Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 112, 1889 (part 2 of 2)

Abner White, a man with a seeming genius for starting new enterprises, who moved to it a two-story house from Green Street, which he furnished with suitable machinery, and associating others with liim, went on with the manufacture of chairs until about 1853, when he sold to Ephraim Wright, who had been doing a small business previously at South Gardner, and his son William, the two being associated under the name of E. Wright & Co., by which the firm is still known. Subsequently another son, Edwin L. Wright, was received into the partnership, who is the present head of the establishment. The father died in 186G, and the two sons went on together till 1882, when William also deceased, leaving his interest in the business to his widow, who still retains it. In 1871 the present main factory was erected, one hundred and twenty-five feet long by forty feet wide, three stories high in part and partly two. All requisite out-buildings are attached. Adequate power for the machinery of the concern is supplied by a steam-engine, all of the most approved kin<l. Without ambition for display or for startling results of any sort, the management of this enterprise is content to move on in the even tenor of its way, maintaining a well-earned prosperity and an honorable reputation for fair dealing and the production of an excellent quality of goods for the market. The annual business done is about fifty thousand dollars.

Wright & Read. - The senior member of this firm, David Wright, is believed to be the oldest living chairmaker in Gardner, with the exception of S.imuel S. Howe, who exceeds him in connection with the trade by about two years. He began service with Elijah Putnam in 1826, and afterward worked for Horatio N. Bolton in the old Bickford potash-shop and for others till about 1836, when he entered a co-partnership with the late Calvin S. Greenwood, thus establishing the firm of CTreenwood & Wright, so well known in former days. This firm conducted business under varying auspices at the privilege now utilized by the C. S. Greenwood's Sons and elsewhere for many years, purchasing the present Wright & Read location, which they had previously rented about the year 1858 of Marcius L. Gates, who had bought the property after the relinquishment of the manufacture of pine furniture in it by Bradford & Baker. Upon the dissolution of the firm of Greenwood & Wright a few years later, and the consequent division of property, Mr. Wright received the shop and fixtures under notice. Associating with him John M. Moore, the manufacture went on under the name of Wright & Moore. A disastrous fire in 1866 destroyed the shops with their contents, but they were at once rebuilt substantially as they now are and made ready for occupancy. In 1872 Charles F. Read, the son-in-law of Mr. Wright, took an interest in the business, and the firm-name was changed to Wright, Moore & Co. Five years after, Mr. Moore withdrew, and the business was con- tinued by the others, taking the name, still borne, of AVright & Rend. The e.-tablishmeiit imludes a capacious, well-lurnirhed factory, partly four and partly three storie-f high, a two-story paint-shop and other needful buildings adjacent thereto. This firm produces many kinds of bent work, facilities for bending constituting a part of their equipment. Dining, library and otfice chairs, with both fixed and rotary seats, are found among its goods; also children's chairs of different patterns and styles of finish. Forty hands are employed, with a yearly production of about fifty thousand dollars. The works are run by water-power, which has the benefit of the series of reservoirs above, while a steam-engine used for heating purposes could be called into service as a motor if needed. Mr. Wright has practically retired from the management of the business, although he retains an interest in it, his good name contributing still to its prosperity and success.

C. S. Greenwood's Sons. - This firm, consisting of Charles H. and Frederick M. Greenwood, occupy the site in the easterly part of South Gardner Village, opposite the Baptist Church, where Albert Bickford, in the early days of chair-making, built a dam on land belonging to his father's estate, erected a shop and fitted it up with sawn and lathes for the preparation of chair stock. Mr. Bickford carried on this business for some years, when Greenwood & Wright, who had associated together for the manufacture of chairs, purchased the property and, having supplied the requisite facilities, commenced operations there. They went on, for about twenty years, increasing their accommodations to meet the demands of their growing business by enlarging their shops, by renting additional room in the vicinity, and ultimately by the purchase of the premises referred to above, mw owned by Wright & Read. About the year 1857 the partnership was merged into and succeeded by the Sauth Gardner Manufacturing Company, a jointstock corporation, in which the employc-j and others were privileged (o hold shares and participate in whatever results might be realized. Not proving satisfactory, this experiment was abandoned at the e.\- ])iralion of a year and a half, the several enterprises^ combined in it resolving themselves into their previous conditions under their old names. Soon after. Greenwood & Wright dissolved partnership and divided the properly, the original stand being assigned to Mr. Greenwood. He continued the business, associating with himself about this time William Hogan, who subsequently died, by which event Mr. Greenwood became sole owner and manager, going on by himself till his death, in 1873. He was succeeded by his sons, named at the head of this sketch, who continue to this day.

The large, though somewhat inconvenient, shops of the firm were burned on the day following the town's Centennial Celebration, in June, 1885, but a building better adapted to the special needs of the establishment was immediately erected and filled with improved machinery, so that work can go on with greater efficiency than before. About twenty men are employed, and business is mostly done under contract. Fancy chairs of various patterns are a specialty, and much is done in the way of producing, upon order, new styles of goods, which are in great demand.

Greenwood Bros. & Co. - The site upon which this firm is located has been in possession of the same family for four successive generations. It was included in the original purchase of the great-grandfather of the present proprietors, Jonathan Greenwood, who came from Sherburne to Gardner about the time of its incorporation. He located at first on the old County Road from Lancaster to Athol, - the first thoroughfare through the town, - some twenty or thirty rods ?outh\vest of the present mill-site, where he lived till the opening of the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike, in 1800. He then erected the large twostory house now standing on the premises, opened a hotel which he kept during the remainder of his life. He died in 1821 and was succeeded by his son, Walter, who was a cooper by trade, carrying on business in a little shop near by, and having as an associate for a time one Jonas Childs. Thiit business failing, Mr. Greenwood converted his cooper-shop into a chairshop, and began making chairs in 1827, with a single man, Joseph Maynard, to help him. The new business proving profitable, he built, in 1834, a dam across Pew Brook, which flowed in the rear of his house, erected a shop in which he put a few simple kinds of machinery to be operated by water-power, for carrying on the work. For some years he did quite a large business with flag-seats, but later used cane-seats, preparing the cane on his own premises. He continued in the manufacture until his death, in 1861, when his son, Thomas, followed him in the same line of production. In 1870 the shop was considerably enlarged and an improved water-wheel was put in, greatly augmenting the available power. A large store-house was built in 1882, adding increased accommodations to the establishment.

Thomas Greenwood died early in the year 1888, but the business is going on in the same lines pursued by him under the direction of hi-< two sons, Charles W. and Marcus J. Greenwood, who, with their mother, constitute the firm whose name appears at the head of this sketch. Cane rocking-chairs are a specialty among the goods produced. The lack of railroad facilities is a hindrance to the highest success of this enterprise, though it is otherwise well-equipped for bu>iness, has a good market secured and a reputation for honest and honorable work, all of which gives the young men upon whom the burden of management has fallen, an excellent opportunity to attain for themselves an enviable reputation and a successful career. They employ some twelve or fifteen hands and p.oduce an excellent quality of goods.

James Sawyer. - Mr. Sawyer, whose place of business is on Travers Street, near its junction with South Main Street, occupies the oldest improved mill privilege in the town. It was first used in or before the year 1770, when Mr. Bickford, from Beading, came to the place, then Westminster, and, purchasing a large tract of land in the vicinity on which was this site, proceeded to erect a saw and grist-mill for the convenience of the new settlement. In this double capacity it served for many years, under the management of the builder and his son, Captain William Bickford, of later memory. In 1829 the property, still consisting of a saw and grist-mill, with the privilege and rights thereto belonging, was sold to Elijah Travers, who, after a time, added to his original purchase a shop for the manufacture of chairs, in which his sons carried on business under different auspices for many years. After their decease the property passed through the hands of Stearns & Whittemore to those of James Sawyer, who has since been engaged there in making cane-seat chair frames, doing a small but prosperous business in that department of the general trtide.

Lumber Manufactuke. - In the early days of the history of Gardner tliere were six saw-mills erected in different localities upon its territory, for the tupply of the new and growing community with lumber for building purposes. These were severally the Bickford Mill, which stood where James Sawyer's shop now is, owned by William Bickford ; one where the Lewis A. Wright & Co.'s works now are, on High Street, owned by Jonathan Greenwood ; one at the Pail Factory, owned by Joshua Whitney ; one on Kneeland Brook, near Parker Street, where the Dr. Parker Mill now stands, owned by Simon Stone ; one on Bailey Brook, near the junction of West and Bridge Streets, and one on Wilder Brook, north of Clark Street, the ownership of the last two being unknown. Subsequently one was built in the northeast part of the town, near the present homestead of Ebenezer Ballou, and at a still later date one in the east part, on a stream running into Westminster, near where it is crossed by the railroad. The products of these mills found, for the most part, a ready home market, little being done in the way of exportation. After a time, the original growth of wood being cut off, some of these mills were abandoned altogether, while others were converted into shops for the getting out of chair stock or the making of chairs. Two only have remained true to their original purpose through all the passing years. One of these - the Simon Stone Mill - was for a long time run by the late Dr. David Parker, or by agents to whom he relinquished the business in the latter part of his life, some eight or ten men being employed in getting out about twelve thousand dollars' worth of lumber annually.

Wright & Co., on High Street, occupying the site of the original Jonathan Greenwood Mill. Near the beginning of the present century, Mr. Greenwood sold to Joseph Wright, then recently from Sterling, whose descendants have retained possession of the privilege to the present day. It passed first to Joseph's sons - Joseph and Nathaniel - the latter of whom had charge of it for many years. Upon his death the property came into the hands of his son, Marcus A. Wright, who associated with himself David A. Wright and Calvin S. Greenwood, under the firm-name of Marcus A. Wright & Co., and continued business till 1S57, when the whole thing was united with other interests in the formation of the South Gardner Manufacturing Company. Upon the abandonment of that undertaking, the mill, fixtures and appurtenances reverted to their former condition and management. In 1877 Mr. Marcus A. Wright bought out his partners and went on alone till his death, in 1883. He was succeeded by his son, Lewis A. Wright, a young man just coming to maturity, under whose charge the business has been greatly enlarged and abundantly prospered. The enterprise bears the name of Lewis A. Wright & Co., the mother of the present manager having an interest in it. In addition to the manufacture of lumber the firm deals largely in the product of other localities - -in Michigan and Canada pine, black walnut and a good assortment of the harder woods. During the present year this department has been greatly enlarged by the purchase of the extensive concern of George E. Utley & Co., wholesale and retail lumber dealers, located at the junction of North Main and Mechanic Streets, near the railroad, which will add very much to the convenience both of the firm and of their customers, it being the design to make this hereafter the chief depot for the sale of goods. The business of this establishment has doubled within the last ten years, and the present outlook is better than ever before.

Children's Carriages, Chairs and Toys. - In the year 1868, Levi Warren bought the premises on Mill Street, where this industry is now carried on, of Mr. Henry Whitney, building a dam and erecting a shop for the purpose of getting out chair-backs. Prosecuting this kind of work for awhile, he afterward converted the building into a factory for the manufacture of toys. Subsequently he received as a partner John Lovewell, who at the expiration of three years purchased his interest and became sole proprietor and manager of the business. Not succeeding in the enterprise, Levi B. Ramsdell, one of Mr. Lovewell's creditors, bought the property in 1877, and, associating with himself G. C. Goodell, under the style of Ramsdell & Goodell, continued the business for two or three years, when Mr. Ramsdell became sole proprietor by purchase, and has s-ince gone on by himself. The business has increased rapidly under Mr. Ramsdell's management, a large trade having been built up, extending throughout the United States and even to England, necessitating an addition to the shop and greater facilities generally. Unfortunately, a destructive fire in April, 1887, resulted in a complete loss of buildings and their equipment. With commendable enterprise and zeal, the proprietor immediately rebuilt his establishment, supplied it with new and improved machinery, and is going on prosperously as before. The South Gardner stream furnishes power for running the works. Employment is given to thirty-five or forty men, who turn out goods to the value of forty thousand dollars annually.

Eave Troughs, Pumps, Ladders, Etc. - In the year 1874 Charles O. Stone, with his brother E. A. Stone, came to Gardner from Hubbardston, where they had been associated in business for two years, and, after erecting what is known as the Carney Building, at Kendall's Crossing, set up there their former line of manufacture. At the e.xpiration of five years C. O. Stone sold his interest to his brother, who was sole owner for a time, when Charles bought the whole and has been going on by himself to the present time.

In 1882 Mr. Stone disposed of his building on South Main Street, and erected a new one on Chestnut Street, where he is now located. Without power till 1885, he then put in an engine, and introduced machinery suited to the manufacture of his own goods, many kinds of which he had previously procured ready-made. He also added to his original business that of getting out house- finishing stuff for carpenters' use. A Weymouth lathe and other facilities for variety-turning were put in a year later. Mr. Stone has recently sold the house-finish and turning department to A. Priest & Son, who conduct it on their own account, while he confines himself solely to his original line of work. His trade has increased one hundred per cent, during the past five years. A branch shop is maintained at Fitchburg, though all the manufacturing is done at Gardner. Sales are generally made in the region round-about, teams being upon the road for the distribution of goods through the greater part of the year.

Chair Machinery. - As has already been suggested, the larger factories for the production of chairs have a machine-shop attached thereto for doing their own repair-work, and, in some instances, for making their own machines. Of these no note needs to be specially taken in this review. There is, beside these, one establishment devoted exclusively to the manufacture of chair machinery and appliances pertaining to such machinery - the only one of the kind, it is claimed, in the country. It was founded in the year 187G, when Levi G. McKnight, from Connecticut, came to Gardner and, associating with himself a Mr. Carter, leased shop-room of P. Derby & Co., and began business in the line under notice. At the end of two years they moved to the Foundry, where the business was carried on two yeare more, Mr. Carter meanwhile leaving the firm.

In 1880 another change was made to a building belonging to A. & H. C. Knowlton, Mr. McKnight taking another partner, the style of the firm being L. G. McKnight & Co. During that year the present spacious accommodations were provided, and at its close were occupied. They consist of a main building, fifty feet by forty, two stories high, with a basement for storage purposes. A fifteen horse-power engine, with a twenty-five horse-power boiler, drives the machinery. Twenty-five men are employed and goods are sent all over this country, and also to Canada and some of the countries of Europe. Seventyfive machines, designed particularly for the making of chairs, are produced, many of them the fruit of Mr. McKnight's own inventive skill, who has the reputation of being a superior mechanic and a trustworthy and honorable business man. .

Iron Ca.stings. - The Heywood Foundry Co. was established in 1876, and prepared for business by erecting, off Chestnut Street, below Cross Street, near the railroad track, a brick building fifty feet square, two stories high, with a moulding-room attached, eighty feet by fifty, and furnishing the whole with fixtures and conveniences for making all kinds of iron castings. The furnace is of ample dimensions, and a steam-engine of thirty-five horse-power runs the works. Three tons of iron are melted per day, and the business amounts to about .'S-10,000 per year. Thirty men ai'e employed. The firm, as now constituted, consists of Alvin M. Greenwood and Jonas K. Davis, Mr. Davis being the active manager of the establishment. As germane to their special work, the firm were interested for some years in the manufacture of a cooking-range, which had an extensive sale. They are now making what is called the Royal Steam Heater, of which they have the entire control. It is said to serve an excellent purpose and is being introduced quite largely, in town and elsewhere.

Oil-Stoves, Lamps, Etc. - This industry was started in 1884 by an incorporated body of gentlemen, of which Calvin H.Hill was president; William H. Wilder, treasurer, and Charles A. Fletcher, business manager ; with a capital of $10,000. At the expiration of three years, Mr. Fletcher having sold out his interest, Messrs. Hill and Wilder, with Alvin M. Greenwood, formed a partnership, and have since carried on the business. The chief work done is the manufacture of oil-stoves of a special pattern (of which they are the exclusive owners), and lamps corresponding thereto, adapted to healing purposes. They claim to produce an article superior to all others of a similar kind, with none of their defects. The businet-s has had a remarkable growth, and is in an exceedingly prosperous condition, the demand for goods but recently put upon the market, exceeding the ability to supply them. Beginning four years ago, with a single workman, in a small room in the Foundry Building, they now employ forty hands, and occupy an entire factory, built and equipped for their own use in 1887. It is located in the rear of the foundry, and has unsurpassed railroad facilities. Every part of the articles produced is made in the establishment. Work is done mostly on orders received through special agencies at Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, Ga., and other large cities. A considerable export trade has also been secured.

Tin-Ware Manufacture. - The establishment representing this industry is a lineal descendant of the little shop started in Templeton in 1825 by John Boynton, whose success in the business enabled him to found by bequest that excellent institution at Worcester - the " Worcester County Technical Institute." Mr. Boynton late in life associated with himself David Whitcomb (having had other partners previously), under the name of Boynton & Whitcomb. They were followed in the business by Colonel Henry and William Smith, brothers, who had charge of it till 1870, when, the former having retired, the latter formed a partnership with Andrew H. Jaquith, the senior member of the present firm. In 1877 the business was transferred to Gardner, the interest of Mr. Smith passing into the hands of Charles F. Kichardson. Buildings suited to the manufacture had been erected on North Main Street, near the railroad stations, which were destroyed by fire in 1883, when the more spacious and convenient ones, now occupied, took their place. For five years the present company, bearing the firm-name of Jaquith & Richardson, restricted themselves to the old line of production, the making of tinware and corresponding goods, but in 1882 a stove and furnace department was established, whereby the field of ojieration was materially enlarged, and the enterprise greatly benefited. The efforts of the proprietors have been duly rewarded by a healthful increase of business, including a large traffic in paper-stock, the whole amounting annually to about $50,000. They have one of the largest and best appointed warehouses in the county, and are continually introducing new features to their trade, which inure alike to their own advantage and that of their patrons.

Harness-Making. - This branch of handicraft was started in a small way in 1869 by George K. Godfrey, who, by close attention to business, excellence of work, promptness and reliability in the fulfillment of contracts and gentlemanly demeanor, has built it up to its present proportions and condition of thrift and prosperity. It is located in the Bank Building at the Central Village, where may be found not only a fine array of the proprietor's own manufactured articles but an extensive assortment of kindred goods, such as trunks, valises, carriage robes, whips, &c., and where there are ample facilities for carrying on the work. The production is largely custom made, though considerable supplies are furnished the general trade. The goods are regarded as of superior quality in respect to both stock and workmanship, and the Godfrey harness, the work of which is performed by hand, has attained an enviable reputation throughout New England. Some twenty or twenty-five men are employed, who turn out twelve or fifteen thousand harnesses a year, besides considerable corresponding work.

Photo-Mechanical Printing. - Warren P. Allen is the oldest photographer in Gardner. He came to town in 1864, from Keene, N. H., with a traveling car fitted up for making pictures, and located at the South Village, where he remained several years. He then opened rooms in Market Block, on Chestnut Street, ne;ir Central, in which he practiced his art eleven years, and gained for himself a wide reputation as a faithful and skilKul workman. When the Lithotype Publishing Company, mentioned below, was first organized, in 1879, Mr. Allen connected himself with it for a time, helping to give it a start and to put its work before the community. Afterwards he commenced at the West VHlage what he denominates photo-mechanical printing, an invention partly his own, where he remained three years, developing and improving his specialty and getting his art recognized and appreciated by the general public. The demand for his style of pictures increasing, lie outgrew his accommodations and sought the larger and better ones in the building of Howe Bros., on Chestnut Street, near North Main, where he noAV is. He does his own work mostly, and his productions are deservedly popular. Excellent specimens of what he can do are to be found in the views he has furnished for illustrated sketches of Bellows Falls, Vt., Holyoke, Mass., Elgin, III., Wellesley and Princeton Colleges, &c., the character, standing and high culture of his patrons attesting to the artistic excellence and thoroughness of what he gives in his line to the world.

Lithotype Publishing. - In the year 1879 Mr. A. G. Bushnell, who since 1869 had been connected with the Gardiur News as editor and general manager, becoming interested in a new style of producing pictures, associated with himself Mr. W. H. Cowee, Charles Hey wood, and perhaps others, and started what is called the lithotype publishing busine^s. Before getting fairly established. Mr. Heywood, an important member of the partnership, died, causing a partial suspension of the work for awhile, although Mr. Cowee assumed the care of it and continued it on his own responsibility for several years. In 1886 new interest in the enterprise was awakened, and a corporation was constituted called the Lithotype Printing and Publishing Company, with a capital of ten thousand dollars, of which Charles D. Burrage was president, W. H. Cowee, secretary, and Herbert S. Stratton, treasurer and manager. The following year the capital was increased to twenty-five thousand dollars, the business going on as before. In 1888 a private company, consisting of Burrage & Stratton, bought out the corporation and arc now going on under the name of the Lithotype Publishing Company, prosperously and promisingly. Twenty-five lith- otype presses are in use, and fifty-five or sixty persons, mostly young women, are employed in the large, well- Curnished establishment on Green Street. The work now done amounts to sixty or seventy thousand dollars a year, and is of excellent quality, growing continually in popular favor. Much attention is given to furnishing illustrations for fami!_v and town histories, sketi-hes of interesting localities, popular resorts, manufacturing centres, educational institutions and .similar kinds of delineation for which there is a constantly increasing call. The company has recently purchased an engraving establishment in New York City, which is running in connection with the Gardner house, under the care of Mr. A. G. Bushnell, agent.

Silver- Ware. - One of the later industries now in operation in Gardner is that of the manufacture of the more substantial and serviceable articles of silver-ware, which was started in the year 1887 by Frank W. Smith, who came from Concord, N. H. where he had previously been engaged in the same business. A commodious brick building three stories high, with a basement, was erected on Chestnut Street near the corner of Walnut, and thoroughly furnished with the most modern machinery and appliances for carrying on the work. Only skillful hands are employed, of whom there are forty-five in number, including several women, and only solid sterling silver goods are produced. This is a valuable acquisition to the mauutacturing interests of the town, having the promise of a prosperous future before it, and destined to shine with a lustre distinctively its own, varied, enriched and beautified at times with golden hues.

Buick-MakIjSTG. - A large section of territory in the southern part of the town has an aluminous or clayey subsoil unusually free from foreign substances and lying in many places quite near the surface of the ground, which renders the manufacture of brick at numerous points comparatively easy of accomplishment. At what particular date, or in what locality, this business was first started here has not been ascertained. But it is understood by the older inhabitants that the material of which the Bickford house in South Gardner was built, shortly after the town's incorporation, was obtained on the premises and moulded and burned theie ready for final use. Abel Jackson at an early day made brick near by where the yards and factory of George N. Dyer are now located, some tokens of which are still to be seen. And the present stand of Abijah Hinds has been devoted to this industry for a long term of years. For two generations or more the only brick made in town were the product of this establishment, the father of the present proprietor carrying on the business in his day. The demand of the community could then be met by this one concern, and there was no necessity for another yard. With the growth of the place and the increasing tendency to put up brick buildings, even the home market was greater than Mr. Hinds, with all his facilities, which he had multiplied as time went on, could supply. And so Mr. H. N. Dyer, an old brick-maker of Templeton, seeing the opportunity, came to town, purchased the property where his son, George N. Dyer, now carries on the business, and there, near the site of the old Jackson yard, started anew. He soon gave way to his son, who has been highly prospered, his trade increasing from year to year, necessitating a constant increase of productive power. He has made the present year one and a half million bricks, for most of whiih he finds a ready sale within the limits of the town. For several years he produced a fine quality of pressed brick, the clay on his grounds being suited to that kind of goods, but at present he deems it more profitable to limit his production to the more common grades. Both Mr. Dyer and Mr. Hinds employ steam-power to run their machinery, which is of the latest and best pattern, and their iiicilities for speedy and etlicient work are excellent and unsurpassed in all the region round-about. Mr. Hinds turns out about seven hundred and fifty thousand bricks a year, making the entire production of the town two and a quarter millions.

Carriages and Sleighs. - The principal establishment fur the manufacture of carriages and other vehicles is located in South Gardner village, near the railroad crossing, and is conducted by Lyman Sawin and his son, Wm. O. Sawin. The senior member of the firm came to Gardner from Ashburnham more than thirty years ago, and entering into partnership with Amasa Lovewell, carried on the general blacksmithing business for a dozen years, when he sold out and went to Ashby. After an absence of a year or two he returned, and having erected the buildings since occupied by him started anew, combining the wheelwright business with his former trade. The call for his work increasing, he took his son into company with him and subsequently consolidated his business with that of Albert Barron, who had for some years made carriages in a portion of his shop, assuming the style of the South Gardner Carriage Company. Besides common carriages, the firm made a specialty of heavy team wagons and gained a reputation for thorough and substantial work. They also manufactured open and top buggies and sleighs of various patterns. The carriage business declining somewhat, more attention latterly has been given to repairs, other work being done chiefly upon orders. Half a dozen men find employment in the establishment. A similar enterpri.se of some years' standing has recently been re-organized, bearing the name of the Chestnut Street Carriage Manufactory, in which James D. Gay and others are interested, and Townsend L. Bennett, Ko. 10 Cross Street, does something incidentally in the same line of manufacture.

early settlers of Gardner in respect to the grinding of corn and otlier cereals for domestic use was originally met by the putting in a set of stones in connection with facilities for sawing lumber by William Bickford as early as 1770 or 1775; and a few years later a gristmill was built in tlie north part of the town near the school-house on the site, probably, which was afterwards occupied by the Cowee Brothers as a chair factory. More recently an extensive business has been done in the same direction by T. Augustus and Marshall M. Howe, under the name of Howe Brothers, who succeeded by purchase the late Charles W. Bush in the nianutaeture of meal and flour at the factory on Mill Street near Sawyer. This privilege had a varied and somewhat unfortunate his'.ory during the earlier years of its occupancy. In or about the year 1824, Luke Sawin and Dr. David Parker, then a new resident of the town, bought the Abel Jackson farm, which covered a large tract of land in the vicinity, including the site under notice. Mr. Sawin soon built a dam and erected a shop, which he fitted up for the purpose of getting out chair stock. The business went on but a sliort time, the shop being burned. Henry Whitney then purchased the privilege and lands adjoining, erecting a saw-mill upon it, which was also destroyed by fire in 1834. The mill was immediately rebuilt and run a few years as before, when it was sold to Daniel J. Goodspeed, who converted it into a factory for the making of chairs, having enlarged the facilities by putting up an addiliojial building to suit bi.s needs. In 1852 a third fire destroyed the buildings and their contents. Charles Travers bought the premises and put up a new chair-shop, which was run by himself for awhile and then sold to Charles Britton, from Westmoreland, N. H., who, being a carpenter, used it for getting out moldings, trimmings and stock in general for his trade. It afterward passed into the hands of Calvin Conant, who reconverted it into a chair-shop for his own use. Subsequently it came into the pos-ession of Charles W. Bush, who removed the old machinery and fitted it up as a meal and flour-producing mill, in which capacity it has remained till now. Howe Brothers, the present proprietors, have occupied it for eighteen years, doing a large and gi'owing business, amounting at this time to an annual value of $60,000.

RiiADY-MADE Clothing. - The Monadnock Clothing House may be regarded as the representative of one of the important industries of the place, inasmuch as the goods in which it deals are to a large extent manufactured on the premises. Its stock embraces every style, grade and quality requisite for the wear of men, boys and even children. The establishment was founded by E. Ballard and A. A. .Terould in 1809, it being the first ready-made clothing store in town. Passing through some changes, it came into the hands of Mr. Samuel Despeaux, a veteran in the trade, in 1880, who gave it the name it now bears. It has one of the largest and best appointed sales-rooms in this section of the State, carrying a heavy stock and doing an extensive business. There are several other readymade clothing stores in town, besides some half-dozen merchant tailors, so that the needs of the public in this regard are abundantly supplied.

Marble-Cutting. - Mr. T. J. Staff'ord, an experienced marble-worker, came from Cambridge in 1870 and commenced the marble-cutting business in Market Block near tlie head of Chestnut Street. Building up a resi>ectable and satisfactory trade, he, after several changes, located in the shop erected for his use toward the lower end of the same street, where he now is. Numerous tomb-stones and monumental pieces of various design and styles of finish in the burial-places of the town and vicinity testify to the artistic excellence and superior quality of his work. Messrs. John E. Partridge & Co., located near the railroad station, and .loseph C. Sargent, 105 Chestnut Street, are engaged in the same line of business.

Contractors and Builders. -Milton M. Favor, a native of Bennington, N. H., came to Gardner in 1867, and after working awhile for Heywood Bros. & Co., started business on his own account. He has had a large patronage, having erected, since locating in the place, over five hundred buildings in this and adjacent towns, or about twenty-five a year. He employs a force of from sixty to seventy-fi ve men, according to the season and demand for work. In the same business are John E. Hosmer, Wm. N. Moore, Cyrus F. Boutelle, Michael J. Ryan, George B. Hager, Joseph J. Gale & Son, Silas Holt and Thomas Wheeler.

Printing and Publishing. - The first printingoffice was opened in Gardner in the year 1868, when A. G. Bushnell, formerly of Templeton, took possession of one room in the third story of the bank building, where he was engaged in doing job work till the following spring, when, his business having increased sufficiently to warrant it, he employed an assistant. About that time the project of starting a local weekly paper was agitated, resulting in the organization of an enterprise for the purpose of carrying that project into effect. Charles Heywood associated himself with Mr. Bushnell under thefirm-uame of A. G. Bushnell & Co., and a prospectus for a paper was immediately issued. Satisfactory patronage being promised, the first number of the Gardner News was published July 3, 1869. The original subscription price was two dollars a year, but the patronage increasing, it was soon reduced to one dollar and fifty cents. The size of the paper, to begin with, was twenty-two by thirty-two inches folio, containing twenty-four columns of matter, or six columns to a page, but has been much enlarged since. Though chiefly a local journal, it yet contains much general news, and has correspondents in all the neighboring towns, thus representing a wide constituency and securing a circulation far beyond the limits of Gardner. It claims to be independent in religion and politics.

fearless in expressing honest convictions upon questions of private and public morality, and especially desirous of promoting the welfare and prosperity of the town. It has always been a bright, wide-awake publication, displaying more than average editorial ability and maintaining a creditable standing among its contemporaries. Upon the death of Charles Heywood, in 1882, Mr. Bushnell became sole proprietor, as he had been sole manager from the inception of the undertaking. In 1885 he sold the whole establishment, including the paper, to Asa E. Stratton, of Fitchburg, who now has its several departments in charge, conducting the business on the .same general lines as before. The circulation of the Neim is twenty-one hundred. The business of job printing has increased from year to year, making frequent additions of materials and machinery necessary as well as new accessions of room, so that the entire floor of the third story of the bank building is required for the use of the establishment, which now commands the service of from twelve to fifteen employes.

In the year 1880 Mr. E. J. Fuller, from AVinchendon, started a second paper in town, called the Gardner Record, having his headquarters in Stevens' Block, West Village. In the fall of 1883 the office was removed to the building of Howe Brothers, near the depot. The following June Mr. Fuller sold to Charles Adams and Daniel Rowe, when the name of the sheet was changed to the Worcester County Democrat, in order that its title might indicate the politics which the new proprietors designed to have represented in its columns. Struggling on for two years under much difficulty, the experiment of a daily issue was tried for a few weeks in the hope, apparently, of retrieving its falling fortunes, but it had practically the opposite eifect, and late in 1886 yielded to the inevitable, and ceased to be. At the end of about three months R. W. and C. A. J. Waterman, of Athol, purchased the stock and fixtures of the office, removed them to Opera-House Block, Pine Street, near Lynde, and commenced the publication of the Gardner Journal under the firn'-name of Waterman & Son. The first number was issued April 12, 1887, and was favorably received by the public, obtaining at the start a respectable list of subscribers, which has increased since, until at the expiration of twenty months they number seventeen hundred and fifty. The paper is independent in spirit and purpose, and aims to be a general news sheet as well as a medium of local intelligence, seeking to maintain and promote the general welfare by fair dealing and an honest expression of opinion upon all matters pertaining thereto. A good business at job printing has been built up in connection with the publication of the Journal, the whole giving employment to nine persons.

Mercantile Interests. - A few general statements in regard to what may be called the mercantile affairs of Gardner will no doubt serve the specific purpose of the present volume and satisfy the desire of those who may read it. The first merchant in the place was Mr. Jonathan Prescott, from Lancaster, son-in-law of John Glazier, who located on the east side of Green Street, opposite the Common, where the residence of the late Francis Richardson, Esq., now stands. His was the only store in town for many years, and even down to a date within the memory of large numbers now living, a single oldfashioned country store supplied all the needs of the Central village and a large section around it, reaching in some directions into neighboring towns. A store was opened in South Gardner early in this century, or perhaps shortly before its opening, and for several decades this and the one at the Centre were amply sufficient to meet all the existing needs of the community in this respect. But to-day the shop-keepers of the place are numbered by scores, if not by hundreds. Certain sections of the different villagts are almost wholly given up to traffic of one sort or another, and one in them need not go far to find, with rare exceptions, whatever may be desired in the line of merchandise for personal, domestic or more general use. Dry-goods merchants, grocers, clothiers, furniture and crockery dealers, druggists, jewelers, traders in hirdware, paper-hangings, gentlemen's and ladies' furnishing goods, cutlery, stoves and furnaces, sewing-machines, stationery, meat, flour, grain, farm produce and venders of all sorts of siuall wares, confectionery, fruit and peanuts - all these have a place in this busy town, and stand ready to serve the public need.

Before leaving the manufacturing interests of Gardner altogether, it is desirable that a statement be made respecting an important adjunct to that portion of them located in the southern part of the town, to which reference has been several times made in the foregoing pages, to wit: - The South Gardner Reservoir. This body of water covers an area of about one hundred and eighty acres, of which nearly threefourths are in this town, the remainder in Westminster. Up to a comparatively recent date the owners of what is known as the Wright Mill were allowed to flow the broad expanse of meadow-laud which the dam was high enough to cover, only through the later autumn, winter and early spring months, so as in no wise to lessen or damage the grass grown thereon. As a consequence, a large amount of water would pass by that and other privileges on the stream below when the pond was drawn down to its summer level, with advantage to no one, while, later in the season, a scarcity of water would compel the stopping of the machinery at all of those privileges for weeks, or perhaps months, before the autumn rains came on. It was evident to practical men that, if the amount of water which thus ran wholly to waste could be held in some way for use when needed, the mills, so often idle in the drj^er parts of the year, could, with rare exceptions, be kept in operation the twelvemonth through. It was for Mr. David Wright, who was eager for improvement, and who had sagacity to discover chances for improvement, to turn tliis thought to practical account. He set himself about interesting his co-manufacturers on the stream with him in a project for a reservoir for the purpose indicated. The dam mentioned, as it was and had been for years, was capable of holding an immense body of reserve water, and, by raising it a i'esv feet, which could be easily done, the quantity could be greatly augmented. The rai.sing of the dam would involve some expense, and the using it for [jermanent flowage would involve still more, since it would necessitate the payment of heavy damages to the proprietors of the meadows above, or the purchase of those meadows. Mr. Wright, therefore, when the subject had been sufficiently discussed, circulated a paper and secured subscriptions enough to buy the lands in question, which put the matter on a permanent basis. Previous to the consummation of this scheme, however, a canal had been cut from the Walter Greenwood mi!l-pond to the proposed reservoir, in order ihat whatever surplus water existed there might be diverted i'rom its natural course, and held in reserve with the other, to the extent of the capacity of the new pond. And so tho plan of Mr. Wright was carried out to the fullest extent, and all the advantages to be gained from it were secured. The expense of keeping the reservoir-dam in repair is met by occasional assessments upon the owners of the privileges benetited by it.

Nor was this all. The owners of certain mill-sites on the stream, desirous of gaining still other benefits of the same sort, bought two dams, and the meadows flowed by them, situated above the reservoir itself, while, still later, S. K. Pierce & Co. purchased a third one, - the Minot Meadow, so-called, - and dam thereunto belonging, which now constitutes a part of his estate. So that, in fact, there is a series of four reservoirs on the upper part of the stream, eaoh one of which contributes directly to the value of every millproperty below, and indirectly to the prosperity of the whole town.