The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-12-08
Largest Tannery in the World.

Largest Tarnery in the World.
THE GREAT ESTABLISHMENT OF HoYT
BRoTHERs NOW BEING ERECTED ON
BABB's oRREK--ExTENr OF THE
BUILDINGS.
The Wellsboro Agitator says:
Messrs. Hoyt Brothers, who are
building the Woodland tannery in
Morris, are the heaviest tanners In the
United States. They own and oper-
ate fi"c other good sized tanneries in
this state, besides as many more In
New York. While many other estab.
lishments anchttes upon commission,
this firm buy all their hides and sell
their own leather. The firm consists
OF Messrs. oliver Hoyt and William
Hoyt, who reside ut Stamford, Ct. and
Mr.. Mark Hoyt, Of Brooklyn, N. Y.
But little more than six months ago
the site of the new tannery on Babb's
creek was as wild and barren as can be
imagined. Only two or three houses
were to be seen in the narrow valley
at that point, and the denizens of Nor
ris were almost without hope regard
ing the opening up of the wilderness
by the march of improvement. This
WINS the condition of affairs when
Messrs. Hoyt Brothers came here and
bought land and made contracts for all
the hemlock bark on about 40, 600 acres
Of land belonging to other parties, and
decided to erect the largest tannery in
the world on Babb's creek, about a
mile below the old hotel familiary
known as "Babb's."
During the past summer the build
ings have been constructed. The saw
mill, the boiler house, engine rooms,
leach houses, beam house, sweat pit,
bark mills, the company's store and
over eighty dwellings houses are now
complete, and the large dry house will
soon be finished.
OTHER BUILDINGS.
The boiler house is a beautiful speci-
men of masonary. Ten 82-foot cylin-
drical boilers, without flues, are set
| over "a arches, which form the fire
pots. A sufficient draft is gained to
consume the wet bark, which is used
for fuel, by brick stack 100 feet in
height. From these boilers the steam
is carried to the three engines in the
adjacent buildings-the beam house,
bark mills and dry house.
| There are six bark mills, which
grind 100 cords of bark day. AS the
ground bark comes from the mills it is
tioated In hot water, which is heated
by the exhaust steam, through large
trough to the teaches. 1t takes SOC
gallons of water minute to carry the
bark in this manner. There are forty
teaches, each holding from ten to
twelve cords of bark. The process OF
teaching occupies from four to five
days. Then the liquor is drawn of
and the spent bark is shoveled out of
the leach vat into another trough, in
which runs an endless chain carrying
cross pieces or scrapers about three
feet apart. By this means the refuse
bark is carried to the boiler rooms and
| dumped, ready to be fed into the furn-
ace pits as fuel. All the water and
liquors are handled by the aid of nine
large rotary pumps. each one of which
mas a capacity of raising 300 gallons q
minute.
| In the beam house there are 200
watts in which there are now upward
of 10000 sides in the various stages
of tanning. Fifty men are employed
in this building in working on the
beams and attending the watts. The
sweat rooms are part of the same
structure, and are heated by steam
pipes. About 5000 sides are contained
in the fourteen rooms. The process OF
sweating is now commonly used in all
large tanneries, and it is the quickest
mode of loosening the hair. The new
hide after being softened with water,
is subjected to the high temperature OF
the sweat room, where putrefaction to
a certain extent is allowed to take
place. This loosenes the hair suffici.
emily for the operations of the work
men at the beams.
HIDES AND BARK.
The dry house, which is not vet
complete, is two-story building ZOO
feet in length. 1t will hold 10000
hides, besides affording room for
twelve large rollers and other work OF
finishing the leather for market.
The operation of tanning leather
now takes about four months from the
time the hard, dry, rusty hide is put
in until it comes out a finished piece OF
sole leather. Oneyear was once thought
to be little enough time in which
leather could be properly made.
Then the period was reduced to six
months, and of late years the tanners
have concluded that three stocks can
be turned out in year. Some people
claim that the leather is not SO good
because of its rapid handling; but how
that may be we leave others to decide
None but foreign hides are tanned al
Woodland, and they are mostly
brought from South America. These
skins are chiefly noticeable for the
short and thin coat of hair, which
pobably facilitates the rapid tanning.
1t is said that good hemlock lands
will average about ten cords of bark tC
the acre. Taking this for basis the
new tanhery is assured of over 800 900
[ cords of hark Or pnnuUh IN Eaa1o fbe