Daily Republican., 1881-06-04
A WILMINGTON INDUSTRY,
JACKSON Il sHARP WORKS THE
LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY.
Sketch Of the WOrks-WOuId they
be Injured by u Public High.
way Opened through them
10 the River:

The Jackson & Sharp company's G;
works are an instance of the RAP
development Of manufacturing inst
f tuition in Wilmington. Previous
1868 Mr.. job H, jackson and Jacob |
Sharp We're both employed by the Ha
Ian Il HolliEgsworth Company, but til
succeeding year they formed II co-par
nership and engaged in u small way i
the building of cars where the preseI
works are located ut The foot of Eight
street and on the p. w. a. Il. Railroad
The small unpretentiOus shop whic
only had capacity for the building {
some half dozen of cars at first, was elig
bly, located on Il narrow neck Of Ian
fronting on two rivers, the Christian
and the Brandywlne-bOth navigabl
and ON the ChriStiana side one of /
not the very best wooden ship yards il
the city of Wilmington. The pay rol
OF this young car building firm the frs
week was only $50, and it did not cx
coed 500 per. week for some time there
after. From this the capacity of tn
works at the commencement are an
parent. BY economy and perseverance
the young firm IroSpered, and the mex
year, 1874, they were induced to erect
sash, door, and frame mmutactory BY
the numerous requests from patrons tC
furnish such articles.
Since then the works have been on
larged four times, each enlargement be
ing more extensive than the one
last built, until at the present
time their works including the large
lumber yard and ship building yard
covers near Y 20 acres, and from $40 al
the first, the pay roll has increased tc
Sl2, 200 per week, to force OF 800 hands.
EARLY last winter the company com.
menced the most extensive improve
ments that had been made up to that
time. Some of these extensive addi-
tions are now completed and other large
ones are still rrder way. The addition
to the machinery department con-
sists of two story brick building 81 by
LOG feet in which they have placed ad.
ditional machinery ofthe most approved
designs. Sixty new work benches are
in course of construction for the wood
workers alone in the second story of the
which will make room for 12O
wood workmen. A new Cor
liss engine OF $50 horse power has Just
been put in place and is now running
its second week. TO drive this engine,
a pair OF boilers of Babcock & Wicox's
make have been put in place. The en-
gine and boilers were all manufactured
in Jersey City, The leather belt from the
ponderous balance wheel which turns
he machinery Ofthis immense establish
nent, was manufactured by Rhoades &
MCComb of this city.
Three times have boilers been placed |
n these works. The first were pair |
If upright boilers that were thought at |
he time to have sufficient capacity for |
many years, but being overtasked by |
Idded but even with this addition they |
we're found insufficient to keep pace with |
he rapid development Of tne works.
hey are now used exclusively for heat
ng shops in winter and will hereafter al
o be used for kiln drying lumber The
ompany is now erecting two Excelsior
ry-kilns that have capacity of 10000
eet of lumber. These kilns will be COM
leted in four weeks. During the panic
early all the dry lumber in the country
vas used and none was manufactured
D take its place. Consequently when
ood times came again only green lum-
er could be found and the demand for
has been so great that the manufaC-
urers cannot get sufficient ahead of dry
amber to supply the demand; hence
he building OF drying kilns by the
ackson & Sharp Company.
The company has become hard press
1 for room for the erection of cars and
, relieve that pressure they have COM
fenced the erection of an addition to
le car shops which is now well ad
anced. The size of this addition is 70
y 1870 feet, two stories in heighth. The
,mpany is also extending the black
NTH shop. When all these works are t
,mpleted the capacity Of the works {
i'll be increased twenty-five per cent. q
'ithin year past, half mile of rail t
'ad tracks was laid through the lum- t
,r yards and to the wharf OF the ship
ard. The lumber is unloaded from the e
n where it is to be piled until it is t
y enough for use. There are constant /
in the yard from four to fifteen cars $
lumber ror unloading. Keeping up a
instant supply oflumber Of all varieties
quires much tact and calculation. The t
alnut, ash, poplar aud other hard Il
oods come from Indiana and other t
'estern States, the white pine from q
ichigan, the oak from Delaware and v
e deck plank from Pennsylvania.
The company is as mnch pressed with a
ip yard orders as with car orders in e
e car shops There are on the ways v
r repairs the schooner Ruth 7. Carlile L
dergong extensive repairs; The brig d
,orge w. Chase and schooner Joseph "
Pharo, are at the wharf waiting to be a
uled out A number of grain barges Il
0 also on the stocks, one of which was
lnched this morning A keel is being
d for three masted schooner. a,
Column after column might be writ Fl
| in detail giving a minute descrip- 7
n of these works. The work in the
Ips is so systemized that there are
Dartments or shops for every kind Of
rk and every workman knows exact
what he has to do. The brick max
, the sash and door makers, the tin .
IS, the upholsterers, the painters, the
the plumbers, the black !
iths, the machinists, the design pain a
S of car Innings, all have separate al
lrtments. The products of this man v,
ctory bring into the City of Whining ~
annually about 81, 500,00 ts
he representative of the REPUBL-.
N was astenished at the extent of the
rks, and he ventures the prediction
It there are not fifty people in Will ri
ngton who have any idea that the hi
gest car mandatory in the United w w
ties is located in Wilmington, and ns
operated by the Jackson & Sharp sv
1pany. TO
tut there is one draw back which st, S+
eatens to interfere somewhat with "a, II,
prosperity of these works which in a., az
le manner support about one-eighth ~. nr
population of the city of Whining r
1t hangs like dark cloud over
future and 1t is for the City Coun-
Of Wilmington to say whether the
sperOus establishment that brings su
the city $4,000, 900 annually, shall or