Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-05-18
settled 10 their new building, will do whole.
sale business with country stores.
vERGENN rs.
Its Leading Industries-The State of
Trade.

the manufacturing industry of Vergenne
might have been, but few have ever state
what 1t actually Is. and In spite of the con
. passionate tone adopted by the writers of tn
aforesaid articles, Vergennes people do nc
consider themselves in any need of sympa
thy. Manufactures Of shade rollers, furni
ture, doors, sash and blinds, hubs, hors
nails, road machines aud other articles Civ
an air of hustle and activity to the vicinity o
: the falls, which nothing but lively bushes
enterprise could create, and an inspection o
the different factories would give the obsci
yer marked respect for Vergcnpes and he
manufactures.
One OF the leading Industries of Vergenne
is.that of the Vermont Shade Roller Manu-
featuring Company, located at the west en-,
of the bridge on the falls. The building is 13
x60, three stories high, with a roomy attic
well lighted from above. The compa ny
have another building, 40xG0, some dstauc,
from the above, on Canal street, where tn,
Stats are made. Several acres of ground ART
used for lumber storage. The capacity o.
the establishment may be placed at four Car
loads OF finished goods per week. Some forty
hands are employed as the rule of the
they run the mandatory night and day.
The original partnership of the company
was established in January, 1878, and con-
sisted of w. & ID. G. Crane, Burlington,
+. III. Foss & Co., Fairfield, Maine, and Geo
ID. Wright, Burlington. Their building was
burned April, 1879, and rebuilt the same year
on the site of the old factory, but enlarged and
improved. The business has been steadily in
creasing to this time. The present company
is a stock company and was organized March
9TH 1888, with the following officers. Will
lard Crane, Burlington, Presidents ID. w.
Robinson, Burlington, Vice President A.
&. Crane, Burlington, Secretary and Treas
urer; +. II. Foss, Vergennes, Manager !;
| Willard Crane. Burlington, ID. w. Robinson,
Burlington, F. ii. Foss Vergennes, Geo. d.
Wright, Burlington, e. Ii. Morse, Burling-
| ton. Directors.
The books of the company are kept in
Burlington, at the office of the treasurer
Mr.. Willard Crane. president, does all the
purchasing of lumber, which consists of
Canadian pine, first class. Mr.. +. ii. Foss
of Vergenncs superntends the manufactory
and sales of the company. Their market is
Boston, New York and Philadelphia and
orders from England are not uncommon. A
large store house has been built ut the rail-
road depot and another at the wharf for ship
ping purposes. Quite an improvement for
disposing of their shavings and refuse has
been adopted in the additional building on
Canal street, where blower seve n hundred
feet in length Is constructed, reaching TO Low
ground in the rear of j. 5. HckOk's coal
office; this deposit will soon reclaim the land
now quite useless.
The National Horse Nail company has
arisen from the ashes of 1892 with unmpair-
ed vigor Work was commenced in the new
factory, which was built on the site Of the
old building, in the Fall OF 1882. Since then
the facilities Of the company have been
steadily increased. until now seventeen fin
ishiug machines are in operation The fac
tory is substantially divided into two depart
ments-forging and finishing. In the first
Of these the iron rods are forged into nails.
These rods are manufactured from iron made
at the celebrated Borsvlck works In Sweden.
where the Persley ores are exclusively used,
and these being entirely free from phosphor-
Gus or sulphur are unequalled for horse mi
iron. The blooms are made by the Lancas-
hire process, and all parts not perfectly
sound are rejected, aud used for inferior
grades These blooms are then hammered
into squares, and the nail rods rolled from
them, producing perfect and uniform stock
Leaving the forging room the nails are sub
jectcd to polishing process, originated by
This company, by which the first roughness
ing much time and labor. The nail then
goes TO the pointers. and after being beveled
and pointed, is submitted to second polish
ing, leaving q complete "Champlain" nail, as
the company's production is called.
The machine used for pointing the nails is
the invention of Mr. Robert Ross, a brother
of the late Thomas Ross of Rutland, master
mechanic OF the cUmpany's works. About
nifty hands are employed by the company
and the factory is at present pro-
ducing about one ton. of nails per day.
This will be increased to one ton and a half,
az soon as the machinery now being manu-
featured isput In The Champlain nails are
shipped to points In almost every State of
the Union and the company has orders on
hand which even by running fourteen hours
day they can not fill for several months to
come. The superintendent of the company
is Dir. j. g. Ilindcs. The officers are: L.
Barnes, Burlington, president; ID. II. Lewis,
Vergennes, secretary and treasurer, direc.
tors, Mcssrs. Hindes, Lewis and Barnes, 10.
seph Dc Golyer j. II. Neher and F. w.
Allen of Troy N. Y.
Smith 4 ketcham manufacture large
quantities OF chamber suits and extension
tables, averaging annually five hundred of
the former and twenty-five hundred of the
latter. The furniture trade is not up to
what !. was year ago, though now excellent
even driving, The furniture made here is
manufactured from the best lumber procured
at Ottawa, Canada, through w. b ID. G.
Crane OF Burlington, and is shipped from
that port TO this place by boat. Messrs
Smith have since they started in business in
January, 1878, furnished nearly all the Sum-
mer resorts in Eastern New YORK.
BARLEY, Fisher u Co., wholesale and retail
manufacturers and dealers in Eastwood and
chamber q Nvn a VT al taI
are doing an excellent trade at their factory,
at the east end of the bridge in Vergennes
They manufacture about 700 chamber suits
annually, and between 5000 and $500 extern
sion tables, employing twenty five men. The
lumber used comes principally from Canada
through Burlington dealers, both by boat ard
car. The firm Is now daily expecting u large
shipment OF lumber from that source. This
industry Is of recent growth having been
started in September, 1881, by Lawrence
BARLEY, Junius q. Fisher and John W.
Fushia, the present propretors. In 1889
they removed from their cramped quarters
In the Kendall building to the large and COM
modious factory formerly occupied by
Hayes, Faardo and Parker, where they are
now located
The firm inform us that trade is excellent,
that they have large number OF untitled
orders on hand, and that MIR. Barley, who
IS now travelling through New York State
| Is meeting with great success.
The Little Giant Road Machine ranks high
among Vergennes manufactures 1t is the
invention of lifelong resident of this place.
and was patented May Gath, 1881. by Messrs.
smith Strong. The machines are manu-
featured by F. III. Strong and @. t. Parker,
under the firm name OF Strong & Parker.
Though it is but two years since the first
Little Giant" was made the invention is in
use oil through the State, and in New York
and Massachusetts, In Addison county alone