St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-10-11
BUSINESS BUILDINGS
Additions at O. V. Hooker and
Sons. Largest Stone Shed in
Town Nearly Done.

Probably few people in town know
that there is considerable building
activity being done at present by o.
v. Hooker 81 Son. A trip around
their buildings on Mill street and
their latest operations on the Con-
cord Avenue side of the river would
repay one. They have lately ac-
quired the old Paddock Iron foundry,
better known, perhaps, by the name
completing a new power plant on
the north side of the river in rear
of the Hynes foundry which will
develop 112 horse power. The new
power house building is 28 feet wide
and SO feet long and some idea of
the strength of the building can be
seen by the fact that the new Samp-
son-Lefell water wheel and
other apparatus in the building will
weigh considerably over Is tons. An
air compressor will also be installed
in this building and air furnished
from here to the new stone sheds
across the river. A new steel pen
stock and steel fume brings the wat
er to the wheel from the Paddocks
Village dam. An auxiliary steam
power plant will also be installed in
this building, but there will not be
any power for sale as o. V. Hooker
e Son have use for all the power
they can develop. The Hynes shop
will soon be torn down and build
ing for manufacturing purposes
erected as soon as their increasing
business demands. A substantial
foot bridge was built this past sum-
mer across the Passumpsic river a
short distance below the pumping
station. This bridge is for the use
of the Hooker workmen and is a
great saving of time. The bridge is
feet wide and about $50 feet long
with about IL feet above the high
water mark.
On the south side of the river and
near the present buildings of o. ".
Hooker & Son the greatest activity
can be seen by the large number of
workmen engaged in work there.
They have nearly completed the
largest stone shed in town and one
of the best equipped in the state.
This new stone shed is 36 feet wide
and 186 feet long, % foot posted
and especially well lighted by large
number of windows. The building
is built over a bank so that thous-
ands of tons of grout can be dispos-
ed of by merely dumping through a
hole in the floor. A space rs feet
long in the southern end of the shed
will be devoted to the hand work
on granite, then another space of fF75
feet long will be used for storage
and the pneumatic surfacing work
and the northern end will be the
polishing shop. A spur from the
Boston & Maine runs directly into the
shop and the granite will be unload
ed from the cars by an electric trav-
cling crane which has capacity of
five tons. This is already installed
and runs the entire length of the
new building. The power for this
crane is supplied by direct current
from a generator in the Hooker
shop and developes about 10 horse
power. Parady and Thibodeau, who
now have a shed near the Hooker
shop will occupy the new shed about
December first. AS soon as they are
located in their new quarters they
will increase. their working force
Is to rs men.
Languer and Gauthier, who have
a small shed on the Hooker property, |
will move into the shed vacated by
Parady and Thibodeau. This is a
two story, fiat roof shed 40 by 70
feet. Languer and Gauthier will
soon increase their working force of
seven men to fifteen