Boston City (part 3 of 67)

It is claimed to have been the first monument ever erected to commemorate the war of the Revolution; but Mr. Wheildon could find no reference to it, during its building, in any of the public prints of the day. The Massachusetts Magazine , December, 1790, announces the com¬ pletion of the brick-work, but says that the " white cement " will not be put on till Spring, when it will be topped "by an eagle of wood, gilt." Mr. Wheildon could not find any mention of the contributors to it, except of Mr. Thomas Russell.

The annexed reduced heliotype follows a water-color found by the late Andrew Ritchie in a shop in Paris, and now owned by his son, Colonel Harrison Ritchie. It represents the Common and neighborhood somewhere between 1S04 - when the Amory House, seen and still standing on the corner of Beacon and Park streets, was erected (see view of Park Street, in Vol. III. p. 232.) - and 1S1 r, when the monument seen over the stable of the Hancock House was taken down. The mansion of the first governor un¬ der the Constitution ranges in the line of the Capitol ; and the trees in front of it are probably the ones referred to in a letter of Theodore Lyman, Sept. 25, 1815, when he writes about the great gale of that month to Edward Everett, his classmate, then in Germany : " How many lamentations has poor Madam Scott made over that beautiful row of elms opposite her house, which, with about fifteen of the largest trees in the mall, have been levelled." - Memoir of Theo¬

The Monument, From The Corner Of Temple And Derne Streets

The Editor is indebted to Miss E. S. Quincy for reminiscences of other houses seen in the picture. That on the extreme left was built by Mr. John Phillips in 1804-5, and long occupied by him. It is still standing, with the entrance changed to Walnut Street, which was cut through on its upper side, and the house is spoken of in a communication by Mr. Wenclell Phillips, given in a note to Mr. Bugbee's chapter in Vol. III. It was bought about 1829, and greatly improved, by Lieut.-Governor Thomas L. Winthrop (father of the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop), who died in it. The large house next on the right was built about 1805, by Thomas Per¬ kins, and fronted on Mount Ver¬ non Street. The block on that street, just west of Joy Street, now occupies its site. The garden is at this day covered by the houses with deep front yards, which are on the westerly side of Joy Street. The house with columns was built by Dr. J oy, with a garden in front of it. A traveller, a few years earlier (1792), had described this house : " The front is among the neatest and most elegant I have seen. It is two stories high, overcast, and painted a kind of peach-bloom color, and adorned with semi-col¬ umns, fluted, of Corinthian order, the whole height of the edifice." - Mass. Hist. Soc. I toe., March, 1871, p. 61. This house was removed about 1S35 and rebuilt at South Boston.

The view of 1825, in Snow's History of Bos¬ ton, p. 323, is without the trees before the Han¬ cock house, and in the interim the single wooden

The annexed view of the Faneuil-Phillips house, which stood on the hill-slope opposite the King's Chapel burying-yard, follows a watercolor by George L. Brown, painted in 1836, now in the rooms of the Boston Antiquarian Club. Another view of the same house, by Brown, painted in oil in 1835, is owned by John C. Phillips, Esq. A third view is given in Vol. II. p. 523. Mr. Phillips also owns a water-color of the Bromfield House, without name or date, fence bounding the Common had given place to parallel fences, skirting the mall without and within. The old single wooden fence was built about 1784, and it was so much injured in the 1815 gale that the new double fence was built, the one in the new mall, or Beacon Street mall, being built under Abraham Babcock's direction in 1S20. Shurtleff, Boston , p. 317.

The shape of the hill, as seen from the north before its destruction had begun, is shown in the accompanying reproduction of " Boston from Breed's Hill," as given in the Mass. Mag., June, I79I-

The view from the summit of Beacon Hill is given in the Mass. Mag., November, 1790, show¬ ing the great elm on the Common, the Tremont Street mall, the south part of the town, the Back Bay, the Neck, with Dorchester Heights in the distance. It has been heliotyped in J. W. Ham¬ ilton's Memorial of Jesse Lee and the Old Elm : 85 th Anniversary of Jesse Lee's sermon under the Old Elm, Boston Common, held Sunday evening,

In the rear of the Faneuil-Phillips house, and approached up the declivity through a paved court and the garden, was a tall tower, which is shown in Hammett Billings's sketch of Quincy Market, given in Vol. III. p. 22S. A similar view is in Bowen's Picture of Boston, 1829. This tower was of brick, with three floors, reached by a staircase within, while the upper windows opened on a balcony. The Faneuil "grasshopper " sur¬ mounted the roof, which did not much overtop the neighboring summit of the Gardiner Greene garden, so much higher was the hill in that direction.

A view of the town and harbor from the hill in the rear of Mr. Greene's house, where Pem¬ berton Square now is, but from a point seventy feet above the existing level of the hill-top, serves as a frontispiece to the present volume. It fol¬ lows a large picture painted by Salmon in 1816, and owned by W. Id. Whitmore. ( Gleaner Ar- tides, p. 55.) Ihere are better views of the Greene mansion than the frontispiece affords. One of them is in the mayor's office at the City Hall. The building was of wood, three stories in height, four large rooms on each floor, with an L. The wood-work of the drawing-rooms was elaborately carved, and in this respect it differed from the Faneuil house, which had plainer ornamentation. Mr. Greene had resided in Demerara for many years after 1774, and had

The note-book of Robert Gilmor, in the Pub¬ lic Library, has a view of Boston from Dorches¬ ter Heights, taken not far from 1795. A view of Boston from the old fort in Roxbury, where is now the Cochituate stand-pipe, was painted by Thomas Cole in 1S20. A view of Boston from Chelsea Hill is given in Dearborn's Boston Notions, and in his Guide to Boston.

The Faneuil-Phillips House

laid there the foundation of a large fortune. In 1785 he married Miss Ann Reading, who died in 1786. Two years later he visited Boston and married Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Hubbard, who died in 1797. In July, 1800, while in Lon¬ don, he married Elizabeth Clarke, a daughter of Copley the painter, and soon took up his per¬ manent residence in Boston, and here died, Dec. 19, 1832. Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., June, 1873, p. 56.

The descent of this famous estate is traced in Vol. II., Introduction, p. xliv. In the rear of the house the visitor crossed a paved court and ascended the terraces to the two large trees which are seen in the view of Quincy Market in Vol. III., p. 228.

The engraving herewith given of the Lamb Tavern is from a block cut by Abel Bowen, the principal engraver on wood in Boston in the early part of the present century ; and use of it has been kindly permitted by Mr. J. II. Daniels, who received it from Joseph Andrews, one of Bowen's pupils. Drake [Landmarks, p. 392) says the tavern is mentioned as early as 1746. (See Vol. II. p. xxiv.) The first stage-coach to Providence started from here in 1767. Its sign was struck by a shot from the American lines during the siege. Joel Crosby, who had served in the Rev¬ olutionary army, was later employed here as an hostler; and subsequently bought the estate, and kept the tavern successfully till about 180S. In 1822 the brick structure in the rear was added, containing the dining-room, etc. At this time Laban Adams kept it, and continued to be the landlord till 1825. Drake says Edward Kingman was the landlord in 1826. After Crosby's

The passage, up which the chaise is passing, led to the stables in the rear, and is probably a remnant of the earlier Hog Alley, which can be seen, leaving the main street obliquely (to the death (1833) at Leominster, whither he had re¬ moved in 1808, the estate was sold to Laban Adams, who had returned to it in 1830, and who again kept it till 1838, when he leased it to Aaron W. Rockwood. In 1S44 Adams again returned to it, but pulled it down in 1843, and opened the Adams House on the same spot in 1846.

Chapter Iii The Industries Of The Last Hundred Years

\\ 7"HILE not so in popular estimation, Boston is, and always has been, a ' * manufacturing centre. Her industries are as varied as those of the Commonwealth, and at the close of the period of which we write their annual product amounts in value to over one hundred and fifty millions of dollars. Her influence since the first decade of her existence has been felt in all departments of productive industry throughout the State, and to such an extent that, considering the amount of the city's productive capital in¬ vested elsewhere, it is difficult to say what the value of Boston's products really is. Confining ourselves to the territory marked out as the subject of this history, we feel no hesitancy in defining Boston as a great industrial centre, the account of whose industries is the account for Massachusetts.

During the first generation after the landing at Plymouth the great in¬ dustries which have built up the Massachusetts of our time, in a material sense, were established on quite secure footing. Ship-building, the manu¬ facture of textiles, boots, shoes, and leather, printing, brick and glass-mak¬ ing, and iron-working, - industries which to-day include one half the entire products of the State, - were recognized industries before 1650. In all these, after her settlement, Boston's influence is clearly seen ; in fact, it was not till after 1630 that these enterprises possessed the vitality essential to permanency. This influence is well illustrated by the fact that Boston mer¬ chants within ten years after her settlement exported shoes manufactured in Lynn. This influence has been retained, and may be said to be stronger now than at any previous period.

Although many of the leading industries of Massachusetts had been established immediately after its settlement, yet prior to the Revolution very little progress had been made toward placing these industries on a self-sustaining basis, so that they might become a source of wealth to the Province and afford employment to a considerable number of her citizens. Indeed, before and at the beginning of the struggle of the colonies with the mother country the chief reliance of Massachusetts for supplying the wants of her families was placed upon the household industries ; and the Legis¬ lature of the Province of Massachusetts Bay was in the habit of extending aid and encouragement to all who sought to develop industrial enterprises. An interesting instance in this connection was the patriotic attempt to plant the linen manufacture in 1754, when a law was passed granting a duty to be levied upon carriages of all kinds for the benefit of the proprietors or mana¬ gers of the linen manufacture in Boston, to aid them in purchasing a piece of land and erecting or purchasing a suitable house within the town for car¬ rying on the business of spinning, weaving, and other necessary parts of the linen manufacture.1 The preamble to this law set forth that -

" Whereas, through the great decay of trade and business, the number of poor is greatly increased, and the burden of supporting them lies heavy on many of the towns within this Province, and many persons, especially women and children, are destitute of employment, and in danger of becoming a public charge ; and whereas divers welldisposed persons have contributed and continue to contribute sums of money to en¬ courage setting the poor to work in the several branches of the linen manufacture, . . . Therefore, further to encourage the laudable design of the several contributors as aforesaid, Be it enacted," etc.

Under this law2 the building called the " Manufactory House " in Long- Acre Street was erected. The manufacture of linen was begun here, but with a spirit too violent to secure permanent success.3 " Great show and parade were exhibited on the Common at its commencement. Spinningwheels were then the hobby-horses of the publick. The females of the town, rich and poor, appeared on the Common with their wheels, and vied with each other in the dexterity of using them." The enterprise lasted but three or four years, the Manufactory House being used for a short time after the close of the linen works for the manufacture of worsted hose, metal buttons, etc.4

The growth of colonial manufactures was not regarded with favor by England, and the home Government steadily discountenanced any attempt to build up such industries here as would tend to render the colonists either independent of home manufactures or competitors with the parent country for foreign trade. It was, indeed, the settled policy of every European power to restrict the trade and commerce of its colonies to the parent coun¬ try. In this policy England shared so far as to monopolize to herself the raw materials of the American colonies and the carrying trade dependent upon the produce of those colonies, and herself to furnish her colonists with all the manufactured articles or other imports necessary for their con¬ sumption. It was held in certain quarters that the only use and advantage of these colonies was the stimulation of the industries and commerce of the came the residence of private families. There was for many years portrayed upon the wall on the west end of the building a female figure holding a distaff in her hand, emblematical of industry. [See Vol. II. pp. xxvi, 51 1. - Ed.]

The Industries Of The Last Hundred Years

parent country arising from the monopoly of their consumption and carry¬ ing trade. Before the Revolution the export trade of the colonies was, in accordance with this policy, limited to Great Britain, except in the case of some articles which were permitted to be exported to certain designated parts of Europe, Africa, and the West Indies. The permitted trade with the West Indies was always highly advantageous to the colonies, and espe¬ cially so to New England, but was mainly confined to agricultural products, and to rum, fish, and lumber.

The influence of the policy above indicated, as well as the high price and scarcity of labor, operated to prevent the establishment of any con¬ siderable manufacturing industries in the American colonies until the colo¬ nists had advanced somewhat in population and wealth. The New-England colonies, however, from the nature of the charters under which they were established, were always more or less independent of the commercial re¬ strictions imposed by Great Britain ; and this fact, together with the gradual growth not only here, but in other colonies, of certain industries, as early as the year 1731 caused the increasing export trade of her American prov¬ inces to be viewed with no little jealousy by the mother country.

In Massachusetts especially the manufacture of paper had begun at that date, and complaints were made to the Board of Trade and Plantations of the House of Commons that, " In Massachusetts an act was made to en¬ courage the manufacture of paper, which law interferes with the profit made by the British merchants on foreign paper sent thither." 1 The first papermill in Massachusetts, and it is believed in the United States, had been established a year or two previous at Milton on the Neponset River, almost within the limits of the present city of Boston.2

In New England, also, woollen and linen cloth and a sort of coarse hemp cloth was at this time made, as well as leather, hats, and iron work ; but as the price of labor was exceedingly high, our merchants found it to their advantage to deal in imported goods rather than those of home manu¬ facture. The increase of ship-building here,3 an accompaniment of our growing commerce, was considered especially prejudicial to the interests of the mother country. Parliament soon found it necessary to place further restrictions on our industries ; as for instance, " to prevent the erection of any mill or other engine for slitting or rolling iron, or any plating forge to work with a tilt hammer, or any furnace for making steel in any . . . colonies." 4 Previously,5 an act restrictive of the hat-making industry had been passed. While thus attempting to check the growth of colonial manu¬ facturing industries by direct restrictive measures, the same object was kept in view by acts favoring the exportation of raw material to be made up in England.

But, although contrary to its purpose, the course of Parliament was soon to give a decided impetus to colonial manufactures. The year 1767 witnessed the famous duties on glass, paper, pasteboard, painters' colors, and tea. In thus striving to replenish its treasury, Parliament, without intending it, did the one thing necessary to the progress of our industries. The system of taxation of which these duties were a part was, as is well known, violently opposed by the colonists ; and this opposition was manifested by an out¬ spoken determination to use only the products of home industry, and thus avoid the unjust burden which it was felt Great Britain was seeking to lay upon her colonists in America. The merchants of Boston met in council and determined to encourage home manufactures, especially those of glass and paper.1

Notwithstanding the adverse policy of the English government, several industries were already established in the town, and these were fostered by the prevailing state of public opinion now actively aroused in favor of such industries as should render Massachusetts independent of parliament¬ ary restrictions and the arbitrary duties laid upon the necessary articles of consumption. It had long since been discovered that we could readily and cheaply produce some of these articles of a quality in no respect inferior to those sent us from abroad. Prominent among these, and rendered espe¬ cially so by this act of 1767, was paper. The Milton mill, already referred to, had made paper to the amount of £ 200 sterling during the early years of its establishment; 2 and though carried on with varying fortunes, the indus¬ try had never been allowed to decay. The lack of paper stock was the chief difficulty encountered. The people were now admonished to save their rags with care; and in Boston in 1769 the following announcement was made in the News-Letter : "The bell cart will go through the town be¬ fore the end of next month to collect rags for the paper mill at Milton, when all people that will encourage the paper manufactory may dispose of them." Glass had early been made in Massachusetts, but the industry lacked that vitality which encouraged the manufacture of paper.3

The difficulties which existed between England and her colonies were soon to culminate in war. Up to this time the growth of the industries of Boston had in no wise exceeded those of the other Massachusetts towns. It was not as an industrial community, but chiefly as a thriving seaport that the place was known. Among her industries at this time was the manufac¬ ture of pot and pearl ashes, though this had greatly declined owing to the increasing scarcity of wood.4 Rope-making then, and until long afterward, was a leading industry of the town.5 Brewing, established as early as 1637, in the Massachusetts Archives a peti¬ tion of William Frobisher in 1768, setting forth his discovery of a new method of making potash. - Ed.]

was still carried on.1 The distilling of New-England rum gave employment to numbers.2 In 1770 the making of morocco was begun at Charlestown.3

Printing and book-binding of great excellence were executed at several establishments. Out of ninety-two booksellers in the town prior to the Revolution, over thirty had made the binding and making of books a part of their business.4 A type-foundry was established in 1768, not destined, however, to succeed permanently.5 Ship-building to some extent formed one of the industries of the town, and the making of hats was carried on to a limited extent. Many excellent carpenters and masons were in the place, and blacksmiths and other representatives of the common trades were residing there. During the war the foundation -of the butchering in¬ dustry at Brighton was laid by the establishment of a cattle fair.6

One of the leading measures of the Continental Congress of 1774 was the agreement looking to non-importation and non-exportation. It was now resolved actively to promote the manufactures of the country, espe¬ cially those of woollen fabrics. One of the first aims of the colonists was to establish their entire independence of the productive industries of England by the immediate establishment and maintenance of such industries here.7 The non-importation resolves and the war itself, by throwing the colonists upon their own resources, were to lay the foundation of American manu¬ factures. During the war, while some industries failed owing to the scarcity and high price of labor, others - and especially those whose pro¬ ducts were required by the necessities of the war - -made great progress, while the household industries were uniformly extended and enlarged.

1780-1790. The general condition, therefore, of the industries of Boston at the beginning of the period of one hundred years just closed, was that of apparent prosperity. The war was still in progress ; its results not foreseen except in the faith of the patriots who carried it on. The influence of this want of certainty induced a feverish state in all business circles, and pre¬ vented that solidity in industrial affairs which at a later period characterized the enterprises of Boston merchants and manufacturers. At this period the products of manufacture in the territory now constituting Boston, from the best estimates we have been able to make, must have amounted to between three and four million dollars per annum.

After the peace the protection afforded by the war having ceased, a reaction took place. Many undertakings were of an ephemeral nature, and the close of the war put an end to their existence. The heavy debt incurred by the colonies, the lack of a definite and sound financial system, and the flooding of our markets with immense importations of English goods, - all rendered the outlook extremely discouraging for American manufacturers. An era of hard times ensued ; and one of the chief questions which the citizens of the young Republic were called upon to face was the industrial problem.1 How to maintain our industries already established, and to extend them so as thoroughly to secure that independence of England which, though sanctioned by treaty, was yet seen to be only partially accomplished, - this was one of the absorbing questions of the time. The decay of business - general throughout the country - was exceedingly distressing to the industrious mechanics of Boston ; 2 and the Boston Gazette but voiced the general senti¬ ment of the day when it said, early in 1788 : 3 -

" Until we manufacture more it is absurd to celebrate the Fourth of July as the birth-day of our independence. We are still a dependent people ; and what is worse, after the blood and treasure we have expended, we are actually taxed by Great Britain. Our imports help to fill her revenue and to pay the interest of a debt contracted in an attempt to enslave us."

Arguments such as this began to have their effect. Slowly but surely the industries of the country revived, and those of Boston were not behind. Prior to this, even as early as 1784, the manufacturers of Boston petitioned the General Court for legislation protecting their products. Under the Articles of Confederation which governed Congress prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1789, the States in their individual capacity regulated commerce ; or rather the power to do this was in them alone. The Articles did not confer such power upon Congress, a defect which was remedied by the new Constitution ; but before that, each State made such regulations as its own interests seemed to require, without regard to the influence of its action upon its neighbors. " The States through whose ports the nat¬ ural or artificial channels of trade principally passed, were able to exact a revenue from those which were less favorably situated for commercial pur¬ poses." It was on account of the difficulties and irritations growing out of these commercial regulations that a convention of commissioners from various States was held at Annapolis in September, 1786, which convention recommended the one that framed the present Constitution.4 The agitation which secured these results was set in motion by appeals from the manu¬ facturers from Boston and vicinity to manufacturers and merchants in the different States.

Governor Bowdoin had on several occasions insisted upon the necessity of a general union of the colonies , with the power of regulating trade. In 1785, in his first address to the General Court, Governor Bowdoin called attention to the extravagant importation and use of foreign goods, and urged legislation which should encourage our own manufactures. The necessity of regulating the trade of the United States, with a view to coun¬ teracting the restrictive policy of Great Britain, and of protecting the in¬ dustry and labor of our own people, was urged by him on every occasion.1 It is not too much to say that to Governor Bowdoin and the manufacturers of Boston belongs the credit of being the first to take into consideration the expediency of calling a convention of delegates from all the States, for the purpose of deliberating upon the state of trade and manufactures; this convention grew out of the industrial interests of Boston, and out of this convention grew the one which framed the new Constitution.

In consequence of the petitions to the General Court, within a year or two of the close of the war various laws were passed imposing a tax upon certain imported articles of manufacture; these laws were consolidated and amended by extending the list, by an act passed July 2, 1785, by which an impost duty was laid upon most of the articles manufactured in Boston and vicinity.2

In 1788, manufacturing having revived but slightly, the patriotism of the people was put to new tests. The new Constitution had been submitted to the States, and it contained ample provisions for the regulation of commerce by Congress. At this time the manufacturers of Boston issued the following circular,3 which so clearly illustrates the spirit of the times relative to the industries of the country and of the influence of Boston, that it is given in full : -

We, being appointed by the association of tradesmen and manufacturers of the town of Boston to write to our brethren throughout the several States, do now address you on the very important and interesting subject of our own manufactures.

The late system of commerce, pursued since the peace, of importing such articles as can be manufactured among ourselves, tends to discourage the whole body of trades¬ men and manufacturers of these States, who depend, for the support of themselves and families, on their various occupations ; and this practice, unless speedily checked by the prudent exertions of those who are more particularly interested, must eventually prove ruinous to every mechanical branch in America.

Wrought pewter ; leather ; books ; nails ; boots and shoes; plated ware; soap; candles; glue; carriages, parts of; harnesses, web for; whips; canes ; carriage trimmings ; copper plate furni¬ ture ; umbrellas; muffs; tippets; combs; beer; ale; porter; clothing (excepting leather); fur¬ niture ; woollen cloth ; linen cloth ; stockings ; anchors ; carpenters' tools ; knives; bit for boring of pumps; carriage hoops and tire; mill saws ; scale beams ; steel-yards ; spades and shovels ; hoes ; wrought-iron hand-irons ; cast-iron ware ; shovel and tongs (pair); crows; spikes; tackle; hooks; thimbles; scrapers; marling-spikes ; pumps and whaling gear ; wrought copper (not inc. sheet c) ; worms for stills ; hats (ex. beaver, beaveret, castor); loaf-sugar (reduced afterward); cordage ; cables ; yarns ; wrought gold and silver ; cotton cards ; buckskin breeches ; leather breeches; leather gloves; wash leather; painters' colors (in oil) ; playing cards ; tobacco (manufac¬ tured) ; paper-hangings; clocks; house-jacks; spirits ; wines ; watches, gold and silver ; jew¬ elry and paste work ; gauzes ; lawns ; cambrics ; muslins ; silks ; hose ; mitts ; gloves ; handker¬ chiefs ; velvet; flowers; feathers; shawls; rib¬ bons ; sarcenet ; wigs and hair work ; tin ware ; starch ; hair powder ; toys ; marble and china tile ; linseed oil.

Impressed with these sentiments, and finding the evil daily increasing, the trades¬ men and manufacturers of the town of Boston, awaked by a sense of the danger which threatened them, assembled to deliberate on measures to relieve themselves from the destructive tendency of such importations.

An association was accordingly formed, consisting of a representation from each branch ; and in this body the whole manufacturing interest of this town becomes an object of general attention.

The first measure adopted by this association was to pass resolves respecting the importation of certain articles from Europe by our own merchants and numbers of British agents residing among us ; but knowing that nothing could be effected to any radical purpose unless we had the authority of the laws, we petitioned the Legislature of this State, praying that duties might be laid on the several articles enumerated in our petition. In consequence of which application, our Legislature complied in a great measure with our request, by enacting laws for the encouragement of industry and for promoting our own manufactures.

However, as we are sensible that our present situation requires an extensive co¬ operation to complete the purposes we wish, we take this method to bring forward a confederated exertion ; and doubt not, from a union of sentiment, the most perma¬ nent benefits may arise.

We therefore apply to you, Gentlemen, to lend us your assistance ; and, like a band of brothers whose interests are connected, we beg you to join in such measures to advance the general good as your prudence shall suggest, and your wisdom dictate.

We would, with submission, recommend an association of your tradesmen and manufacturers, formed upon the most extensive basis and supported upon the most liberal principles : we may then hope the manufactures of this country will flourish, when each man becomes interested not only in his own branch, but in those of his brethren. Encouraged by such extensive patronage, each individual will be animated to pursue his business with alacrity, knowing that he acts in concert with those on whose friendship he can with confidence rely.

An association being established in your State, we shall be happy to correspond with ; and we flatter ourselves from this social intercourse a general harmony will pre¬ vail throughout the whole manufacturing interest of this country.

As we hope to experience the good effects of the late acts of our General Court, we should recommend a petition for a similar purpose to your Legislature ; and from the known disposition of your State to promote the welfare of America, we doubt not some plan will be devised by your general assembly to prevent the importation of such spe¬ cies of articles as are commonly manufactured in America.

We need not urge the necessity of some measures being immediately taken by the whole confederacy. The embarrassment of our navigation, the large debts con¬ tracted in Britain, and the remittances of our currency, - all serve to put every real friend to his country upon serious attention ; and if any mode can be adopted to remedy these evils, we are convinced no American will be backward in the cause, but will join heart and hand to promote the desirable purposes.

The means we propose, we conceive are calculated to put each State upon delibe¬ rating on a subject highly important to the manufacturing interest ; and we cannot but hope that some lasting benefits will accrue from the united voice of the tradesmen and manufacturers of America.

so connected in their national interests, that if a plan could be adopted throughout the confederation for the exchange of the produce and manufactures of each State, we conceive it would serve to cement a general union, and prove a means to promote the interest of the whole.

Ihe Northern States might furnish many articles of manufactures which are now im¬ ported from Europe ; and in return might receive those supplies peculiar to the growth and climate of the Southern.

An association formed throughout the States upon so liberal a plan, would establish many extensive branches of manufacture ; and if prosecuted with spirit, would put this country above the humiliating state of lavishing her stores of wealth to promote the manufactures of Europe.

Such appeals had their effect, and when the first Congress under the New Constitution assembled in 1789, it turned its immediate attention to the pro¬ tection of manufactures. The second act passed by this first Congress was. " For laying a duty on goods, wares, and merchandises imported into the United States." It is also worthy of notice that this act, which was passed July 4, 1789, contained a preamble as follows: ''Whereas, it is necessary for the support of Government, for the discharge of the debts of the United States, and the encouragement and protection of manufactures , that duties be laid on goods, wares, and merchandises imported ; Be it enacted," etc.

Whatever may be our opinions to-day regarding protection and free-trade, the wisdom of the actions of the representative manufacturers of Boston, of our General Court, and of Congress, at a time when general industrial depression - and, worse, general industrial decline - prevailed, cannot be questioned.

In spite of the most depressing influences, the decade from 1780 to 1790 was not barren of industrial enterprises and undertakings which gave life and impetus to affairs in some degree, and aided the people in sustaining business interests till a better time. An important enterprise undertaken in 1785 was the building of Charles River Bridge, of which accounts will be found in other chapters. That it could now be successfully carried out indicates the state of the mechanic arts, as well as the spirit and resources of the town. In 1787 the manufacture of glass was revived at Boston, by the formation of a company for the purpose; especial privileges being granted it by the Legislature in accordance with the prevailing public senti- ment. Chief among these privileges was the exclusive right of manufac¬ ture for fifteen years. Active operations were however delayed until 1792. The manufacture of rope and cordage, of which we shall speak more fully hereafter, was still an important one, and in the hederal procession of 1788 the men employed in this industry outnumbered any other class of mechan¬ ics. In 1787, also, a factory for the production of paper-hangings existed in Boston. These were now coming into extensive use, and the great cost of imported hangings led to the establishment of several American facto¬ ries, of which the above was one.1

About the year 1789 the General Court encouraged the manufacture of cotton duck, by offering a bounty in behalf of this industry. A company was incorporated and was soon in successful operation in Boston. Within three years it was able to produce two thousand yards per week, and for several years thereafter the annual product was from eighty thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand yards, valued at from $26,000 to $39,000. It was found possible to compete successfully with the foreign manufacturers of sail-cloth. Great perfection of product was attained, and the factory affords an early instance of a workmen's union for mutual improvement and support. By its by-laws quarrels, profanity, and careless workmanship were punished.2 The following from the diary of General Washington, who in 1789 visited Boston and was shown this factory as one of the noteworthy institutions of the town, is worth reproducing, especially as it gives from the pen of an eye-witness a description of the methods of manufacture: -

" They have twenty-eight looms at work, and fourteen girls spinning with both hands (the flax being fastened to the waist). Children (girls) turn the wheels for them, and with this assistance each spinner can turn out fourteen pounds of thread per day, when they stick to it ; but as they are paid by the piece, or the work they do, there is no other restraint upon them but to come at eight o'clock in the morning and return at six in the evening. They are the daughters of decayed families ; none others are admitted." 8

The necessity of obtaining improved machinery for use in the manufac¬ ture of woollens led to measures on the part of the legislatures of several States in favor of the makers of this sort of machinery. By the year 1789 there were three quite extensive manufactories of cotton and wool-cards in the town, making sixty-three thousand pairs of cards per year, and underselling those of foreign manufacture. Concerning one of these, General Washing¬ ton says : " I went to a card manufactory where I was informed there were about nine hundred hands. . . . All kinds of cards were made; and there are machines for executing every part of the work in a new and expeditious manner, especially in cutting and bending the teeth, which is done at one stroke." 4 Instead of the single Milton paper mill, there were now six on the

Neponset, near the head of the tide in Dorchester. Most mills of the sort had two vats and employed about twenty hands, half of whom were boys and girls.1

1790-1800. A glance at a map of the town at this time will discover a creek dividing the central part of Boston, and admitting the tide-water into a mill-pond formed by a cove extending up from the north to the line of the Green Street of to-day, and separated from the sea by a causeway, and con¬ necting West Boston with the north part of the town. At the entrance to this causeway were three mills devoted respectively to the manufacture of meal, lumber, and chocolate.2 The latter mill in 1794 could turn out twenty-five hundred pounds of chocolate daily. In Lynn Street, in this year, brass can¬ non, bells, and iron ware were made at the foundry of Colonel Revere. Near by, Mr. Fenton had established a new industry, and was making all kinds of earthen vessels similar to the imported Liverpool ware. Another newly estab¬ lished industry was that of calico printing, plain India cottons being employed. This industry was considered especially worthy of encouragement, it being found possible to make prints at a profit, calico then being in great favor as an article of female attire; large importations were made from England. The glass company, whose incorporation we have previously noticed, was now in full operation in a large new factory at the foot of Essex Street. The manufacture of combs in the State had greatly diminished their im¬ portation. This industry, having its chief seat at Leominster and West Newbury, was represented in the town, - Graham of Charter Street being the leading maker. Clocks and mathematical instruments were also made to some extent. The manufacture of soap and candles now gave employment to numbers. Large quantities of spermaceti candles were exported, there being four manufactories of this particular kind. Great improvements had been made in the quality of the product, by the use of new machinery. There were thirty distilleries in the town, and prior to the disturbances in the French West Indies the gross product is said to have been upwards of $16,000 annually on each. The disturbances referred to, and the existing excise law, had produced a decline in the business, so that in 1794 only eighteen were operated, and these at a diminished production.

Seven sugar refineries existed, having a productive capacity of one hun¬ dred thousand pounds each, annually ; but the new tariff on sugar, like the tax on rum, was injurious to this industry, causing diminished production in 1794. But if the making of rum and sugar had declined on account of raw mate¬ rials imported and the difficulties with France, the cordage and card man¬ ufacturers found their business steadily increasing. The latter industry now gave employment to twelve hundred persons, of whom the larger number were women and children, and was one of the largest and most important

2 Massachusetts Historical Collection, iii. [See Street. Its formation at a very early day has the map at the beginning of Volume I. This been explained in Vol. I. p. 553. - Ed.]

enterprises of the town. A wind-mill was utilized for cutting the card¬ board at the principal factory. We have already spoken of the improved machinery employed. One man working at the machine for cutting and bending the wire and perforating the leather employed in the card, could prepare the wire for twenty dozen pairs of cards in twelve hours.1 This was thought a great achievement; but a few years later, - in 1797, - when over two thousand persons were engaged in this industry, Amos Whittemore, an ingenious mechanic of the town, was still further to perfect the machinery employed, by reducing the various operations to a series of per¬ fect automatic movements, thus revolutionizing the business both here and abroad.2

There were in 1793 fourteen rope-walks in operation, and this industry was thriving. The manufacture of twine and lines was fostered by a bounty from the General Court; over fifty men were employed in this branch alone. A disastrous fire this year destroyed one half the rope-walks ; six being at once rebuilt, to be again burned in 1806.3 Fine beaver hats were now made, rivalling those of foreign manufacture. Fish-hooks were manu¬ factured, the wire for these and for the card-makers being made at Dedham.4 Besides the industries we have enumerated, the building trades were likewise flourishing.

Outside the town limits, but in its immediate vicinity, were manufactories of axes, hoes, shovels, scythes, nails, tow cloth, cotton and linen sheeting, thread, checks, bed-ticks, striped flannels, thread, cloth, and worsted hose, gloves and mitts, diapers, and cotton and woollen coverlets ; and most of these were brought to the town for sale. Lynn was now producing one hundred and seventy thousand pairs of shoes annually. Powder was made at Andover and Stoughton.5 In 1796 the making of morocco, which had declined during the war, was revived at Charlestown.6

During the last decade of the century, the town was growing in size and importance. Many important public and private improvements were car¬ ried out. The building industry was thriving. Boston was now the chief depot of supply of brick, - large quantities being made in the immediate vicinity, the town of Medford alone producing four millions annually. Labor was still scarce and now in demand, wages being high. The apprentice system was then in vogue, and, under the pressure of competition, apprenti¬ ces were frequently induced to leave their masters in violation of the terms of their indentures, by promises of increased pay or lighter service.7

7 To protect their interests in this respect, an association of the mechanics of Boston was formed in 1795; Colonel Paul Revere being chosen president, and Edward Tuckerman, vicepresident. The society prospered greatly, and with enlarged aims soon took the name of the Association of Mechanics of the Commonwealth, and still later, in 1S06 (see various sources; among others, Bishop, ii. 62), became the Massachu¬ setts Charitable Mechanics' Association, still in flourishing condition, after an active service of more than eighty years devoted to the best in¬ terests of mechanics and the improvement of the industrial arts.

Prior to the Revolution, Boston, as we have noted, carried on a large ship-building business, there being upwards of twenty-seven dock-yards in the town at one time ; 1 a large number of mechanics being employed in the various branches. One yard alone had been known to launch twelve ships during one year, and in all the docks at one time at least sixty vessels were on the stocks.2 The embarrassments of the war caused this large industry to decline, so that during the last decade of the last century few vessels were built in Boston, though considerable numbers were built within the Commonwealth. The establishment of the Navy Yard3 at Charlestown, in 1 7 98, gave quite an impetus to business generally, especially to the building trades. It aided in bringing about a state of affairs industrially, at the close of the century, which was exceedingly encouraging, especially when all the difficulties which beset manufacturing enterprises of all kinds after the war are taken into consideration.

1 800-1 8 10. Messrs. Dix and Brinley had previous to 1800 established chemical works at South Boston,4 and these works were now in operation. The copper works of the Messrs. Revere are referred to by various wri¬ ters as of Boston; Bishop saying that "in 1802 the only manufactory of sheet copper in the country was that of the Messrs. Revere at Boston." The facts are, that while this firm made Boston the headquarters of its business, the manufactory was at Canton, where soon after the war $25,000 had been invested in plant by Colonel Revere's sons.

In 1804 a company which had been incorporated in 1789 completed the Middlesex Canal, which became of great importance in the development of the cotton industry, and was mainly in the interest of the industries carried -on by Boston capital.5 In 1805 a man named White began the building of carriages at Dorchester. It is claimed for him that he built the first carriage made in the United States. This may be true so far as the special style of carriages made by him is concerned ; but it is hardly true as to carriages in general, for Philadelphia had an establishment for the manufacture of coaches of all kinds previous to 1790, and New York as early as 1768. The first recorded patent granted by the United States for planing machines was issued June 1, 1805, to John Bennock of Boston. Mr. Jesse Reed, who had made several inventions in the manufacture of nails, took an important patent in 1807 for a machine for cutting and heading nails by one operation. Twenty of these machines were soon afterward put in operation at Malden. The Messrs. Revere sent a petition to Congress in 1808, praying for a duty of 17-2 per cent on copper in sheets, and for the free importation of old copper; the reason of the prayer being, as alleged by the firm, their ability to supply the whole United States with sheet copper: they did not wish to have foreign makers take a part of the trade. Their prayer was not granted, no duty being placed upon copper plates till 1842. The twine manufac¬ turers of Boston, the same year, 1808, petitioned for a protective duty. They produced, with the makers in Charlestown, Salem, Beverly, and Ply¬ mouth, forty-six thousand dozen hemp-lines and twenty-seven thousand five hundred pounds of flax twine per annum. In 1812 the duty was in¬ creased. Important patents were granted in 1808 to Elisha Callender of Boston for lightning-rods, being the first patent in the United States for that article; and in 1810, to Phineas Dow for a leather-splitting machine, one of the most important inventions used in the preparation of leather for the manufacture of various articles besides boots and shoes. At this time the soap and candle factories of Roxbury employed a capital of $100,000, producing three hundred and seventy thousand pounds of candles, three hundred and eighty thousand pounds of brown soap, and fifty thousand pounds of Windsor and fancy soaps per annum. The manufacture of tin, japanned and plated ware, was also in successful operation.

The first decade of the new century was one eventful, indeed, in the industrial history of the country as well as of Boston. The bad effects of the embargo of 1807-8 were in some degree counterbalanced by the stimulation it gave to manufactures. The latter were benefited at the expense of commerce, and much of the capital and effort engaged in commerce were directed to industrial channels. New demands for labor sprang up by the establishment of various manufactures for the supply of domestic wants.1 The effect of the embargo is well illustrated by the fact that prior to it there were in the United States but fifteen cotton mills, with eight thousand spindles ; while at the end of 1 809 the number built was eightyseven, and the number in operation was sixty-two, with thirty-one thousand spindles.2 Many more mills were in process of erection everywhere, and the prospect of industrial prosperity stimulated speculation, the usual ac¬ companiment of artificial causes. The war of 1812, of course, but added to these causes; and the first half of the second decade of this century saw many establishments rise in Boston, only to go down during the second half. Some lived, to be sure ; but peace brought the old experience which the manufacturers of the years at the close of the Revolution had passed through in their time.

1810-1820. In 1810 the third census of the United States was taken. Inquiries relative to manufactures were now by law included, for the first time, in the schedules for any census. The result was of no particular value, yet it indicated to some extent what was being done. The account for Boston shows a total product for the branches reported of $2,478,391, while it is safe to estimate the product of manufactures of Boston at this period to be not far from $9,000,000: this is a low estimate. The principal products returned at this census were : fur hats, $56,000 ; clocks and watches, $2 1 ,000 ; gold and silver work, $95,000; copper and brass goods, $21,000; buttons,

The interruption of our commerce with the Baltic enhanced the price, and gave great impulse to the cultivation and manufacture, of hemp used for bale-rope, bagging, and especially for rigging and cordage for the navy. It was the opinion of many citizens that, by reason of Government patron¬ age, commerce and the fisheries had been unduly extended to the neglect of internal industries. It was considered wise for the Government to endeavor to create, by judicious patronage, a domestic market for the labor and capital which, should war be avoided, would naturally seek employment. To this end memorials were presented to Congress ; and, among others, petitions for further protection from the morocco manufacturers at Charles¬ town, where at this time (181 [) one hundred and fifty thousand skins were annually manufactured, out of eight hundred thousand in the United States. Measures were also taken to aid the woollen industry, as the undeveloped state of that manufacture was seen to be a serious evil, now that the supply of woollens from abroad was greatly diminished by the restrictive measures of the Government.

Differences in the exchange on England, growing out of the Non-im¬ portation Act, brought a large amount of specie to the United States, and this was acting as a stimulant to manufacturing. During the following year, - 1812, - war was declared against Great Britain; and, to secure the funds necessary to sustain the war, duties were doubled on imports ; and this, to¬ gether with the interference with commerce caused by the restrictive meas¬ ures growing out of the war, resulted in an immediate and considerable advance in the price of all necessaries. This advance, and the steady demand for all products of industry required by the war, caused a rapid extension of certain industries, especially those of woollen and cotton ; and manufacturing in general during the continuance of hostilities was exceed¬ ingly prosperous. Many new industries arose, among others the manufac¬ ture of emery, pins, and flint-glass. Wood engraving was introduced in Boston, in 181 1, by Nathaniel Dearborn.2 A communication to the Secretary of the Treasury states, as an impressive fact, that manufacturing in America outran agriculture in most instances.3

Invention was also stimulated in the line of cotton and woollen machin¬ ery. In 1813 was erected the mill of the Boston Manufacturing Company,

1 The experiment of taking industrial statistics have been used in all succeeding decennial was repeated in 1820 without success ; but no censuses.

other attempt was made till 1837, when the State 2 Dearborn's Boston Notions. [Benj. Dearinstituted inquiries, the results of which will be born in 1814 introduced a new process of piinting given in the proper place. In 1840 schedules in colors. See a note in Mr. Stanwood s chaprelating to products of manufactures were in- ter. - Ed.]

corporated in the Federal census system ; and 3 Digest of Census , - Coxe to Secretary of such schedules, improved from time to time, Treasury.

at Waltham. This, although outside the limits of Boston, deserves to be included in an account of her industries, inasmuch as it was entirely due to Boston capital and the ability of Boston mechanics. This mill marks the first introduction of the power-loom in this country. The loom used in this mill was largely the invention of Mr. Francis C. Lowell, of Boston, and its invention and construction were nearly contemporaneous with the suc¬ cessful introduction of the power-loom in England. Mr. Lowell's loom was put in operation at Waltham in 1814. He was the first in any country to apply all the processes of the manufacture of textiles - from the raw material to the finished piece - in one factory, as the scientific embodiment of all such processes in complete and harmonious operation. This enter¬ prise at Waltham was the precursor of the cotton industry at Lowell, within the present territory of which city the first cotton cloth had just been made, and whither the promoters of the Waltham mill extended their operations in 1822.

During the period of the war, and up to Feb. 10, 1815, manufactures throughout the country continued to progress with unprecedented activity. The protection afforded by the war was now withdrawn. After the declara¬ tion of peace, large importations of foreign goods threatened the immediate destruction of our home industries, many of which had not yet become suf¬ ficiently strong to compete successfully with those abroad. It was seen that immediate changes must be made in the tariff, and protection afforded to the incipient industries of the country. But before the remedy could be applied many enterprises totally failed. Dec. 5, 1815, Madison, in his annual mes¬ sage, urged protective legislation. Petitions were poured upon Congress from manufacturers throughout the country. Financial disturbances aggra¬ vated the evils from which the industries were suffering. Societies for the encouragement of manufactures were everywhere formed. The tariff ques¬ tion continued to be agitated until the passage of the protective tariff act of May, 1824, and the still more important act of 1828.

In the year 181 1 the first successful attempt in this portion of the country to manufacture flint-glass was made by one Thomas Cains, who has been called the father of the business in the Atlantic States. Cains began his operations at a small six-pot furnace, erected at South Boston.1 Perkins Nichols, of Boston, was granted a patent this year on an improved auger; 2 Benjamin Bell, upon sulphuric acid;2 and Cyrus Alger, on an improved method of casting rollers for rolling iron.2

The gentleman last named had previously (in 1809) begun the foundry business in South Boston, being associated with General Winslow. In five years he closed his connection with Winslow, and began business on his own account on Fourth Street. The enterprises with which he was after¬ ward connected were intimately associated with the growth of South Boston, and rank among the most important of Boston's industries. Mr. Alger was a man of unusual capacity and foresight, being thoroughly acquainted with his business, in which he made great improvements. Besides the inventions we have mentioned, he devised a method of purifying cast-iron, thereby greatly increasing its strength. He also made an important improvement in the reverberatory furnaces for melting iron. He had great skill in the manufacture of cannon, both iron and bronze. This superior skill and in¬ ventive ability enabled him to build up rapidly a successful and lucrative business. He was employed by the Government in the manufacture of cannon and cannon-balls during the war of 1812. The largest gun ever cast in America prior to i860 was made at his foundry. His business was considerably extended by the founding, at a period somewhat later than that we are now considering (in 1827), of the Alger Iron Works, one of the leading manufactories of South Boston. Mr. Alger was the first man in South Boston to introduce the ten-hour system; and it was his custom to make strictly cash payments to his workmen. His pay-roll for many years was upwards of $2,000 per week.1

1820-1830. Soon after 1820 a lead-paint factory was established at Boston.3 The same year the manufacture of chain cables was begun. The factory used for the latter was for thirty years the only successful one in the country. It was finally closed on account of English competition. The business was resumed in 1856.4 In 1822 Jonas Chickering, a Boston me¬ chanic, began experimenting on pianos. His first instrument was offered for sale in 1823. 5 Six years later seven hundred and seventeen were made in Boston in one year. Mr. Chickering was not only the founder of the large and prosperous business still identified with his name, but he may be considered the originator of the piano industry, as such, in the United States; although a Mr. Osborn had made pianos on a small scale in Boston prior to Chickering. Mr. Chickering came to Boston in 1818, and entered Mr. Osborn's employ in 1819.6

In 1822 the well-known ship-yard of Noah Brooks was established at South Boston. Prior to this, ship-building had been carried on in this part of the city to a limited extent, Lot Wheelwright being the pioneer in 1812. Mr. Brooks carried on an extensive business for many years.7 By 1824 the manufacture of flannel in Eastern Massachusetts had largely increased, fifteen thousand pieces of forty-six yards each being now made annually in the vicinity of Boston.8 In 1827 William S. Pendleton founded the first lithographic establishment in the United States at Boston. It was immedi¬ ately successful. The previous year - 1826 - the New England Society for the Promotion of Manufactures and the Mechanic Arts was established.

This society held public exhibitions of industrial products, the use of Faneuil Hall being granted it without charge for this purpose. It also held semi¬ annual sales, the first occurring Sept. 12, 1826. Two million dollars were realized from the sales of the first five years. Premiums were awarded at its exhibitions, and the society exercised a beneficial influence upon the progress of the mechanic arts.1 In 1827 was established the Boston Me¬ chanics' Institute, for the promotion of science and the useful arts by lec¬ tures and other means.2

Among the new industries established during this decade was that of watch-crystals, of which a manufactory existed in 1829.3 The same period witnessed the extension of the factory system, and the incorporation of manufacturing companies;4 several of the latter took charters after 1814-15, going into operation between 1820 and 1830. Several mills were erected during this decade at Lowell, - in fact, Lowell found its real origin in this period. In all these undertakings at Lowell, - and indeed many of those whose existence dates from this decade, - Boston furnished the pioneers.

1830-1840. In 1830 Mr. Charles Griffiths began the manufacture of saws at Boston, soon after associating with himself Mr. William Welch. Prior to this there were but two or three saw manufactories in the country, nearly all our saws being imported. Messrs. Welch and Griffiths turned their attention to the manufacture of circular saws, and, in the face of many obstacles, succeeded in establishing a national reputation for their goods, although their failure had been predicted. From time to time the firm made many improvements in methods of manufacture, especially in the mode of grinding both surfaces of a saw at once.

Out of twenty-one glass furnaces existing in the United States in 1831, for the manufacture of flint-glass, six were in Boston and its immediate vicinity. The total annual product of the two largest was valued at $400,000, mostly cut glass. Only one factory for making black-glass bottles existed in the country, and that was near Boston, having a capital of $50,000, and afford¬ ing employment to sixty-five men and boys. The New England Crown Glass Company, near Boston, made crown window-glass to the value of $100,000 annually, its capital being $450, ooo.5

Soon after 1830 the manufacture of india-rubber began to receive atten¬ tion. In 1833 the Roxbury Rubber Company was incorporated, with a capital of $300,000, followed the next year by the incorporation of the South Boston, the Suffolk, and other companies for the same purpose.6 About this time, also, upward of three hundred women were employed in Boston in the manufacture of an article known as Tuscan braid, for bonnets. This braid was composed of silk warp, with Tuscan straw or whalebone filling.7

The establishment of the East Boston Company in 1831 was to give an un¬ wonted impulse to the industries of the city. The East Boston Sugar Re¬ finery was the first manufacturing establishment in the Island ward. This company was incorporated March 25, 1834; and its first sugar-house was erected the same year, being afterward much enlarged and improved. By its charter the company was empowered to manufacture and refine sugar, and to buy and sell it and all articles necessary in its manufacture and re¬ fining. Its capital was fixed at $250,000. Two years after incorporation the company employed eighty workmen, its normal production being about twenty-five thousand boxes of sugar annually. English influence was ex¬ erted to discourage the stockholders by casting discredit upon the mode of manufacture proposed by Mr. John Brown, one of the chief promoters ot the enterprise, who had visited England to inquire into the method of sugar refining in use there. In spite of this, however, the company suc¬ ceeded in establishing itself, and prospered until the period of financial dis¬ tress following the year 1837, when, owing to various causes, it was obliged to suspend payment. It soon after was able to resume, and has since had a successful career.

The East Boston Timber Company, incorporated in 1834, was formed " for the purpose of sawing and preparing plank, boards, staves, joists, scantling, and all and every other articles manufactured from wood." The following year the company erected a wharf, warehouse, and timber-dock, the latter being two hundred feet square. This was the depot for large quantities of lumber of the best quality, and the foundation of such an en¬ terprise was exceedingly beneficial to the ship-building industry, by afford¬ ing a plentiful supply of material. The company failed in 1840, owing to financial disasters of the previous two years. Ship-building has always been an important industry in East Boston. Every sort of vessel has been built there ; and other industries necessary to the work have grown up along its water front. The first vessel was launched Aug. 9, 1834, and the second Jan. 28, 1835. These were ferry-boats, to be used between East Boston and the city proper. The first square-rigged ship was the " Niagara," of four hundred and sixty tons, launched Sept. 24, 1835. After 1839 the business constantly increased, and we shall again allude to it in connection with the establishment of some of the important yards.2

In 1835 George C. Thacher, Thomas Thacher, and William G. Billings founded the Fulton Iron Foundry at South Boston, and the next year the firm was merged in a corporation established by act of the Legislature. Mr. George C. Thacher was previously connected with Mr. Cyrus Alger, of whom mention has been made, the two gentlemen being pioneers in this industry in the United States. The Fulton foundry enterprise was at once successful, and large additions were made from time to time in the original works until the establishment extended over several acres.1 2 In 1836 the Adams Printing-Press Works began business at South Boston." The wellknown Adams press, patented by Mr. Isaac Adams, of Boston, is still among the leading presses for book-printing. The Messrs. Adams manufactured not only presses, but engines, boilers, and general machinery. The follow¬ ing year another important industry was established in this part of the city, - Coney's Iron Foundry, devoted to the manufacture of iron steamships and machinery. Business was suspended at this establishment in 1850. 3

In 1839 the Boyden Malleable Iron and Steel Company of East Boston closed its works. This concern began business in 1835, making all kinds of iron and steel ware; its product when in full operation being about fifteen tons of malleable iron castings per week. At such times about three hun¬ dred workmen were employed. Speculative management caused the sus¬ pension of the works.4

In 1837 the State undertook its first industrial census. The law under which it was taken was very incomplete; many important industries being omitted from the schedules. This census exhibited Boston proper as pro¬ ducing goods to the amount of $10,063,231, and the cities and towns con¬ stituting the Boston of to-day over twelve and a quarter millions ; probably twenty-two million or twenty-five million dollars would more correctly rep¬ resent the products in 1837 of all that makes Boston in 1880.5

1840-1850. Bolles says:6 "After the tariff of 1842, which gave those who chose to take up bell-founding the protection of a duty of thirty-five per cent, a number of small factories were started, some of which after¬ ward attained celebrity." Among the latter he mentions one at Boston. Further on he says: "The largest bell ever made in this .country was cast at Boston for the City Hall at New York, its weight being twenty-three thousand pounds." In 1843 the Sturtevant Linseed Oil Works were estab¬ lished at East Boston.7 The old-fashioned presses were employed, making at first two hundred and afterward three hundred gallons per day. Later (1849) another firm assumed control, and increased the production to twentytwo hundred gallons daily. Afterward the works were still further extended.

6 The industries in which half a million dollars5 worth, or over, were annually produced, so far as reported, were ship-building, book-pub¬ lishing, manufacture of clothing, copper and brass works, and sugar refineries ; and there were probably some others not reported. The pro¬ duction of pianos had grown to ten hundred and thirty-three, valued at about $300,000 ; the leather carried $228,000 ; hats made $194,673 ; iron cast¬ whips, $177,000 ; machinery, $326,000; lookingglasses, $147,500 ; stereotype work, $157,000. It is much to be regretted that the statistics of industries have not, till recently, been as com¬ plete as those of population, - even delusive as the latter have been at times. The stagnation of trade and manufactures, on account of the finan¬ cial distress prevailing at the time of this first industrial census on the part of the State, had much to do with the meagre returns. The be¬ ginning, however, was made, and each succeeding State census has shown increased efforts to secure full information.

In 1843 work was begun at the American Flint-Glass Works, South Boston.1 The next year Mr. Uriah A. Boyden, of Boston, invented a turbine water¬ wheel which effected the utilization of seventy-eight per cent of the power of the water, and soon came into extended use. The first one was employed in a cotton factory at Lowell. Mr. Boyden afterward made further improve¬ ments in water-wheels, finally utilizing eighty-two per cent of the power of the water,2 instead of about sixty per cent realized by the old wheels.

The pioneer manufactory of gas, steam, and water-fittings as a separate industry was established in 1842 by Messrs. Walworth and Nason. At the same time Messrs. Joseph Nason & Co. had begun a similar business in New York. These parties were the first to introduce the plan of heating build¬ ings by steam conveyed through small iron pipes.4

In 1846 the Globe Locomotive Works were founded at South Boston by Messrs. Lyman and Souther. The name " Globe " was not adopted until 1849, when Mr. Lyman retired. At first from twenty to seventy-five men were employed; but the business rapidly increased until three hundred em¬ ploye's were on the rolls 5 In 1847 Harrison Loring began the manufacture of stationary and marine engines and other machinery at South Boston. Other prominent. South Boston industries, not previously noted, are the Mount-Washington Glass-Works, the wire-works established by Henry S. Washburn, and manufactories of wagons, soap, ploughs, one or two brassfoundries, the Suffolk Lead Works, and the works of the Bay State Iron Company.6

In 1848 the Boston Locomotive Works were incorporated, Mr. Holmes Hinkley being President and Superintendent. Mr. Hinkley had in 1826 begun business as a machinist, in a small way, upon Boston Neck. He soon after began the construction of stationary engines, in which he met with such success that previous to 1840 he had made a larger number than any other manufacturer in New England. In 1840 he turned his attention to locomotives, constantly enlarging his business until it was merged in the corporation above noted, which was the predecessor of the Hinkley and Williams works of the present day.7

The first regular machine shop in Roxbury was started in 1843 by Mr. J. C. Pratt, who in 1847 was succeeded by the firm of Chubbuck and Campbell. Mr. Chubbuck, of this firm, had previously made improvements in engines, and is well known as the constructor of novel and ingenious machinery. The first tubular boiler made in the vicinity of Boston was constructed by Messrs. Chubbuck and Campbell.8 business by beginning the construction of reed organs on a large scale.1 The sewing-machine invented by Elias Howe, Jr., of Cambridge, in 1846, was very imperfect, and other inventors aided in remedying its defects. Among these was John Batchelder, of Boston, who in 1849 constructed an automatic feeding device. The same year Messrs. Blodgett and Lerow, also of Boston, invented a rotary shuttle for use in making the lock-stitch.2

The second industrial census of the State was taken in 1845. The Fed¬ eral census of 1840 included inquiries as to manufactures, but the results were of no value; the Federal census of 1850 was valuable in this respect. The State census of 1845, while an improvement upon that of 1837, was exceedingly unsatisfactory, both from its many omissions of important in¬ dustries and its methods. The results did not show that much advance had been made in the value of products; in fact, this could hardly be expected, for manufactures had not fully recovered from the effects of the reverses of 1837. The total value of the products of Suffolk County, including all the territory now comprised therein, reported at this second census was about $14,000,000. The United States census of 1850 gave the Suffolk County of that year $32,013,869 worth of manufactured goods, - a sum much too small. Probably the products for the year 1845 amounted to over $35,000,- 000, and for 1850 to nearly $45,000,000.

1850-1860. In 1850 Edward Howard and others, associated under the name of the "Warren Manufacturing Company," began the manufacture of watches at Roxbury. These were the first watches made in America. The enterprise originated in the experiments of Mr. Howard and Mr. A. E. Den¬ nison, who a year or two before had commenced studying the manufacture of watches by machinery. At first only rough skeleton movements were made, the finer parts being imported from Switzerland. The company was afterward merged in the Boston Watch Company, a factory being erected for their purposes at Waltham. The concern became involved in financial difficulties, and the Waltham property passed into other hands, Mr. Howard returning to Roxbury, where he has since been located. The Howard Company now makes everything necessary to complete a watch.3

The discovery of gold in California stimulated the ship-building interest at East Boston. The yard of Paul Curtis was established in 1852 ; Simpson's dry dock in 1853, and the yard of the Messrs. Boole the following year. There then existed seven yards and docks for building and repairing, a floating dock, several extensive spar-making establishments, and nume¬ rous other industries connected with the business. More than five hundred mechanics were employed in the various branches of the industry.4 The iron steamship " Le Voyageur de la Mer," launched Feb. 25, 1857, was the first instance, in this country, of the application of American iron to the con¬ struction of a first-class vessel. Many noted vessels built here testify to the skill of Boston mechanics.1 The manufacture of earthenware and fire-brick was begun at East Boston in 1854 by Mr. Frederick Mear, assisted by Mr. William F. Homer.2

After 1852 the East Boston Sugar Refinery, before alluded to, completed improvements in their machinery and apparatus, thus placing their works on a level with the best refineries in the country. In 1858 the quantity of sugar refined per annum was about twenty-five million pounds. About two hundred men were then employed.3 In 1858 the erection of the works of the Adams Sugar Refinery at South Boston was begun. This refinery - one of the largest in the country - succeeded an old refinery, burned in that year, the property of Mr. Seth Adams, who had embarked in the business in 1849, having previously been connected with his brother in the manufac¬ ture of printing presses and machinery, as before noted.

The leading sewing-machine in 1858 was that invented by Messrs. Grover and Baker, of Boston, and patented by them in 1851. This embodied a new principle, used no shuttle, and made a double loop-stitch, by means of a circular rotary needle.4 In 1855 there were five establishments for the manufacture of sewing-machines; they produced but 3,385 machines that year. The sewing-machine manufacture was inaugurated during this de¬ cade. The sewing-machine manufactured at the beginning of this decade was invented in Boston in 1850 by I. M. Singer. He had a manufactory in Harvard Place, which was soon transferred to New York.

The third State census of industries was taken in 1855, and by this the value of products in Suffolk County (present territory) for that year was $58,301,028. There were at this time twenty pianoforte-manufactories, and 6,122 instruments were made during the year, valued at $1 ,984,700. The product in other lines had increased, and the general business of manufac¬ turing was in prosperous condition ; but the financial disasters of the year 1857 checked the growth of the industries of Boston for a brief period.

1860-1870. This decade, eventful to the country, brought prosperity to the manufactures of Boston, and the effects of the depression of 1857 were quickly overcome ; nor was there any check to this prosperity during the decade, at least none that could in any sense compare with that of 1857. The War of the Rebellion stimulated in an extraordinary and an unhealthy degree all industrial enterprises, but to the popular mind the stimulation meant prosperity. Nevertheless, but few new industries were established during this decade ; among such, however, was the Downer Kerosene Works.

1 The following table, drawn from data con¬ tained in Sumner's History of East Boston, will afford a view of the growth of the industry from 1834 to 1857 :

The means of reference are too easy of access to require at our hands detailed statements after the year i860, in which the eighth United States census was taken. From this the products of Suffolk County have been estimated at $64,000,000, the leading industries being the manufacture of food preparations, camphene, clothing, copper and brass goods and ma¬ terials, furniture, iron castings, rolled iron, iron steamships, leather, liquors (malt and distilled), machinery, lumber, pianofortes and musical instru¬ ments, linseed-oil, kerosene, printing (including books and newspapers), sewing-machines, ships, sugar-refining, upholstering, etc.

The fourth State census, 1865, gave the exhibit at the close of the war, and by this exhibit Suffolk County (present territory) produced $110,000,000 worth of goods.

From 1873 to 1878-79, the industries of Boston, like those of the whole country, suffered severely from financial disturbances, and did not probably progress much in value of products; but during 1878-79 the business of the country began to revive, so that the close of the century beginning with 1780 found Boston's industries in a most thriving condition, and her manu¬ facturers as thoroughly alive to her interests as they were at the beginning of the period assigned us. The Boston of 1780, producing between three and four million dollars' worth of goods, has grown to the Boston of 1880, producing, according to the best estimates, one hundred and fifty million dollars' worth within her own territorial limits, or the limits of Suffolk County; while in fact the manufactures dependent upon Boston capital, if their value could be ascertained, would reach $300,000,000 per annum. This is well illustrated in the boot and shoe business. Boston is credited with the production of boots and shoes to the value of about $2,000,000, when the product derived from her invested capital in this industry is really ten times that amount. No true account of the industries of Boston can be given until the census shall consider the location of capital in relation to the production of goods.

There are in Boston at the present time many establishments whose origin dates well back in the history of the town and city. Among these are two book-binderies established in 1825, one in 1828, one in 1834, three in 1850, and one in 1858 ; of the establishments for printing and the manufacture of blank-books, one was begun in 1799, and one in 1804; for making boots and shoes, one in 1810, one in 1826, and one each in 1839, 1840, 1841, 1845, 1847, and 1848; for making brushes, one in 1803, and one in 1840; for the manufacture of chocolate, one in 1674; copper goods, one in 1818, and one in 1834; carriages, one in 1830; for making elevators, one in 1813 ; saddles,

Our interest in the value of products from decade to decade has been excited by the consideration of all the data essential to the preparation of this brief account of the industries of Boston, and we have made an estimate of such value for each decade since 1780. To do this, all the elements en¬ tering into the growth of the city have been carefully weighed, - the increase of population, the census statements when available, and all the other ele¬ ments in the matter. We have seen the necessity of such estimates so often, that we feel it almost a duty to insert them here, not as infallible, but yet as near the actual truth as we have been able to make them. They are valuable because no such estimates exist, and because made while the study of the industries of Boston is fresh in mind, and with the attention fixed upon the whole sweep of the period.

Table showing Actual and Estimated Value of the Annual Products of the Industries of Suffolk County ( present territory ) for the first Year of each Decade, from 1780 to 1880.

The details of the industries of Boston are fully given in the reports of the State and Federal censuses since 1837; we have, therefore, given less space to the consideration of details since that time than to those prior to the year 1837. A full historical and philosophical account of the industries of Boston would require a volume by itself, although the data from which such account would be drawn are meagre indeed, and exist mostly in fugitive statements of writers who did not pay particular attention to industrial in¬ terests, - one of the chief defects in all history. We have recorded in this sketch all that space would warrant, but it may be we have saved others the research necessary to the construction of this outline.

By Edward Atkinson

IN order that we may fully comprehend the relative importance of the industrial arts in the social system, it would be well if we could give precision to the terms which we must use, lest we should be misled by words which have lost their original meaning, and are now applied, like the word " manufacture," to processes which they do not truly designate.

The application of capital to the construction of the great textile factories, to which the title of "manufactures" is apt to be limited in common thought, imposes somewhat upon the imagination, and may divert our attention from other branches. It has not been in that direction that the most character¬ istic work of Boston has been effected. In its conventional use the term " manufactures " is now applied almost wholly to the goods worked in facto¬ ries under a divided system of labor, rather than to wares made in workshops in which true manufacture or handicraft still exists. This factory system has been almost exclusively the growth of the last century. It only became possible concurrently with the application of steam-power, - the substitu¬ tion of the turbine for the old water wheel, the invention of automatic spin¬ ning machinery, of the power-loom, and of machine tools. It has been applied to other occupations than the textile arts and metal working, just in proportion to the displacement of manual labor and the substitution of mechanism, more or less automatic, - such as the sewing-machine, the engine lathe, the boot pegging and stitching machines, and the like.

The development of the factory system thus made possible by the sub¬ stitution, in whole or in part, of mechanism for manual labor has worked great changes in the social order both of Boston and of Massachusetts; it has substituted in large measure the supervision of the agent or super¬ intendent of the factory for the close personal intercourse of the em¬ ployer with his journeymen and apprentices; and while it has increased abundance and reduced the arduous and long-continued hours of labor for¬ merly necessary to subsistence, it has, on the other hand, made a division of society into classes, and has created an apparent but not real divergence of

The two branches are, it is true, but different phases of the same work, but they mark a very distinct line in the application of capital to the general work of production. One class of work - chiefly the production of textile fabrics - has been carried on mainly by corporations numbering very many stock-holders ; the other by individuals, or else by corporations which are only partnerships under a corporate title. In the one class, the function of the operative is to mend the broken ends and to cure the faults in the work of the machine, which almost, if not quite, takes care of itself; in the other the artisan must give direction to the tool or machine, and with trained hand and eye secure the just result. One kind of work becomes a habit, the other calls for constant mental as well as manual practice. In the one the ma¬ chine, or in other words the capital, is the prime factor, the operative the lesser; in the other the artisan is paramount, and the machine only responds to his special skill.

In the first century and a half of the history of Boston the factory system was almost unknown, but true manufactures had been developed in great diversity.1 The work was arduous indeed; and as yet all the mechanism required the application not only of the hand to direct, but of the head to control its operations. The master of any and all of the industrial arts was a craftsman who must have been initiated into the "mysteries" of his trade; the journeyman and the apprentice served the master and were taught by him. Human relations were closer than at the present time, and although the conditions of life were harder, and of labor more severe, yet brain, hand, and eye were trained together more adequately and universally than they now are.

The few fortunes acquired before the beginning of the nineteenth century had been mainly gained by merchants in the conduct of foreign commerce 2 The town of Boston was then the centre of the traffic of a limited section of the interior; domestic exchanges could be made only within the narrow limits traversed by wagons on common roads, - limits a little extended, it is true, on rivers, and by pack-horses. On the sea long distances could be surmounted ; but even there, legal obstructions were held in abeyance only until their enforcement became one of the acts which brought on the War of Independence, and the later war with Great Britain in 1812.

1 [See the chapter on " The Industries of 2 [See the chapters on " Finance in Boston,'' the last Hundred Years," by Messrs. Wright and on "Trade, Commerce, and Navigation." and Wadlin. - Err.J - Ed.]

Boston As A Centre Of Manufacturing Capital

Up to the War of the Revolution, Boston, like New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and other prominent places, was the centre of a homogeneous population peculiar to its own section. With few exceptions manufactures, in the modern conventional sense, it did not possess, nor had its capital then been devoted in any large measure to great works now usually included under that term.

Rope-walks must have been the most conspicuous examples of works within the town in any degree analogous to the modern factory.1 Outside the limit of what is now the city of Boston the paper-mill constituted another example of a branch of manufacture in the modern sense, and some of the machines in use in the first mills constructed in the early part of the eighteenth century for the preparation of the pulp were the same in principle and almost identical with those that are still used for the same purpose.2 The felt-maker also conducted the work of making hats in fac¬ tories not unlike modern examples, only not so large ; and that also is one of the few arts which, although now conducted in the factory, still remains in large measure a handicraft, so far as the felt or fur hats now worn are concerned.3 The use of iron and steel, then as now, gave occupation to large numbers of persons within the town. To what extent the capital of Boston had been devoted to works for mining and smelting the ores and preparing these metals for use cannot now be fully determined ; but when it is considered that the grievances which long preceded the final resistance of the citizens of Boston to the oppressive acts of Great Britain had consisted in her attempts to break down the production of iron and steel, of hats, of paper, of woollen cards, of woollen cloth, and other articles now convention¬ ally known as manufactures, we may be very sure that the capital of the cit¬ izens of Boston had been largely invested in the iron and steel works, the paper-mills, the felt or hat making, and other branches of industry which constituted the infant manufactures of the country, and which have since been so widely extended ; although these works were not to any great extent within the limits of the town.

1 In 1793 there were fourteen rope factories in the town ; but in that year a fire broke out in one of the largest, near Gray's Wharf, destroy¬ ing it with six others, besides ninety-six other buildings. The selectmen then provided that no more should be constructed in the heart of the town, and tendered the use of the low land west of the Common, where six were built, all of which were burned in 1806 ; five were rebuilt, and fortunately these were all once more con¬ sumed in 1819, which ended the use of that region for such purposes.

2 Paper-hangings had become such a leading article of Boston manufacture, that in 1790 it was estimated that Boston produced twentyseven thousand rolls, which sufficed not only to supply the State, but to furnish considerable quantities for other States. [For the beginnings

3 The Company of Felt-makers in London petitioned Parliament, in February, 1731, to pro¬ hibit the exportation of hats from the American Colonies, representing that foreign markets were supplied from thence, and not a few to Great Britain. Of these obnoxious manufacturers there were reported to be sixteen in Boston ; whereupon an act was passed that " no hats or felts, dyed or undyed, finished or unfinished, shall be put on board any vessel in any place within any of the British plantations, nor be laden upon any horse or other carriage to the intent to be exported from thence to any other plantation or to any other place whatever, upon forfeiture thereof ; and the offender shall likewise pay ,£500 for every such offence."

The ground has been already so fully covered 1 in respect to these early undertakings, that the writer may well devote this chapter mainly to some of the later applications of capital.

One of the most beneficent of these more modern uses of capital was the establishment of what has since become the leading single industry of the city, - the manufacture of ready-made clothing, which was practically begun by the late John Simmons between 1830 and 1835, and soon after taken up on a large scale by Edward Locke, John Gove, Andrew Carney, and others. It gradually extended until it gave employment to 28,935 persons in the year 1875 within the State, of whom about 15,000 were employed in what may be called the clothing factories of Boston.

It has been one of the most complex branches of industry, and it now requires a high order of organizing ability for its successful working. The masters of this art are obliged to inform themselves of the physical charac¬ teristics of the inhabitants of each section of the country, in order that they may adapt the material and the shape and size of the garments to the dif¬ ferent conditions of the trade, - the tall and spare lumbermen of Maine requiring an entirely different set of shapes, sizes, and materials from the heavy-built descendants of the Dutch farmers of Pennsylvania ; the Scan¬ dinavian settlers of the Northwest calling for still different kinds of work ; and so on throughout the country. When the freedman of the South began to prosper, a demand appeared for yet new and different shapes, sizes, and materials. The work of the clothier does not appeal to the imagination, like the great factory; it is conducted mainly in the upper stories of our high city buildings, and a stranger would only know of its existence as one of the most important applications of capital to manufacturing, if he hap¬ pened to walk through the streets where the work is done, and witnessed the great crowd of well paid working men and women scattering to their homes at six o'clock in the afternoon. It is a great error to assume that this work is one in which any large number of the operatives are forced to be satisfied with insufficient wages. The poor sewing-woman sews poorly, and receives all that her work is worth. Skilful sewers earn much higher wages than factory operatives, and many enjoy even better conditions of life.

Another beneficent feature of this application of capital is in the distri¬ bution of the work over a very wide area. Garments, which have been cut and prepared by the application of most ingenious mechanism, are dis¬ tributed over the whole area of New England, to be made up and finished; and in the homes of the people, the wives and daughters of the farmers apply their skill to the operation of the sewing-machine, and have developed a true home manufacture which is of great service to them in earning their subsistence.

Although the first invention of the sewing-machine may not be claimed by Boston, the development of one of the first and most successful of these machines was accomplished here by Messrs. Grover & Baker, who now make beneficent use of the capital which they accumulated in their work.1 To their inventions, and those of their coadjutors, has been mainly due the possibility of developing the manufacture of clothing in its present phase.