousand square feet for warehouse pur- poses. About eight hundred operatives are employed, and two separate mills are run-one being four stories high and three hundred by fifty-two feet, and the other three stories high and four hundred and twenty-five by one hundred feet. One thousand and eighteen looms are now in op- eration, and thirty-five thousand spindles. The officers of this company, in addition to those named above, have been as follows: President, James C. Warner, 1876; James Whitworth, 1877-78; R. H. Gardner, 1879-80; W. H. Evans, 1882-83; T. D. Fite, 1884; S. Pritchett, 1885 to the pres- ent time. Vice-president, W. B. Taber, 1876; S. Pritchett, 1884; H. W. Grantland, 1885; Byrd Douglas, 1886 to the present time. Super- intendents, G. B. Harris, 1876; R. Kellock, 1878-88; and C. H. Wood- burn, to the present time.
The National Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1881, for the purpose of manufacturing the various kinds of cotton goods. In
ELECTION DEWAY
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1882 the works were erected on Robertson Street and the Nashville and . North-western railroad. The goods made consist of sheetings, plaids, carpet warp, checks, yarn, twine, gingham, rope in reels or in coils, etc .; but the specialties are colored carpet warp, cotton plaids, rope, and twine. The capital of the company is somewhat over $300,000. Twenty bales of cotton are consumed each day, and the trade of the company extends throughout the United States and Canada. The number of hands em- ployed is nearly three hundred. The motive power is supplied by two steam-engines aggregating three hundred and fifty horse-power, and the works are thoroughly lit up by the Edison electric light. The officers of the company have been as follows: President, E. B. Stahlman, 1881 ; Isaac Litton, 1882; S. J. Keith, 1883-84; W. M. Duncan, 1885-86; A. W. Wills, 1887 to the present time. Vice-president, C. W. McLester, 1881-85; A. W. Wills, 1885-86; Henry Hart, 1887 to the present time. Secretary and Treasurer, A. Dahlgren, 1881 to October, 1889; Henry Hart, October, 1889, to the present time.
The Nashville Cotton Mills were established in 1881, with a capital of $300,000, and have since been engaged in the manufacture of sheetings, cheviots, plaids, twines, etc. The works are located at the corner of Clay and Clinton Streets. Early in their history these mills introduced the manufacture of a fine grade of brown cotton goods, and such was the de- mand for them that in 1885 it was necessary to enlarge the works. The main building is one hundred and three by four hundred and six feet, and has numerous annexes for engine-room, boiler-room, etc. Still an- other addition was made to the capacity of the works in 1887, so that at the present time the entire number of spindles is twelve thousand. The officers of the company have been as follows: President, G. M. Fogg; Secretary and Treasurer, T. B. Dallas; Superintendent, W. Hinchliffe.
The Nashville Woolen Mills were established in 1877 by J. C. White, who continued to operate them until 1882, when a company was formed, called the Nashville Woolen Mills Company. The officers of this com- pany have been as follows: President, Leonard Parkes; Vice-president, J. E. Gilbert; Secretary, W. M. McCarthy until 1887; Treasurer, C. B. Means until 1887; Secretary and Treasurer since that time, C. B. Means. The capital of the company is $100,000, and one hundred and twenty-five men are employed. The best quality of jeans is made, and the business amounts to about $200,000 annually. The products find a market in every Southern State, as well as in the North to a great ex- tent. Eureka doeskin is one of this company's specialties, and there are over one hundred looms in the mills.
The Nashville Cotton Seed Oil Company was established in 1866.
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The works are located at the corner of Chestnut Street and the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad. They have a capacity of eighty . barrels of oil and forty tons of meal per day. About fifty men are em- ployed, and the trade of the company extends throughout the United States. The President of this company has been throughout its entire ex- istence Michael J. O'Shaughnessy; and the Secretary, J. H. Collins un- til 1888, since when it has been John F. Campbell.
The Nashville Plow Company was established in 1885. The works are located at the corner of Crooked Street and the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad. The motive power is supplied by an eighty horse-power engine. About one hundred and fifty men are employed. While plows constitute the leading article of manufacture, yet other ag- ricultural implements are made to a considerable extent. The largest shop is sixty by two hundred and ten feet in size; the second largest, sixty by one hundred and twenty; and the third, thirty-five by one hun- dred and fifty. The officers of this company have been as follows: Pres- ident, John M. Bass, D. H. Bailey, 1885; John M. Bass since that time. Vice-president, W. D. Merriwether; Secretary and Treasurer, F. G. Ewing.
The Cherry-Morrow Manufacturing Company is the regular descend- ant from the old firm of Cherry, O'Connor & Co., established as early as 1871, and composed of W. H. Cherry, Thomas O'Connor, Hiram Parte, and R. F. Looney. They were otherwise known as the Tennessee Ag- ricultural Works, and were located at Nos. 2 and 4 South College Street. Their manufactured goods consisted principally of wagons. In 1873 they became the lessees of the State penitentiary. At this time wagons were selling for from $85 to $90, the same wagons selling now for $35 to $40, the lower price being the result of the manufacture of these wagons by prison labor. The company in 1878 became Cherry, Morrow & Co., Dr. William Morrow and A. M. Shook taking the places in the company formerly filled by Hiram Parte and R. F. Looney. This name continued until 1889, when the Cherry-Morrow Manufacturing Company was in- corporated. The "Tennessee Wagon" is the product of the works at the penitentiary, and there are made there about sixty of them each day. They are sold in every Southern State, and also in Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. The present company also manufactures, in addition to wagons, stoves, hollow ware, furniture, and the Sarven patent wheel. For several years there has been brought into Tennessee from the sale of wagons from this establishment nearly $700,000 per annum, which has of course been distributed to foremen and employees, and for Tennessee iron, timber, and coal.
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One of the leading houses in Nashville is that of Lieberman, Loveman & O'Brien. Their business consists in the manufacture of boxes and dealing in all kinds of lumber, and also in every variety of dressed and undressed building material, flooring, laths, shingles, etc. Their large brick mill is located on the corner of Lindsley Avenue and Fillmore Street, and is fully equipped with all of the latest and most improved ma- chinery needed in the business. The company employ about two hun- dred and twenty-five men, and handle annually more than ten million feet of lumber.
The industry now conducted by the Indiana Lumber Company was es- tablished in 1875 by F. M. Hamilton, S. C. Junk, N. H. Oglesbee, J. C. Huff, and C. T. Mattingly. The company was incorporated in 1883, with a capital of $100,000. The company's mills are situated on the east side of the Cumberland River, and the yards are located on Oldham Street, and these mills have a capacity of forty thousand feet per day. From seventy-five to one hundred hands are employed, and about three million feet of lumber are annually shipped to the Western States.
The business of the Cumberland Iron and Wire Works was established in 1875. It consists of the manufacture of wrought iron fencing, galva- nized wire netting, barrel-covers, bird-cages, broilers, clothes-lines, chairs, cheese-safes, corn-poppers, dish-covers, etc .- in short, all articles of use that can be made of iron wire. The company employs about fifty men, and their trade extends into all the Southern States.
The Terry Show-case Company was established in 1883. It is located on North Summer Street, just south of the railroad. It manufactures ยท show-cases, wall cases, desks, store fixtures, cedar chests, and ward- robes. It employs about fifty men, and the trade of the company extends to all parts of the country.
The Nashville Ice Factory was established in 1880 by Dr. William Morrow and R. H. Richards (the latter of Atlanta), as a private enter- prise, and was known as Richards & Morrow. Their factory was built on Rolling Mill Hill, in South Nashville. It was a frame building, with stables and other necessary appliances. There was one ice machine, ca- pable of making ten tons of ice per day. After running thus a few months as the Nashville Ice Factory, a stock company was organized, with Dr. Morrow as President; J. Lumsden, General Manager; and S. L. Demoville, Secretary and Treasurer. The capital stock was $60,000. In 1886 the location was changed to the corner of Walnut and Union Streets, where a two-story brick building was erected and the capacity of the factory increased to fifty-five tons per day. Cold storage rooms were also erected, and the capital stock was increased to $120,000. The fac-
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tory did not make any money until 1889, when, finding no demand for cold storage, these rooms were changed to ice storage rooms, having a capacity of twelve hundred tons. This year five wagons were bought and put into the street, and in 1890 a selling company was organized, composed of the Nashville Ice Factory and T. H. Mauck, formerly in the lake ice business. This selling company now has eighteen wagons, and handles all the ice made by the factory. In 1889 the factory issued $25,000 in bonds, and thus for the first time was placed on a paying ba- sis. The present officers of the factory are: W. A. Atchison, President; and E. B. Criddle, Secretary, Treasurer, and General Manager. The machinery consists of four boilers and three Boyle compression machines, each run by a Corliss engine. The factory is lighted with electricity, the plant being owned by the factory. The executive committee of the sell- ing company is composed of W. A. Atchison, T. H. Mauck, and E. B. Criddle; and the stockholders of the factory comprise about thirty of the leading capitalists of Nashville.
The Excelsior Ice and Cold Storage Company was established in 1887 on North Cherry Street. A brick building was erected, sixty by one hundred and forty feet, and ice machinery put in having a capacity of forty tons per day. In 1890 the building was increased in size, so as to be one hundred and twenty by one hundred and forty feet, and the ca- pacity of the ice machines was increased to ninety tons per day. The cold storage feature of the concern consists of eight large rooms, having fifty thousand square feet of space. The appointments of the establishment are in all respects first-class. It is worthy of note that by the establish- ment of these two ice factories in Nashville the price of ice has been so reduced that all who desire to do so can enjoy the luxury of ice at all seasons of the year. That price is now fifty cents per hundred pounds.
The Waters-Allen Foundry and Machine Works were incorporated March 10, 1890, with a capital of $60,000. The industry itself was es- tablished by J. B. Romans and W. L. Waters in 1882, which firm was soon afterward succeeded by W. L. Waters & Sons, which lasted until the incorporation mentioned above. In 1884 a lot was bought at the present location, corner of Walnut and Union Streets, since which time the company has increased its possession to the extent of owning at the present time half a block. The new company prepared plans for new buildings, which were erected during the summer of 1890, and are of the following dimensions: Machine-shop, one hundred and ninety by fifty ; shop for light machinery and brass goods, one hundred by sixty ; storage building, sixty by fifty; foundry, one hundred and ten by fifty; black- smith shop, thirty-five by twenty-five; pattern shop, fifty by thirty-five ;
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engine and boiler room, thirty-five by twenty-five; office, thirty-four by twenty ; storage building, one hundred by thirty-four, for patterns. They have ordered ten thousand dollars' worth of new machinery, most of which is now (April, 1890) being made in the East, with which to equip the new plant. They have also special machinery for regrinding and grooving rollers for flouring mills. The company make a specialty of shafting, pulleys, hangers, and mill work of all kinds, and they handle a full line of steam pumps and engines. They have ample capital to carry out the work contemplated, and began running to the full capacity of their works about June 1, 1890. The officers of the company at present are as follows: Dr. William Morrow, President; J. H. Fall, Vice-presi- dent; Matt. F. Allen, General Manager; and George C. Waters, Sec- retary and Treasurer.
The Nashville Gas-light Company was chartered November 21, 1849. Its first Board of Directors was as follows: Washington Barrow, Matthew Watson, Thomas T. Smiley, A. L. P. Green, R. J. Meigs, John Camp- bell, and W. T. Berry. They effected an organization March 4, 1850, by electing Washington Barrow President; and during the year 1850 the works were erected. The gas was turned on in February, 1851. James H. Kendrick was elected Secretary March 5, 1851; and after twenty-five years of successful management of the company's affairs he resigned. He was succeeded by his son, Thomas F. Kendrick, who has served as Secretary and Treasurer ever since. He has been continu- ously in the service of the company since 1859, except two and a half years during the late war. There have been but three Presidents of this company: Washington Barrow, from 1850 to March, 1862 ; Samuel Wat- kins, from March, 1862, to October, 1880; and Samuel Pritchitt, from October, 1880, to the present time. The present Directors are as fol- lows: Samuel Pritchitt, Thomas D. Craighead, Samuel M. Murphy, V. L. Kirkman, Thomas Plater, James Simmons, and M. M. Gardner. George W. Wells has served as Superintendent of the gas-works since 1861. The consumers of gas in 1851 numbered two hundred and eighty- five, and in 1890 the number is three thousand and fifty. For several years the company made gas from coal mined in Tennessee-from the " Bell Coal Mines," located at Treadwell, Tenn., and owned by Hon. John Bell. Gas is now manufactured from coal mined in Alabama, at " Pratt Mines," owned by the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, which approximates the best Pennsylvania coal for gas purposes. The Nashville Gas-light Company has forty-five miles of various-sized main gas pipes in the streets of Nashville, in addition to many miles of supply or service pipes. It has endeavored to keep pace with the growth of the
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