Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-03-19

On the opposite side of the river from
the paper and oil mill was an extensive
foundry and machine shop operated by
Jason Davenport of Middlebury. A large
force of men was employed and the Da-
venport cook stoves were known far and
wide. NJ. WEIGH, later prominent and
prosperous in Middlebury commercial
life, was Davenport's foreman. Daven-
port became financially involved and the
plant passed into the hands of Thomas
Ross, or Tommy" Ross as he was ia
milarly known, who cane from Yer
gennes. Ross is said to have been the
mechanical genius who developed the
Howe scale He gathered an expert
force of machinists and foundrymen and
under his hustling management the
works prospered. He brought with him
| Robert Ross, an older brother, at one
time model gun maker of Remington
firearms. Andrew Ross, young nep-
hew, came over from Scotland as book
keeper. The latter was later cashier of
the Vergennes bank. Thomas Ross
manufactured ali kinds of machinery,
channeling machines for Rutland marble
men, moving machines for Doctor
Blanchard and all sorts of complicated
machinery. When he outgrew the To-
cality Ross moved the business to Rut-
land and named it the Lincoln Iron
| Works. He was killed in his own shops
by the bursting of an emery wheel, a
fragment of which struck him in the
forehead.
Drifting back to the oil mill: The seed
used came largely from Canada, st.
Johns and Montreal being buying points.
Occasionally seed from Calcutta India,
was used, but the Canada seed made the
best oil. Before the days of railroads the
seed was bl ought from Canada by boat,
up the Richelieu, through Lake Cham
plain to Frosts Landing, Bridport, and
then hauled overland to Paper Mill Viii
lage," my people keeping several teams
tiers for that purpose.
The process of manufacturing linseed
oil in those days was crude, in compari
son to the modern methods now EN-
ployed by the Standard Oil interests,
said to control the linseed oil business
today. 1t was honest oil, though, and
the paint prepared with oil made in those
days never washed off like the present
day products Boy fashion, l was a
daily visitor to both paper and oil mills
and the processes of manufacture are
fixed in my mind. Briefly, the seed was
stored on the second and third floors of
the mill, brick structure. AS wanted
it was carefully screened in big power
sitter and spouted down to rapidly re-
volving steel rollers adjusted to just
break the brown coating of the small,
pumpkins shaped faxseed. Then it
passed, in certain quantities, to a pecu-
liar run of stones operated by an individ-
ual water wheel. These two stones were
about six feet across, and fourteen or
fifteen inches thick. They stood on
edge on stone bed flush with the floor.
By means of an axle, attached to a big
upright wooden shaft these stones raced
round and round, mellowing up the
partly crushed seed spread on the stone
bed. A shoe, or guard, kept the seed on
the track. The seed, after a certain
period, went into heating kettle, where
it was thoroughly warmed without
scorching, over the steady heat of pop
lar fire. White poplar only was used on
account of its steady burning qualities.
From the kettle the mixture went into a
big steel drum, sandwiched, or separated
in certain quantities with steel disks
about quarter of an inch thick. The
| drum was lowered into powerful ny
| drauic press the individual water wheel
started and then the oil poured in a
steady stream to tin receiving tank
from which it went direct to barrels for
the trade, absolutely pure, looking in
viting enough to put on pancakes. The
mixture that went into the drum came
out few minutes later in shiny brown
disks, about an inch thick, and so hard it
would take a hammer to break EN-, so
| great was the COMPRISING force of the
| hydraulic press This oilcake went to
the grinding room, where it was cracked
up in a hopper and then run through
regular mill stones like corn meal Farm
ers came for miles around for oilmeal for
stock and many of the noted heightened
fine wool sheep, that made Addison
County famous, satisfied their aristo-
cratic appetites with dainty servings, in
the way of dessert, with the chocolate
colored meal of the flaxseed, manufac-
tured in the old brick mill. While do
not state it as "a fact, it is my belief that
the first cotton seed oil ever manufacture
ed was made at the this mill. | recall
very well hearing discussed, at home,
some correspondence between my grand
father and New York parties, cotton
brokers, believe, about manufacturing
a quantity of cotton seed into oil for ex.
perimental purposes. Finally IA lot of
cotton seed was sent up from New York
manufactured into oil by practically the
same process followed in making linseed
oil, and several barrels shipped to New
York At the mill the oil was consider
ed worthless for painting purposes. Lat
er report came back from parties that
tried the experiment that the oil possess
ed no commercial value. Today, how
ever, the oil of the cotton seed has a
wide commercial value, and there is
millions in it,.
But, my! how | have been running on
about something that may be of no in.
terest to you. If ] have made you tired
an apology is yours in advance. | lust
started in to thank you for your pleasant
words and find | have drifted into the
Passing of Paper Mill Village
Sincerely,
T. NJ. ToBN.