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Elmira Industries
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The Allen Business College in Elmira
An Education That Will Commend Itself To All Entering On An Active Business Career
The difference in value between practice and theory finds one of its most forcible examples in the results of the two methods of preparation open to young men or women who are entering on an active career in the mercantile world. In one case the aspirant enters the lists armed with the experience conferred by a course of study in which practice and theory have been judiciously combined, and is prepared to do what he undertakes in a business-like manner; in the other he passes from his desk at school into the office or counting house, and all he learns is learned through actual experience, to gain which he must long perform his duties in unskillful manner and is likely to form habits that will always retard his progress. These are hard facts that parents and guardians as well as youths of both sexes should very seriously consider, and as an aid to their reflections and a guide to what it is most desirable for them to know, we advise them to sent to Mr. F. M. Allen, of the Allen Business College, in Elmira, NY, for one of the prospectuses and catalogues of that valuable institution.
The college was founded for the purpose of preparing young men and women in the most practical manner for an active business life, and was originally established by its founder and proprietor in Mansfield, PA, in 1880. In the following year it was removed to Elmira, NY, where it has since established a reputation for practical utility and the success of its methods that extends to all parts of the country. The principal and proprietor is a graduate of Eastman’s Business College, at Poughkeepsie, NY, and of the Binghamton Business College, and enjoys in addition an experience of many years as a business man. Aided by a thoroughly competent staff of teachers, the best that can be obtained, students are trained on a system peculiar to the college to a thorough knowledge, not only of business in all its phases, but they receive instruction in other branches that will tend to perfect their business training, and instruction is given both individually and in classes, thoroughness in every department being the aim and object of the institution.
In the business department, a pleasant room, 40x60 in area, and fitted up with bank desks, post office, store counter, forwarding office, insurance and exchange bureaus, instruction is first given in the theory of business, held to include bookkeeping, penmanship, arithmetic, the forms and uses of business papers, etc. Actual business next occupies the student’s attention, after due proficiency in the former department is ensured, and with $500 capital in Allen’s College Currency, he starts in business, buying, selling and doing all the work that he would be called on to perform, whether working for others or in business for himself. He then occupies in turn each of the offices enumerated above, transacting their business for the benefit of his fellow students, and finally passes into the banking department, in which, with all the paraphernalia of a national banking institution, all its personnel at his command and his fellow students for customers, he fills all the positions in the bank, from messenger up to president, becoming practically familiar with each.
In addition, however, to the business department, as a special feature of the Allen College, the English department merits mention. Here all the branches of a thorough English education are taught including industrial drawing and the Latin and German languages, and pupils may obtain a comprehensive and valuable education as well as a business training at this excellent institution. Classes in phonography, the calligraph in letter writing, etc., are open to the students or to special scholars, who by paying the fees for a life membership in any class can continue their studies over any required period of time until they have perfected their education.
We have already stated the fact, that the teachers are selected solely for their superior qualifications and may supplement the statement with the fact that Professor Miller, of the business and banking departments, was formerly a teacher in Eastman’s Business College; Miss H. Jean Johnston, of the English and ladies’ departments, is a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, and has taught at the Mansfield Pennsylvania State Normal School; Mr. H. D. Wilcox, of the phonographic department, is a practical stenographer, and Miss Mollie Connor, assistant in the English department, is an experienced teacher, while the lecturers all of whom are connected with prominent educational institutions, are well known special instructors in their various departments.
The terms under which the students are admitted to the College are reasonable and inclusive, while the diploma of "Master of Accounts" issued to successful graduates, is a recommendation in every branch of practical business life. The prospectus of the College contains full details as to terms, and description of the course of instruction, and will be promptly forwarded on request by the principal, at Elmira, NY.
Commercial World & United States Exporter
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.11
A Collegiate Institution for Young Women
Elmira Female College, Elmira, Chemung County, NY
Although the facilities afforded to young women for acquiring a liberal education have been greatly enlarged within a few years, there are still but comparatively few institutions which afford opportunities for the attainment of thorough education in the higher walks of learning, and which could properly be classed as colleges, in contradistinction to the less completely equipped academies, high schools and seminaries.
The first institution of the kind ever established in the United States with chartered rights and educational facilities fairly entitling it to rank as a college, was the Elmira Female College, located at Elmira, Chemung County, NY. It was chartered by the Legislature in 1855, as one of the colleges of the University of the State of New York, and possesses the full right of conferring degrees, both academic and honorary. Students who satisfactorily complete the full course of study, and whose deportment merits the approbation of the Faculty, are entitled to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently to that of Master of Arts, by compliance with the conditions prescribed for post graduate instruction.
The College was founded for the purpose of furnishing superior facilities for the highest and best education of young women. The courses of study are carefully arranged and comprehensive, aided by all the advantages of libraries, apparatus, literary societies, lectures, etc., and comprise instruction in the classical and modern languages and literature, the physical and natural sciences, mathematics, history, aesthetics, and mental and moral philosophy. Thorough instruction is also given in music, drawing, and painting. The regular course of study extends through four years. The eclectic course is designed for students who are not candidates for a degree, but who desire to pursue advanced studies. The teachers’ course affords an opportunity to those who have been engaged in teaching, to avail themselves of the privileges of the College for the purpose of securing a better preparation for their work. Post-graduate instruction is given to the graduates of this or other colleges, who desire to pursue advanced courses of study, with or without reference to the obtaining of a degree.
Although by its charter the College is under the care of the Presbyterian Synod of New York, it requires a trustee from each Evangelical church to represent it, and no sectarian influence is exercised over the students, the aim being through moral and religious culture to build up the graces of a Christian character. The government of the College is designed to be that of a model Christian family, and all the best qualities of head and heart are carefully cultivated.
The health and physical welfare of the students receive especial attention, and the facilities for exercise and recreation are of the most complete description. The college building is a splendid structure, heated by steam, lighted by gas, and provided with every convenience that could contribute to the health, comfort and happiness of the students. The expenses are very reasonable, and all proper allowance is made for unavoidable interruption to study, occasioned by illness.
The Faculty of the College is as follows: Rev. Augustus W. Cowles, D. D., President, and Benjamin – Professor of sacred literature and mental science; Rev. Darius R. Ford, D. D., Professor of physical science, higher mathematics and astronomy; Miss Sarah L. Chapmen, Lady Principal, English literature, ethics, and Christian evidences; Miss Europa D. Gifford, German language and literature; Miss Sarah Frances Pellett, A. B., Greek history and physical culture; Miss Katharine A. Daniels, Assistant in the sciences and in mathemetics; Miss Sarah L. Tracy, A. M. rhetoric and elocution; Madimoiselle Paola Landerer, French language and literature; Edward Dickinson, A. B., piano, organ, harmony and composition; Miss Geneva Armstrong, voice culture; Miss Elizabeth B. Allen, piano; George W. Waters, A. N. A., art department; Miss Kate M. Bacon, drawing and painting. The Matron is Mrs. Fidelia E. Stanley; the Clerk and Steward is Mr. T. H. Ican.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p. 11
Stock Exchange Facilities for Elmira Investors
[Wright & Scott]
The Enterprising Representatives Of A Wealthy And Respectable New York Banking House
It is only owing to the enterprise of a few commission houses, bankers and brokers in a city like Elmira enjoy Stock Exchange facilities, in every respect equal to those afforded them in the metropolis itself, and with the opportunities for investment the present low values of our best securities afford, these facilities should be duly appreciated. Not only in stocks, however, but in grain and provisions are equally favorable chances for the remunerative employment of capital presented, and among the houses who have been most active in placing facilities for the transaction of this class of business before Elmira capitalists is the enterprising firm of Wright and Scott.
These gentlemen, both of whom are at home in Elmira and favorably spoken of by its citizens, represent the famous New York house of T. Brigham Bishop & Co., of 42 Broadway, one of the first of the great metropolitan concerns to establish agencies outside of New York – a firm whose system of private telegraphs extend over fifteen hundred miles, reaching Bangor, Me., in the North and Cleveland, Ohio, in the West, and whose available resources are estimated by those in a position to judge at several millions of dollars. They have established over forty-five agencies at different points, with all of which they have special and direct communication, and they transact the business of all these agencies in their New York establishment. There the senior partners, Mr. Bishop, personally supervises this department, and efficient representation in the New York Stock Exchange under his able direction ensures the prompt fulfillment of orders.
Messrs. Wright & Scott have fitted up their office in regular exchange style, with a black board for quotations, on which prices received by wire from New York are constantly displayed, while every convenience is provided for patrons. Dealing in fractional lots of stock and grain and on low margins, these facilities will readily be appreciated by every class of investors and operators, and the members of the firm will furnish any information desired as to the condition of the stock and grain markets, etc. Their business is transacted strictly and solely on commission, and every order receives the personal attention of the firm who indulge in no outside speculations. Making their patrons’ interests their own, and affording equal opportunities to all, they have already established an excellent connection, and their well managed and completely equipped exchange at 312 Carroll Street is regarded as the headquarters of Elmira investors and operators in stocks, bonds, petroleum, grain and provisions.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p. 11
The Elmira Wholesale Slate Yard
Valuable Facilities For Builders And Roofers
In addition to his practical connection with the above firm [Wright & Scott Stock Exchange of Elmira], Mr. Losie also occupies the position of manager of the Elmira Wholesale Slate Yard, the most important establishment of the kind in the southern tier.
Having direct interest in several quarries with which constant communication is maintained, the yard is prepared to furnish any amount of roofing slate in any size, from a single square to a carload at quarry prices. Only the best of green and red slates from the leading and Vermont and Pennsylvania quarries are handled by the yard, the Bangor and Lehigh slates as they are termed, and the superiority of which is everywhere acknowledged.
Though a new branch of business in his section, Mr. Losie’s facilities as manufacturers’ agent, with his extensive connection in trade circles, have already caused it to assume important proportions, and he supplies the largest roofers all through this section of the State [NY] with slate. In the building trades in Elmira and the vicinity his enterprise has gained him a leading position which will unquestionably be increased by the opportunities he enjoys as manager of the Wholesale Slate Yard at Elmira, the only concern of the kind in this part of the State.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p. 11
A Prominent and Enterprising Firm of Elmira Builders
[Plum & Pulford]
The rapidity with which Elmira has developed, both industrially, commercially and as a residence city for the well-to-do classes in this section of the State, speaks well for the energy and enterprise of her citizens. From a mere village, in a few years she has become one of the most flourishing and important towns in the State, and the commercial and financial centre of the southern tier of counties. Her busy streets not only afford ample evidence of her prosperity, but the substantial structures with which they are lined bear witness to the taste and liberality of her citizens in this respect, as well as to the skill and enterprise of her builder, whose operations have been conducted on a massive scale, both in the business structures and residences. Among the firms who have been particularly active in this line and whose work deserves special mention, is the house of Plum & Pulford, established in Elmira, after a prolonged experience here and elsewhere, about eight years ago.
Both members of this enterprising firm are skilled architects, as well as practical builders, and thoroughly conversant with every detail of their profession, and made a specialty of fine dwellings, as well as heavy factory buildings, stores, etc. One of the largest firms of builders and contractors in this section of the State, their business is conducted on the most practical principles, and their ample resources enable them to secure special advantages by procuring their materials direct from manufacturers; their purchases, from the lumber they buy from western producers, to the hardware which they obtain in large quantities, being all made on a liberal scale at lowest prices. Their shops, 35x50 feet and two stories high, with their office, 12x16 feet, are fitted with every convenience and labor saving appliance, their extensive lumber sheds being in the rear of the building. They employ thirty-five men. All skilled mechanics, and frequently increase their force to fifty or fifty-five as occasion require.
Prepared to draw plans and submit estimates for the complete erection of buildings of any description, they will also contract to do plumbing, painting, papering and decoration, if required, the masons, carpenters and painters being their own employees, while they engage only skilled help in other departments, personally supervising and guaranteeing the work. During their eight years’ association in business, they have done a large amount of work in various sections, and in Elmira alone have built the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co.’s round house, the La France Manufacturing Co.’s works, Richardson’s shoe factory, Fish & Holmes’ factory, (rebuilt); an extension to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Co.’s depot, the Elmira Water Works, Harris & McHenry’s mill, the Skating Rink in Elmira, and one in Wellsboro (and they are contracting for a third), as well as residences for Senator Fassett, H. C. French (a very fine house), and Eugene Driver, the Wyckoff House, and a residence for M. G. W. Wyckoff, costing $20,000. They are now building a parsonage for the Rev. J. J. Bloomer of Elmira, to cost $10,000; a residence for W. H. Blight, to cost $4,500; two houses for H. B. Dickinson, and a residence for Mrs. H. C. Spaulding, all of Elmira.
In addition to the above operations they also make a specialty of inside finishing and office fixtures and fittings, and they did this work on the five stores of Messrs. Fish & Holmes, Dunham & Pratt, and others, having fitted up over half of the best stores in the city during the past five years, as well as fitting up many of the best stores in Troy, Pa., some years ago.
With their ample facilities and lengthy experience, both as builder, as architects and contractors, the firm have gained the confidence of the best class of residents and property owners in Elmira. They have added their full share to the attractions of the handsome city, and deserve every credit as one of its most enterprising and successful business concerns.
| Commercial World & United
States Exporter
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884 p.12 S. H. Laney’s Establishment in Elmira Dealing in peddlers’ supplies & manufacturing tinware |
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Business in around county towns, and especially among farmers and others in agricultural sections, is conducted on principles essentially different to those prevailing in large cities, and a peculiar experience and tact are required in many branches, by which to create from small commencements important results. Such is particularly the case with the purchase and collection of rags, old metal, bones, etc., from the surrounding country, their preparation for market, and the sale of small articles in the shape of house furnishing goods, etc. The business is carried on mainly through peddlers, who both collect and sell, their transactions often taking the form of a barter or exchange, but in place of being in the hands of individual dealers, as was formerly the case, it is now carried on almost entirely by large concerns employing a numerous staff and an appreciable amount of capital.
The largest establishment of the kind in the State of New York, and the most important business firm in the southern tier, is that of S. H. Laney, corner of Market and William streets, Elmira, NY, dealing extensively in peddlers’ supplies and manufacturing tinware for sale in the surrounding country.
The owner of the business, Mr. S. H. Laney, began life as a peddler when a very young man, in 1857, and followed this calling for about twelve years. Having by this time saved a little money, he conceived the idea of starting a peddlers’ supply business on a large scale, buying from the collectors the rags, etc., they purchased and furnishing them with such goods as they needed in return. He commenced with his brother in Ithaca, NY, under the firm name of Laney Bros. & Co., keeping a small store and running five wagons. Two years later the firm title was changed to Laney, Fillingham & Co., and after a farther period of two years Mr. Laney sold out and came to Elmira. Here he bought out the business of Richard Armitage, at 112 Water street, and taking J. J. Smith, of Waterloo, into partnership, started with ten wagons as S. H. Laney & Co. The business did not prosper according to his anticipations, and after two years he sold out and went into business alone on High street. He remained her two years, then moved to 657 Baldwin street, and after occupying premises there that his increasing business had rendered uncomfortably small for about seven years, he removed last December to his present establishment.
From the small beginning on High street, where he ran three wagons, his business has grown until it is the largest in its various branches in the State, outside of New York City, amounting to $150,000 per year. He employs forty wagons, about 150 men and women, and his pay-roll amounts to about $2,000 per month, while his purchases and shipments of old rags, metals and bones amount to several carloads per day.
The building, or rather three buildings, he occupies are specially arranged for his purposes, and have a frontage on William street of eighty feet and one hundred and sixteen feet on Market street. The basements are employed for storage purposes, with glassware in the central cellar, a miscellaneous stock on the William street side, and wrapping paper in the rear basement. The first floor is a general salesman with a rag packing and pressing room in the rear building, over this room is the rag picking and sorting department, where fifty women pick the rags. They pass down a chute into one of two powerful Ingersol presses of three and five tons daily capacity, where they are pressed into bales, a large two horse wagon finding full employment in carting the bales off for shipment as fast as they are rolled out. On the second floor on the William street side is the tinware manufacturing department, where all sorts of plain goods are made, and which are supplemented by large purchases of stamped goods and of the famous granite ironware, the neatest and most durable cooking utensils in the market.
In addition to keeping an immense stock of tin and iron ware, glassware, lamps, and every description of household goods on hand, and for sale wholesale or retail, Mr. Laney is an extensive dealer in wrapping paper, carrying a stock valued at from $6,000 to $7,000, from which he supplies orders all through the surrounding country and in some of the large cities.
The business altogether is one of great magnitude and of very considerable importance in the vicinity, and though made up to a large extent of small things, the capital employed is a large amount. The closest attention to details and the greatest care only have ensured its success, and its rapid growth does credit to the perseverance and ability of its proprietor. Mr. Laney is a thorough business man, courteous, liberal and attentive, as well as a public spirited citizen, and he enjoys the respect and esteem of the leading members of the business community as well as the friendship of the most prominent men in this part of the State.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.12
The Leading Roofing Firm in Elmira
G. A. Gridley & Son
The amount of practical experience essential to the successful establishment roofing business virtually and very properly keeps the best of the trade in the hands of a few firms, who have succeeded, by many years’ familiarity with all its requirements, in gaining a reputation in this special line. The importance justly attached to a good roof as the fitting completion of a first class building, both by architects, builders and owners, and the knowledge of the disastrous effects following poor work of this description, successfully promote the interests of firms known to be capable of carrying out contracts in a superior manner. This is at least the case in every city or community where building operations are carried on a large scale, and is certainly so in Elmira, where a majority of this class of work is contracted for the firm of G. A. Gridley & Son, of 119 and 336 East Water Street and 159 Baldwin street, in that city. They carry on an extensive business as tin and slate roofers, manufacturers of galvanized iron cornice, window caps, etc., and every description of tin and sheet metal work in connection with roofing, plumbing, heating, and ventilating, as well as dealing extensively in hardware, paints, oils and glass, but they make a specialty of their roofing trade, in which they are able to offer builders, architects and others particular inducements.
In the first place, they command an unlimited supply of all the best material, and in the second, they have the benefit of the services as manager of the branch establishment at 159 Baldwin street of Mr. T. M. Losie, one of the most expert practical roofers in the State, and who until recently had an extensive business of his own in this line.
While conducting his own establishment, Mr. Losie did a large amount of work in Elmira and the surrounding country. He slated the roof of the Soldiers’ Home at Bath, NY; he re-roofed the Cortland Normal School at Cortland, NY, and the Mansfield Normal School and graded schools, and roofed the residence of Judge Williams at Wellsboro, PA; that of the late Hon. E. H. Wheeler at Wellsboro; the Baptist and Presbyterian churches at Deposit, NY; a large graded school at Oswego, NY, and many similar structures; the large residences of Philip Weir and Adam Mander at Elmira, the new depot of the E. C. & N. R. R. Co. at Elmira.
Since his connection with the firm of G. A. Gridley & Son he has roofed the Baptist Church at Horseheads, NY; Methodist Episcopal Church at Athens, NY, and others, and from Deposit to Olean can refer to work in every town and hamlet.
For over twenty-eight years he has been prominently identified with the roofing business, which he has made a peculiar study, and his success already reflects credit on the enterprising firm with which he has connected himself, and the members of which are prominent in social and commercial circles throughout the entire vicinity.
These facts forcibly presented themselves to Mr. L. S. Shreffler, an experienced practical carpenter, in the course of his execution of necessary repairs to damaged floors, and resulted in his commencing, about six or seven years ago, to manufacture a flexible wooden carpet that could be made an ornamental addition to the woodwork of a new building, or used equally effectively to replace old floors. He had already placed a considerable quantity of this flooring on the market, when in 1882 he introduced an important improvement in its manufacture. The innovation consisted in the arrangement of the wire fastening the strips together in such a manner that the greater the strain imposed on it the closer it drew the pieces together; on each slat the wire turned in an opposite direction, and when the matting or wooden carpet was finished and the wires clinched, the slats of which it was composed were perfectly inseparable.
Made either of oak or basswood, or of alternate strips of cherry and maple or black walnut and ash, it presents an exceedingly attractive appearance when laid; it will not collect moisture beneath it, but absorbs all that may gather; it is pleasantly elastic under foot, and owing to its elasticity, free from all disposition to splinter or sliver, and when laid over paper carpet lining is a perfect deadener of sound. Adapted to any shaped room, easily taken up and relaid, attractive in appearance and costing only about five cents a yard to lay, in addition to its low first cost, it will outwear any other floor covering in use, and is becoming widely popular all through the country. Many ladies prefer it, owing to its pliability and cleanliness, for their dining rooms, halls and kitchens, and it is unexcelled for offices, etc., for hotels, stores, and public institutions.
Since introducing the improvement, Mr. Shreffler has made and sold over 7,000 yards of the flooring, and in addition to supplying it all through the State, he is shipping it to various points throughout the United States and Canada, and is sending it to different points in Europe. At his factory, corner of State and Gray streets, Elmira, NY, he has always a sufficient supply on hand to enable him to meet orders, while price lists and other particulars will be forwarded on request.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.12
Richardson & Co.’s Boot and Shoe Factory
One of the most significant facts connected with the growth and development of the city of Elmira is the variety of the manufacturing interests within her limits and the employment they furnish for all classes of labor. While in many cities throughout the State a limited number of industries will be carried on and will exist in a flourishing condition, in Elmira there is no such limit, and the most important manufacturing operations conducted in the State nearly all find representation here, and are almost invariably in a prosperous state. Among the rest, the manufacture of boots and shoes is of special importance, and in the immense establishment of Messrs. J. Richardson & Co. Elmira has the second largest, it not the largest concern of the kind in the State.
The business was established in 1861 by the senior partner, Mr. J. Richardson, who carried it on until the year 1874, when Messrs. C. H. Hawkes and A. W. Westlake were admitted, forming the present firm.
Their factory, located on Railroad avenue and Market street, is the handsomest building devoted to manufacturing purposes in the city, its lofty cupola being visible for a long distance, and it has a frontage of 160 feet on the former and 100 feet on the latter thoroughfare. It was originally six stories high, but some time ago the upper stories were destroyed by fire and the building was then reduced partly to five and partly to four stories in height. It is admirably arranged for the firm’s purposes and equipped with the finest machinery and appliances. In the basement leather is stored and sole leather cut up, and on the floor above are the salesroom, stockroom and office, fifty men being employed on these two stories of whom seven constitute the office force. The second floor is the bottoming department and employs 11 men and some of the most costly machinery. On the third floor 150 employees do the stitching and cutting, 80 of them being women, while above this is the crimping room, employing 15 hands. Altogether about 3oo hands find employment in the factory, and the firm have about 100 more at work in the Reformatory. In addition to the factory proper there is a separate engine house, as well as a convenient store room for machinery, etc.
For many years the firm’s men’s and boys’ boots and shoes, real kip, slaughter kip and men’s calf goods, have been widely known to the trade, and though as jobbers they have supplied other lines, they confined their manufacturing operations exclusively to these classes of goods, buying others in the eastern markets. Finding, however, that their unexcelled facilities as manufacturers and for procuring a constant supply of leather direct from the tanneries, delivered at the factory, would enable them to make the goods cheaper than they could buy them, they went into the manufacture of all kinds of boots and shoes for ladies, misses, men and boys. In the factory they devote their attention exclusively to the finest goods, and it is sufficient to state that a shoe comes from Richardson’s to know that it is first class in make and material. In their Reformatory shops they manufacture a cheaper grade of goods to meet the requirements of their patrons in this direction, but employ only the best of materials in all their productions.
Their business is done entirely with retailers, and their sales, which amounted last year to $750,000 and are annually increasing, cover the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Illinois, several traveling salesmen being kept constantly on the road. Three-fourths of their sales are men’s first class goods, and they carry a stock valued at least at $300,000 from which to supply immediate orders.
Conducted on the most business-like principles, the establishment, which furnishes employment to so large number of skilled hands and engages a very considerable capital, constitutes a representative factor in this important trade, and one of the leading and most flourishing interests in Elmira trade circles.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.13
A Practical and Successful Manufacturer
An Extensive Trade in Cement Sewer Pipes
After careful practical tests of their respective merits, the city authorities in Elmira resolved to adopt in all their sewerage and drainage works for underground construction, cement in place of the ordinary sewer pipe. The results attained have shown the wisdom of their selection, and few cities in the State have been so carefully drained as Elmira and at so small an expense. The cement pipes in the first place, it carefully made, are of denser material and capable of resisting greater internal and external pressure than the glazed pipe, without possessing any of the brittleness of the latter, while the form of the joints and the fact that the material employed to seal them unites firmly to both pieces, secure a perfectly tight connections.
As early as 1870, the manufacture of sewer pipes from cement on a large scale was carried on in Elmira, on Washington avenue, by Mr. Charles M. Lee, who owns the oldest and most successful establishment in this part of the country engaged in the business, and one of the largest in existence. He has such connections and facilities as enable him to command at all times a full supply of the best Rosendale and Portland cements, which with clean sand is all that is used in the manufacture of the pipe, and his patterns are acknowledged to be the best in use for this purpose. He supplies sewer, drain, sluice, culvert, flue and chimney pipe in all sizes, with all the requisite fittings, traps, joints, etc., and constantly carries a stock of about $5,000 worth on hand, the location of his years, with a railroad on each side, enabling him to make prompt shipments. He supplies the principal dealers and builders in Elmira and vicinity and last summer sold the city $5,000 worth of pipes, and during the same period he also supplies the authorities with $3,000 worth of sewer bottoms, used under the large sewers. He recently shipped two car loads of pipes to Newburgh, NY, and hardly a day passes without he makes extensive shipments to one point or another.
In addition to pipes and their fittings, chimney and window caps, door and window sills, stepping blocks, etc., he also makes a specialty of Portland cement pavement, and many specimens of his work in the city attest its excellence. He laid a pavement in front of Mr. H. Dickenson’s handsome residence on Lake street, which the owner states is the best he ever saw, and he also laid one for Mr. Bartholomew, almost like marble in its hardness. At the Elmira State Reformatory they are trying it in place of tiling and thus far are more than satisfied with the result and Mr. Lee recently furnished them for their own use with one hundred barrels of Rosendale cement, for which he is the sole agent in this city.
Experienced in the properties of cement, he has made some valuable innovations in its utilization. He is now perfecting a solid cement cistern that promises to prove far more durable than one only lined with cement, and those already in use give good satisfaction. At the recent State fair he received the Award of Merit, an honor he has enjoyed for many consecutive years, and all through the vicinity he has built up an excellent trade. Enjoying the confidence of all the leading buyers, on account of the care with which his good are turned out, he also enjoys their patronage, and is fully entitled to the success he has attained as a prominent and successful manufacturer.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.13
The Elmira Fire Brick Works
An Old Established and Successful Concern
The rapidity with which the city of Elmira has grown from a comparatively small place into one of the chief town in the State and the seat of industries of far more than local reputation, is reflected in the progress made by her industrial establishments. It appears to have been the honest object of each manufacturing concern as it stated, to excel in the quality of its product, and mainly owing to the steadfastness with which this object was followed must they ascribe their present prosperity. Elmira is widely celebrated wherever her productions reach for making the best of everything, and among other branches of trade in which her reputation in this direction has been carefully maintained is the production of fire brick, which is carried on at the Elmira Fire Brick Works, the corner of Church and Judson streets, of which Messrs. J. B. and E. W. Farrington are proprietors.
The business was started in 1866 by Messrs. Walters & Farrington, and carried on by them for about six years, until Mr. Walters died. Mr. Everard took his place, and on his death, in 1881, Mr. J. B. Farrington took his son, E. W. Farrington, into partnership with him.
The business was commenced on a comparatively small scale, but from year to year has steadily increased, until it is now the largest, as well as the most renowned in this part of the State. The manufacture of fire brick constitutes the bulk of the trade, and they turn out an article of superior excellence. They supply the rolling mills and blast furnaces all through the southern portion of New York State and Pennsylvania, as well as oil refineries, gas works, etc., and the current demand for boiler setting and other purposes. Their trade with tanners is also very large, as they make a specialty of grate bars and feed hole blocks used by them. Their production altogether reaches about 300,000 brick a year, and in their yards, which cover about one and a half acres of ground, and are so convenient to a switchback of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad as to afford them the best of shipping facilities, they employ about thirteen men.
In addition to their fire brick business they have recently established a stoneware works, and manufacture stone goods of every description. They have all the latest improvements and best machinery in their shops, which is 30x40 feet in extent and heated by steam, something unusual in this business. They have recently put up a fine large kiln, built on new and improved principles, and from present indications they will do an immense trade in this line in a few years.
Conducted on strictly business principles and in a thoroughly enterprising manner, the reputation the firm have gained in manufacturing circles and among concerns using fire brick is second only to the high character enjoyed by their productions, and their establishment is a notable example of the success true business merit is certain to attain in Elmira.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.13
A Practical and Successful Elmira Firm of Lumber Manufacturers
The Extensive Business and Excellent Facilities Employed by Messrs. Harris & McHenry
In few cities in the State – we might say in the country – is a useful and practically managed manufacturing enterprise so well assured of speedy recognition as in Elmira, NY, and it is a notable fact in connection with most of the leading industrial establishments in the city that they have been originated, in many instances quite recently, by enterprising, practical men. The recognized commercial centre of the southern tier of counties, Elmira is looked to to supple the requirements of the whole surrounding country, as far as manufactured products are concerned, and is already creating an extensive industrial reputation all through this portion of the State.
The constant demand for building material, etc., the progress of the city and vicinity entails has had a notable effect on many of the leading industries, and among the rest has greatly stimulated and encouraged the lumber manufacturing trade. Quite a large business is done in this line in the city, and among its most energetic and successful representatives is the firm of Harris & McHenry, whose office and extensive planing mills are located on the corner of Penn. Avenue and Erie street.
Under its present title the firm has been established about two years, but both its members enjoy a lengthy and valuable practical experience; Mr. Justus H. Harris had been for about twelve years previously in the business, while Mr. Abram McHenry was for thirteen years with the large firm of H. C. Spaulding, during eight of which he was their foreman.
The firm put up their mill buildings and equipped them all with first class tools, etc., on commencing business, and they are acknowledged to be the finest of the kind in the city, if not in this part of the State, the machinery having been furnished by such well known concerns as J. S. Graham & Co., of Rochester, NY; Rollins & Hermance, of Williamsport, PA, and others.
The visitor to their establishment first enters the office, a neat and substantial separate building, 16x24 feet, equipped with every comport and in charge of Mr. S. B. Sargeant, a courteous gentleman and expert accountant. In the rear of the office is a building for storage, capable of containing 500,000 feet of lumber for the retail trade, and 50x100 feet in extent. The mill building proper is 90x100 feet, and is equipped, in addition to other tools, with four planer, matchers and moulders, large and small in size, and of the most improved patterns. The greatest neatness and economy prevail on all sides, the shavings, etc., being taken up by an exhaust fan and delivered in the boiler room, where they are used for fuel. In one corner of the mill is the lumber-drying kiln, heated by exhaust steam, and the entire establishment is steam heated in winter.
One of the most valuable advantages it enjoys consists in the track and car equipment. They have about 400 feet of track running from the railroad siding along the outside of their yard, and enabling them to handle supplies or ship goods with the least amount of trouble. The cars run down into their mills and the lumber can be received, dressed, carried back to the cars, and shipped with the greatest celerity and hardly any necessity for handling, the use of wagons, etc. The entire works, including the machine shop, in which possible damage to machinery is made good and all repairs executed, give employment to about twenty-five men, all of whom are skilled mechanics, the practical knowledge of the business the firm possess convincing them that cheap labor does not pay.
The firm are manufacturers and wholesale and retail dealers in dressed and rough lumber, shingle, lath, moldings, cabinet trimmings, etc., and in each department handle more than any other firm in the city. Their sales for this year already amount to 4,000,000 feet of lumber, 3,000,000 shingles and 1,500,000 lath, double the quantity they handled last year, and an increase of 1,000,000 in the number of shingles, a remarkable showing considering the general dullness of business, and especially in the building trade.
In moldings they do a very large business keeping two machines busy on this branch; they have also a man constantly employed at the lathe, and do the best turned work in this part of the country.
Their specialty, however, is fancy hardwood trim, including moldings, ceiling, wainscoting, paneling, etc., and they find a large demand for their goods in the home trade. For many of the finest houses in Elmira they have supplied the cabinet trim, and among others we may mention the residences of Mr. W. J. Dounce, Mr. W. H. Hallock, Mr. S. J. Friendly, Mr. B. Gabriel [double house], Dr. Pratt, and a new residence for Dr. Shoemaker, and they also furnished the hardwood trim in the depot of the Elmira, Cortland and Northern RR, and are at present getting out a quantity of work for the Pennsylvania State Normal School at Mansfield, PA, besides having sent at different times fine woodwork to Corning, NY; Penn Yan, NY, and other towns. In the former place they supplies the trim for the handsomest house in the vicinity, a splendid specimen of skillful, tasteful work in cherry and quartered oak.
In their ample experience and resources, and such a thorough knowledge of the details and requirements of their business as enables them to make the best use of their splendid facilities, the firm have established a lumber trade that extends all through New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, besides building up an excellent reputation as manufacturers of fine cabinet woodwork. Their business, under their enterprising, energetic and honorable management, has, since its foundation, steadily increased, and today they rank as representative Elmira manufacturers and proprietors of one of the most flourishing and successful industrial establishments in this portion of the State.
How Residual Products are Turned to Profitable Account
The utilization of products that under any ordinary circumstances would be allowed to go to waste, constitutes on e of the most important factors in a successful national economy, and any processes by which these purposes are accomplished must be regarded as of direct importance to a community. Particularly is this the case where the products are turned to useful account in manufacturing operations, where they can form a vehicle for the subsequent and extensive employment of capital and labor.
Among the important firms conducting business of this nature, in Elmira and vicinity, is the firm of A. S. Couch & Co., manufacturers and dealers in hair, glue supplies, grease, etc., of Tuttle avenue, near Church street.
The house was established under its present title in 1879, Mr. A. S. Couch having carried on the business individually for three years previously. Three years ago the firm opened a branch establishment in Buffalo, and theirs is the only business of the kind in the State.
The manufacture of hair is their specialty, by which we mean its assortment, cleaning, drying and packing, and they employ the finest picking, washing and refining machines made for this purpose, in their substantial building, 100x30, where forty men are constantly engaged, The hair from cattle and calves is of two kinds, white and red, and they require to be carefully separated, The white hair goes into the manufacture of carpets, steam felting, Scotch cheviots, and some kinds of shoddy cloth. Red hair is used in the same goods of darker colors [black and different shades of brown]. The hog hair is used for bristles in brush making, mixed with curled hair, etc. The hair they manufacture is sold in all parts of the United States, and they have even executed large orders from Europe.
In addition to their hair trade they are extensive manufacturers of glue and glue stock, and renderers of tallow and the finest grades of grease, both of which they supply in large quantities to the leading soap manufacturers in the world. They also do a large business in "switches," which they sell to dealers in curled hair.
The supplies for their operations are collected wholesale from abittoirs,
butchers, hotels, etc., and are mainly regarded as waste products, but
under their skillful manipulation have hundreds of thousands of dollars
a year added to their value. They employ in Elmira two wagons to collect
the material, and in Buffalo, where they have a much large establishment,
they employ three, and having a large storage building, 28x40 in extent,
keep such a stock of all these goods on hand as enables them to fill all
orders promptly. Their entire premises cover over an acre of land, and
Mr. Couch, who is the pioneer in the business, personally supervises all
operations. The largest purchasers of every description of cattle and hog
hair, glue supplies, rough fat, etc., they employ a large capital in the
business and rank with the leading manufacturing firms in this portion
of the State.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.13 + 14
The Brewing Industry in Elmira
The growing popularity of malt liquors as a national beverage, and particularly of lager beer, is best exhibited in the increasing number of breweries in the United States. Numbering nearly 4,000, there is hardly a village of any importance that has not its brewery established, and it would almost seem as though we were on the road to the return of old times, when "beer, beef and bread" formed the staple articles of food. It is a notable fact, too, that in a majority of instances the breweries are devoted to the manufacture of lager beer, and in Elmira, out of three brewing concerns, two produce the German American beverage. Of the three, the largest and best known establishment is that owned by Mr. Adam Mander, and located at the foot of Church street.
Mr. Mander commenced business in his present location in 1859, in wooden buildings, and after creating an excellent business and a first class reputation, he removed the old structures in 1867 and put up a handsome, substantial brick building. Before commencing at the foot of Church street, however, he had run a small brewery on Water street, for two years, so that he has been known in Elmira for nearly thirty years. The capacity of the brewing plant is thirty-five barrels; it can be run to turn out two brewings a day, if needed, and it is equipped in the most modern and improved style, with patent mash machine, etc. Only the best of materials are employed in the establishment and a Mr. Mander makes his own malt and commands an abundant supply of pure water, his life long experience as a brewer and many years’ practical work at his trade in Germany, enable him, with the aid of skilled practical workmen, to produce a first class article, which is not allowed to leave the brewery unless in proper condition and fully matured.
Under these conditions our readers will be prepared to hear that his beer enjoys an excellent reputation, especially among connoisseurs, and is nearly all sold in Elmira city. By competent judges it is considered in every respect fully equal to the beers sent on in wood and in bottle from Rochester, New York, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and elsewhere, superior to them in most cases because of its better condition and freedom from the effects of the treatment the outside beers are subjected to enable them to stand travel. Of course, there is always a certain class who prefer an imported to a home product, although the latter may be really the better of the two, but they are in most cases incompetent judges and could not bring the brewer who supplied them any credit.
Both as a brewer and as a business man, Mr. Mander is highly popular among his follow citizens, and though his establishment may not compare in size with some of the mammoth concerns who come long distances to compete with him in Elmira, it will often outrank them in the honesty and excellence of its product, and is a credit to the busy little city and its enterprising proprietor.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.14
A Well Equipped Book Bindery
The Leading Establishment Between New York and Buffalo
While sheer skill and experience have no little to do with success in the book binding art, there is an innate taste displayed by competent workmen that contributes very materially to their proficiency, and which lengthy acquaintance with the requirement of the trade cannot supply. There is so little of this work to do in ordinary small towns that good book binders are scarce outside of the great cities, but Elmira is an exception, having the best book binder and the largest business of the kind in any of the cities between New York and Buffalo.
Mr. Fred W. Kies, the gentleman in question, has been established in business in the city for about four years, though his total experience, and he is not an elderly man, is of about fourteen years’ duration. He was three years in business at Lake and Carroll streets before moving, about a year ago, to his present location, at 104 and 106 Lake Street. On taking possession of the shops, which are on the third floor [his office being on the second floor], he removed all the old-fashioned machinery, etc., and put in new, making the establishment the best equipped in the State outside of the above mentioned cities.
A practical man himself, Mr Kies engages none but thoroughly skilled workmen, about eight of whom he has constantly employed, and he has an extensive trade in southern New York and northern Pennsylvania, as well as in the chief cities between New York and Lake Erie. He is prepared to undertake every description of work in the shape of a book binding, making a specialty of art works, the finest kind of binding, of law work, etc., and specimens of books he has bound, showed our reporter, could not be surpassed in the best New York shops.
Most of the leading business houses in Elmira and the ne4ighborhood buy or order their blank books of Mr. Kies, who undertakes only custom work, and will accept orders of any magnitude for prompt execution, his work bearing an altogether different and far superior character to anything purchased ready made, With his excellent facilities and a reputation that extends throughout the entire district, Mr. Kies enjoys the patronage of all its leading citizens, and judged by his works, he possesses a by no means unimportant standing among the leading practical and most successful business men of the city.
| Commercial World & United
States Exporter
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884 p.14 The Only Scientific Heating Process for Cooking Apparatus |
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All the ordinary cooking ranges, stoves and ovens in use are radically defective in construction, owing to the fact that the cooking is done4 by hear directly radiated from iron surfaces; the effect being to dry and char the food, depriving it of its moisture, wasting one third of the weight of meats and on half of their carbon and nitrogen, reducing the weight of bread one-fourth, destroying the flavor of food, lessening its nutritive value, rendering it indigestible, and inducing dyspepsia, our great national curse. Moreover there is a most extravagant and unnecessary consumption of fuel, the greater part of which is wasted in the form of gases, which either contaminate the atmosphere of the house or find their way into the chimney, accompanied by a large percentage of the nutritive properties of the food, converted into vapor. This state of affairs has continued bfor years, in fact ever since the first cooking stove was constructed, and yet the stove manufacturers seem incapable of realizing the defective character of their apparatus, or of devising any plan for its improvement.
The ling needed desideratum has been achieved, however, and a complete revolution in the culinary art inaugurated by Col. E.C. Frost, of Elmira, Chemung county, N.Y, who has devoted many years to the investigation of the subject of heat as applied to culinary purposes, and has perfected a new and strictly scientific cooking process which is entirely devoid of all the objectionable features of the old-fashioned method.
The fundamental principle of his process is the substitution of deflected for radiated hear, the effect being that animal or vegetable food is cooked without losing any of its desirable elements, rendered more palatable and easy of digestion; and all this is accomplished with the consumption of an almost incredibly small amount of fuel, and without the generation of unhealthful gases or unpleasant odors.
The principle has been applied to the construction of ranges, stoves, etc., in the ovens connected with which all descriptions of food are cooked in the most perfect manner, with the use of an exceedingly small amount of fuel. The heated air passed through flues in the oven, creating a constant current which surrounds the dishes placed on racks, reaching their contents on all sides and cooking them uniformly with loss of substance or the creation of any fumes or vapors. Mears, vegetables, bread, etc., are cooked at a distance of from two to six feet from the firs, and wooden dishes may be used without sustaining any harm, showing that the process is altogether different from the old drying and burning system. By the new process twenty-five times as much food can be cooked as formerly with a given amount of fuel, and the same hear will furnish hot water for the kitchen, the carving table and the bathroom.
These ranges and ovens are manufactured in great variety of sizes and capacities for hotels, restaurants, bakeries, private dwellings, etc., and the ovens can be attached to any style of cooking stove now in use or to parlor stoves, converting them into powerful heaters.
We have spoken of this as a new invention, which is not strictly accurate, as it has been introduced several years, and large numbers of the ranges are in use in all sections of the country, besides having been exported to Central and South America, the West Indies, England, and other foreign countries.
Without the aid of diagrams it is difficult to convey a clear idea of the operation ot this great invention, and therefore we advise our readers to send to Col. Frost for his illustrated circular containing a full description of the apparatus, together with numerous testimonials from well known parties who use and highly commend this most important of all inventions ever introduced in connection with the art of cooking.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.14
Weyer’s Elmira Brick Yard
The most important period in the history of Elmira’s prosperity and development had not been reached, nor had the building interest assumed such importance as to render the manufacture of bricks on a large scale in the city desirable, when in 1866, Mr. J. Philip Weyer started a brick yard in the outskirts of the city. He commenced business on a moderate scale, though his capacity of 1,200,000 bricks a season was amply sufficient for the requirements of the quiet town, but he secured an eligible site for his yard, and from the commencement made such arrangements as would admit of the ready extension of his facilities.
Trade increased quickly, the ten remarkable years of rapid growth that have made Elmira what she is caused a boom in the demand for bricks, and having the only yard in the vicinity Mr. Weyer was not slow to profit by it. Today he is doing a business if 45.000.000 brick a season, and is compelled to carry a stock of 1,500.000 to meet all the possible requirements of his trade, while his yard is one of the best equipped and most conveniently arranged we have ever visited.
The yard proper occupies one and a half acres, mostly under shed, including the kiln and pit sheds. Close at hand are extensive clay banks, furnishing the material for bright colored, strong, clean brick, in the manufacture of which a thirty horse power steam engine, operating the most improved tempering wheels and brick machines, is used. About thirty-two men are constantly employed in the yards, under the owner’s personal supervision and every provision is made for their comport and to expedite their work.
The trade the yard does extends all over this portion of the State, and some of its bricks are shipped into Pennsylvania. The proprietor also has the contract for supplying the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad with brick, which he owes entirely to the superior quality of the article turned out in the yard, and in addition he enjoys the patronage of all the builders and contractors in the vicinity.
A resident of Elmira for twenty-eight years, Mr. Weyer, as the pioneer in an important branch of industry and a responsible and enterprising man of business, enjoys the confidence and patronage of the chief merchants and builders in the city, as well as an excellent reputation throughout the country, while the trade, of which he is the sole representative, is recognized as of increasing importance to the rapidly growing city.
 |
Commercial World & United
States Exporter
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884 p.14 A Valuable Contrivance for Steam Users |
The difference thorough lubrication is capable of making in the working of any piece of machinery in which friction is a cause of trouble, has induced inventors to bestow special attention on the construction of such appliances as will ensure the best results in this important direction. For the lubrication of exterior parts, where the simplest devices would not perform the work, ingenious oil cups, etc., have been invented, while specially constructed lubricators have entirely replaced the old-fashioned cylinder "oilers."
Among the best of these contrivances and one that has secured wider recognition than any other from practical men, is the Swift Automatic Lubricator, manufactured under patents granted to Allen W. Swift, by the Swift Automatic Lubricator Co., of Elmira, N.Y. In this valuable contrivance, which is attached to the steam pipe in such a manner that the steam passes it on its way to the cylinder, a small portion of the live steam carries with it into the valve chest and through this into the cylinder, a constant succession of drops of oil which it reduces to the condition of vapor, so finely are its particles divided. The oil vapor enters with the steam into every part of the valve, chest and cylinder and secures them a perfect lubrication.
So far, its principle is common to a number of similar devices in the market, but the Swift lubricator also possesses special points of excellence. It has no drop tube or pipe within the lubricator, and no outside tubes to be disarranged or glass tubes to be broken. It has a flash feed, visible in a good light at a distance of fifty feet, and has a perfect air valve, preventing pulsation and securing absolute steadiness in feed. If has the widest range of feed of any lubricator in the market, being capable of adjustment to deliver a drop of oil a second, or only a drop in every three minutes, by the simple turn of a valve, and its brainsick, in place of being of the common pattern, is a simple and easily removable, changeable seated valve. With its body cast in one piece and capable of being filled to the brim without leakage or overflow, and its elegant finish, it is an ornament to even the most elaborate engine equipment, while thorough practical trial has proved its perfect success. It is used on the locomotives of several leading railroads, notably the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad, Chicago and Alton Railroad, and others, with marked success, and some idea of their popularity may be formed when we state that in June last over 200 of these lubricators were sold. Messrs. Schaffer & Budenberg, the well known manufacturers of steam gauges and specialties, of John street, New York, have purchased the agency for European countries.
At the American Institute Fair, held in New York, in 1882; at the National Railway Exposition, held in Chicago, in 1883, they received the highest awards for appliances of this character, and being equally adapted for stationary or portable engines, steam pumps, etc., owners or users of these machines should send to the manufacturers of the Swift Automatic Lubricator for one of their circulars and price lists.
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.15
An Able and Successful Professional Firm
The Leading Architects in Elmira
The beauty and solidity of the public buildings, the various structures devoted to manufacturing purposes and the private residences in Elmira and the vicinity never fail to attract the attention of the traveler of visitor in this section, and there would appear to be an honest effort on the part of citizens and residents to give the entire neighborhood an air of substantial prosperity. That this tendency affords an excellent field for the display of their ability by competent architects will be readily evident, and among those who have in this respect particularly distinguished themselves is the firm of Pierce & Dockstader, the leading architects in this portion of the State.
Under the present title the firm has only been known since January 1st, 1884, when Mr. Pierce, who had previously enjoyed an experience of seven years, joined Mr. Dockstader in its organization. He had established an excellent reputation, however, while supervising the Elmira business of Mr. W. H. Hayes, a prominent city architect, whose extensive western connection demanded a large share of his attention. Mr. Dockstader studied civil engineering at Ann Arbor University, Mich., and since his graduation has enjoyed an experience of about four years in some of the leading architects’ offices throughout the country.
The firm make a specialty of planning and designing dwellings and churches, though they are prepared to furnish estimates and specifications of exhibit plans on any work of a professional character, and they will also supervise the construction of all buildings they design, seeing that their plans are carefully carried out.
That they have contributed their full share to the adornment of the city and neighboring places may be judged from the fact that among other prominent buildings they have designed, we may mention the Presbyterian church at Corry, Pa.; Lutheran church of Hewesville, Pa.; Methodist church, Dundee, N.Y.; Industrial School Building at Elmira [cost $10,000]; Penna. State Normal School at Mansfield, Pa. [cost $22,000], and many others. Four months ago they built a brick residence for Mr. T.J. Friendly, of Elmira, costing $15.000; and are at present building a very fine residence for Mr. J. Monroe Shoemaker, to cost $18,000. In Corning they built the handsome residence of Mr. J.J. Tully, costing $20,000, and are building at Wellsville, N.Y., a fine residence for Mr. A.R. Hill that will cost $60,000, as well as a handsome house in Chestertown, Md.
In Elmira last season they took charge of important repairs in Professor Steele’s residence, built new law offices for Messrs, Elliott & Watrous, at Wellsboro, Pa., a handsome structure, and have designed fifteen or twenty skating rinks in Elmira and neighboring cities, besides hundreds of private residences it would be needless to mention.
With the largest and most important professional business in this part of the State, which is rapidly increasing, the firm, both of whom are young men, are making some changes in their offices that will render them one of the most spacious and agreeable suites in the city, comprising the entire second floor of the handsome building at 118 Lake street, they occupy. The front room will be their general office, the next in the rear is their workroom, the third is used as a storeroom for drawings and plans, of which they can at any time exhibit a fine assortment, while the rear room is used as their private office. With these facilities, the excellent reputation their work has gained them, their enterprise and energy and thorough reliability in business matters, they merit the important position they occupy in Elmira professional circles, and the confidence reposed in them by the leading and wealthiest citizens of this section of the State.
| Commercial World & United States
Exporter
New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884 p.15 Steam Fire Engines of the Latest Improved Construction The Advantages of the Rotary Over the Piston Engine. |
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It is only within the past few years that the long existing prejudice against rotary pumps and engines has been effectually dispelled. The correctness of the rotary principle has generally been conceded by mechanics; the difficulty lay in its practical application, but recent improvements have obviated all trouble on this score, and the superiority of the rotary construction over the piston, as applied to steam fire engines, is shown by the fact that more rotary than piston engines are sold in this country at the present time.
The credit of bringing about this revolution in public opinion is due to The La France Fire Engine Company, of Elmira, N.Y., manufacturers of "La France Patent Rotary Steam Fire Engine." The advantages possessed by the rotary over the piston engine are numerous and important. The first is its simplicity of construction, the working parts consisting merely of two pairs of geared wheels, working in air-tight and steam-tight cases; thus substituting four pieces of metal in place of the complicated mechanism of the piston engine. Of course this simplified construction renders it certain that a steamer will never fail to do the work required of it - in fact makes it perfectly reliable at all times. The value of this feature will be instantly recognized, as the failure of an engine at a critical moment may cause the destruction of large amounts of property.
Another great advantage of the rotary engine is the fact that the stream of water is continuous, and the pressure even, however long the line of hose may be; consequently hose will last two or three times as long as when subjected to the spasmodic, pounding motion of water from a piston pump. It is a fact that in the fire departments of large cities the expense of hose in a number of years greatly exceeds that of engines; therefore that is the cheapest engine that requires least hose. Then again, the bursting of hose causes delay and frequently permit’s a fire to get beyond control.
The great durability of the La France engine is another important point; its mechanism being so simple that very little expense and loss of time are occasioned by repairs. The low steam pressure necessary for its effective operation is a valuable feature, no other engine producing so great a water pressure with so low a steam pressure, thirty pounds of steam being sufficient for good fire service. The steady, even pressure in the hose enables this engine to work to better advantage than a piston engine through a long line of hose and up steep grades; and for the same reason it will force a stream of water further than a piston engine can with a given pressure.
Among the valuable improvement in these engines are the packing devices, which practically prevent all waste of steam and water, reduce friction to the minimum, and entirely obviate the pounding of cams; the safety valve, which places the steam pressure under perfect control; the patent nest-tube boiler, which secures a rapid, safe and economical generation of steam; besides several other important features which add to the efficiency of the machine.
They are built of the best materials, in the most thorough manner; and made plain or as ornamental as may be desired, and are fully warranted in every respect. They are of two classes - "A" and "B" - the former in six sizes, the latter in four. The class "B" engines are made of extra strength, to adept them to service in cities with rough pavements.
Among the cities and towns where the La France steamers are in use may
be named the following: Buffalo [four engines], Elmira [two engines], Newburgh,
Gouverneur, Watkins, Canisteo, Lowville, N.Y.; Holyoke, Mass.; Bristol
[two engines], Conn.; Bradford, Huntington, Conshohocken, Pa.; Frederick,
Md., Statesville, N.C.; Spartanburg, S.C.; Brunswick, Ga.; Jackson, Miss.;
Montgomery, Ala.; Franklin, La.; Denton, Tex.; Mt. Pleasant, Mich.; Nashville,
Ill.; Waterloo, Iowa; Waukesha, Wis.; Greeley, Col.; San Francisco, Cal.;
Guayaquil, Ecuador, etc, etc.
| At a trial of steam fire engines at the Centennial, the "La France"
was awarded a medal and diploma, and the judges’ report showed that it
was the most practical engine for fire duty on exhibition. At the Fair
of the American Institute, N.Y., 1874, this engine was awarded a silver
medal, the judges’ report stating that - "We consider the La France Steam
Fire Engine of great value, a great improvement - better than any other
known to us - and of its grade, entitled to the highest award." A medal
was also received at the International Cotton Exposition, Atlanta, Ga.
1881.
In addition to the above specialty the Company are sole manufacturers of Hayes’ extension ladder, truck and fire escape; and also manufacturers of and dealers in hose carriages, carts, reels, and general fire department supplies. Their finely illustrated catalogue and price list will be found of interest to chiefs of fire departments and firemen generally. |
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New York, Boston & Chicago, October 3, 1884
p.15
An Important Manufacturing Establishment
Fitch & Aldrich’s Door, Sash & Blind Factory in Elmira.
The location of Elmira, both geographically and as far as the facilities she enjoys are concerned, has been one of the most important factors in securing for the city its present commercial and industrial importance. The agricultural section in which it is situated is on e of the wealthiest and most fertile in the State, the citizens are peculiarly progressive and enterprising, while the six lines of railroad having depots within the city limits, afford a ready means of reaching the entire surrounding country, as well as of obtaining an unlimited supply of raw material. We have had occasion to comment, in other descriptive articles, on the rapidity with which the various industries in the city have been developed, and we cannot present a better instance than is offered in a brief account of the firm of Fitch & Aldrich, manufacturers of doors, sash, blinds, glazed windows, moldings, etc.
The concern was established under its present title in 1882 by Messrs, A.B. Fitch and C.D. Aldrich, both of whom enjoyed a lengthy experience in the practical details of the trade. Mr. Fitch was for eleven years with H.C. Spaulding, well known in Elmira in this line, and subsequently with Lee, Holland & Co., of Buffalo, N.Y., one of the largest concerns in the world; while Mr. Aldrich was equally conversant with the details of the business. When taking possession of the factory they extended and greatly improved the buildings which consist of the office, 30x40 in extent, and the substantial two story mill building 300x75 feet, and they put up a large building for storage purposes, 130x40 feet, on the opposite side of the street.
The mill is one of the best equipped in the State, containing four separate and complete sets of machines, one employed exclusively on doors, one on sash and one on blinds, and a moulding mill, and they have ample storage and seasoning space, enabling them to keep on hand a full supply of thoroughly seasoned lumber. The mill gives employment to seventy-five men, all selected, skilled mechanics. And is directly supervised by Mr. Aldrich. Mr. Fitch devoting his attention to office and financial matters and the extensive trade.
The business of the firm is mainly wholesale and among their customers are all the large jobbers throughout the country and in all the principal cities, their shipping facilities comprising six railroad lines, enabling them to deliver promptly in every section. They carry on an extensive trade with the South and have exported a considerable quantity of goods through New York commission houses to South America and other foreign parts.
Ninety-five percent of their trade, which last year amounted to $150,000, and is steadily increasing, is in doors, sash, blinds, glazed windows and moldings, and they aim not only at keeping a large stock of choice Michigan pine lumber on hand, but such a supple of ready made moulding, rail, etc., as will enable them to get out the largest orders at short notice.
Both members of the firm are young men, in spite of their lengthy experience, and the business they have built up in so short a period they owe entirely to their perseverance, their careful attention to customers’ requirements and readiness to adopt every useful improvement as well as to the fact that in inviting the patronage of the jobbers and dealers, they have always carefully estimated on work in such a manner as to enable them to guarantee its character. Their price list, revised from time to time, contains full information concerning their productions, and will be forwarded to any address on request addressed to the firm as above.
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