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Edward T. Howe

Quincy Granite Quarries Develop Innovative Granite Industry Technologies  

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The opening of a Quincy granite quarry in 1826 propelled a transportation innovation, new quarrying technologies, greater use of granite as a construction material and the emergence of large-scale quarrying elsewhere.  Quarrying activity in Quincy, long in decline, finally ceased in 1963.

Granite quarrying in Quincy, Mass., located about 10 miles southeast of Boston, began in the colonial era.  Most houses and other structures in that era were made of wood, as granite buildings would be expensive to construct.  However, granite boulders were used for installing foundations, tops of windows (lintels), hearthstones, doorstops and linings of walls.   Other uses included wells and retaining walls.  The first granite structure in Boston used pieces of granite for the rebuilding of King’s Chapel in 1754.

King’s Chapel in 1928

To get small pieces of granite before 1800, boulders were heated and then split by dropping iron weights on them.  Around 1800 feathers (pieces of curved metal) were inserted into drilled holes in the granite rock. Then, iron wedges were hammered between the feathers to split the rock.  This procedure, known as the “feather-and-wedging” method, cut the cost of splitting.  Gunpowder (black powder) was often used to acquire large pieces of granite.

The first commercial quarries in Quincy appeared in the early 19th century, after Newcomb Richards opened the first quarry in 1803.

The Bunker Hill Monument

On June 7, 1823, the Bunker Hill Monument Association was formed to build a suitable replacement for an 18-foot wooden column built in 1794.  It honored Dr. Joseph Warren, a noted patriot, and was located on nearby Breed’s Hill, the actual site of the 1775 battle in Charlestown.  In 1825 the association directors made several moves. They purchased several acres of Breed’s Hill and decided on an obelisk (a four-sided tapered column with a pyramid at the top) for the new monument. They broke ground for the project on June 7 and hired Solomon Willard–later recognized as the pillar of the granite industry–as the architect and superintendent, and they bought a 4-acre quarry in Quincy (the Bunker Hill Quarry) to furnish the estimated 9,000 tons of granite needed.

Bunker Hill Monument under construction in 1840

Three Innovations

The dark gray granite chosen was known for its hardness, durability, high polishing ability and resistance to weather.  Workers–including from Scotland–used the feather-and- wedging method to reduce the cost of the material to less than a cent per cubic foot. Three innovative technologies developed at the quarry greatly aided the large project.  The first technological advance came when Almoran Holmes invented a hoisting apparatus to get the granite out of the quarry.

Quarry workers using hoisting equipment to load granite.

The second innovation involved a new transportation method.  In 1826 the Granite Railway Company was formed to transport the Bunker Hill Quarry granite to a wharf on the Neponset River in Milton.  Gridley Bryant, an engineer, was chosen to build the innovative railway.  The cars initially ran on wooden rails crowned by iron plates.  Underneath, perpendicular ties (sleepers) rested on crushed rocks to support the rails.  The earliest rail cars had flat platforms upon which the granite blocks were loaded using hoists and manual labor. Chains and ropes held the blocks in place.  On Oct. 7, 1826, the rail line transported granite by horsepower to the wharf in Milton for the first time.

The third innovation occurred in 1830 when a 315-foot incline plane, using a continuous moving chain, took loaded rail cars down to the main rail line.

The incline, 1934

In addition to the Bunker Hill Quarry, the Pine Hill Ledge Quarry opened in 1830 to help build the monument.

Quincy Granite to Charlestown

After arriving at the wharf, the granite blocks were transferred to flat-bottom barges or schooners and sent to Devens Wharf in Charlestown where teams of oxen carried the blocks to the monument site.  Unfortunately, funding shortages over a long period of years delayed the completion of the 221-foot, 5-inch monument until July 23, 1842.

The construction of the Bunker Hill monument using new technologies showed that large-scale granite production could be cost-effective.  This drew increasing numbers of firms into the industry in Quincy and throughout the country during the 19th century.  In contrast to the Bunker Hill Quarry, most of the firms in Quincy were small operations.  Some of them included Wright & Barker, 1834-1842; Frederick & Field, 1834-1890; Elcock & Son, 1865-1902; and Swingle’s Quarry, 1856-1963.  At its peak, about 50 quarries operated in Quincy.  Moreover, these quarries dominated the industry for most of the 19th century.

More Innovation

Further technological innovations from the mid- to late-19th century helped the Quincy granite quarries maintain their dominant position.  Among them were pneumatic drills for more efficient splitting of the granite blocks, specialized tools (e.g., chisels and polishing machines), steam-powered derricks and, later, air compressors to lift the stones.  By 1894 the Lyons Turning Mill used steam-powered machinery to shape columns of granite.

A granite column cut by the Lyons Turning Mill

Both skilled and unskilled quarry workers engaged in dangerous work.  The worst hazard for skilled workers (e.g., stonemasons, carvers, blacksmiths) was inhaling granite dust. That often led to lung disease (silicosis) and other health issues.  Accidents from falls, use of machinery, explosions and human error added to the dangers.  Finally, the skilled workers decided to join the Granite Cutters National Union in 1877 seeking better working conditions.  The unskilled workers faced the same hazards as the skilled laborers, plus other tasks such as heavy lifting and setting explosives.  Many of the unskilled workers came from Britain, Ireland, Italy, Finland and Sweden.  They too finally joined a union– the Quarry Workers’ International Union of North America–in 1916.

Ubiquitous Quincy Granite

During the 19th century, some examples of the use of Quincy granite in Boston included Quincy Market (1824-1826); the Charlestown Navy Yard for a dry dock (1827-1833), ropewalk (1827-1834), and engine house (1838); the Boston Custom House (1837-47); the so-called “pagoda building” (1843) and Charles Street jail (1851).

Quincy Market

Outside of Boston, Quincy granite was used for the Merchant’s Exchange Building on Wall Street (1836-1841) in New York City; and customhouses in Savannah, Ga. (1852); Providence, R.I. (1855-1857); and Portland, Maine (1867-1872).  Quincy itself boasts several granite structures including the United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents). Built in 1828, it includes the burial site of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and their spouses.    Also notable are the Old Town Hall (1844), the National Mount Wollaston Bank (1925) and the Granite Trust Building (1929). The second Minots Ledge Light south of Boston also used Quincy Granite (1860).

Minot’s Ledge Light

Besides the Bunker Hill Monument, other notable monuments are the Franklin obelisk, dedicated to the parents of Benjamin Franklin, in the Granary Burying ground in Boston (1826); the Washington Tower in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. (1852-1854); the Robert Cushman monument (1858), for a Mayflower ship organizer, in Plymouth, Mass. (1858); the Civil War monument in Hingham, Mass. (1870); the Daniel Webster monument in Central Park, New York City (1876); the Henry Ward Beecher monument in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1871); the West Brookfield, Mass., War Memorial (1921); and the Quincy Granite Ball monument (1926).

Other uses for granite have been for paving blocks and curbing, especially in the 19th century, and more recently for aesthetic uses (e.g., countertops).

The Rise and Fall of Quincy Granite

Up until 1875 demand for Quincy granite for building projects steadily increased.  However, demand declined between 1875 and 1880 as new quarries emerged. Prices also moved relatively lower for brick, cement, sandstone and Bedford oolite (limestone). Granite also had a tendency to crack because of improper sealing.

Nonetheless, the granite quarries then experienced a recovery up to World War I as demand for monuments and gravestones rose.  The quarries experienced a long-term decline thereafter: needed iron, steel, and machinery for the quarries was lost to shipbuilding during the world war;  a crippling drop in demand for granite occurred during the Great Depression; the inability again to get iron and steel during World War II; and the rising use of reinforced concrete as a construction material after the war.  Thus, the quarries began to go out of business over time.  The last Quincy granite quarry, Swingle’s, closed in 1963, marking the end of the “Granite City” era.

Earth-filled quarry at Quincy Quarries Reservation

After the quarries closed, they filled with water.  This encouraged swimming, diving, and trash disposal that was accompanied by numerous injuries and deaths.  In 1985 the Metropolitan District Commission bought 22 acres of quarry property that became the Quincy Quarries Reservation.  Tons of dirt and clay from construction of the “Big Dig” highway project in Boston filled in the largest quarries starting in 1999.  The reservation subsequently opened to the public in 2003 for picnicking, hiking, rock climbing, scenic views, and to witness the application of graffiti to its boulders.

A climber at Quincy Quarries Reservation

End Notes

Edward T. Howe, Ph.D. is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena University near Albany, N.Y.

***

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Images: Granite Railway Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Granite Railway, Pine Hill Quarry to Neponset River, Quincy, Norfolk County, MA. Norfolk County Quincy Massachusetts, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/ma0848/. Rock climber By Jake Sutton – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakesutton/1333655730/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4353398. Unfinished Bunker Hill monument By Cornell University Library – https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelluniversitylibrary/4360064926/ Freemen’s Quick Step, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11725421. Quincy Quarries Reservation By Sswonk – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7197983. Hoisting equipment Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. Loading, a New England granite quarry. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2016813995/>. Granite Railway (horses) PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7614475. Quincy Market By Jack Boucher – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID hhh.ma0469/photos.075918p.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27771492. Minot’s Ledge Light By USCG – U.S. Coast Guard, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9745973. Granite column By Jameslwoodward – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7996463

 

 

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First U.S. Credit Union Opens in Manchester, N.H.

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On Nov. 24, 1908 the first credit union in the United States opened for business in Manchester, N.H.  Founded on a belief that people with limited financial means should form a cooperative alternative to the commercial banking system, the success of the Manchester venture spawned further development of these entities throughout New England and elsewhere.

The origins of the modern credit union in North America can be traced to Germany.  In 1853 Hermannn Schulze founded a society to raise funds (capital) for loans to its membership. Members were employed mainly in industry and commerce in urban areas.  Nine years later, Friedrich Raiffeisen established a similar society at Anhousen to help poor rural workers.   Credit cooperative societies then quickly began to spread across other European countries.

A caisse populaire credit union in Lévis, Quebec, c. 1920

North America’s First Credit Union

Credit unions first appeared in North America in Quebec, Canada.  On Jan. 23, 1901 Alphonse Desjardins opened his La Caisse Populaire de Levis (The People’s Bank of Levis) in Levis, Quebec.  As in Germany in the mid-19 century, farmers and industrial employees struggled to earn a living. They also faced difficulties in dealing with commercial banks, and they had to pay high interest rates for borrowing from unscrupulous lenders.  Desjardins wanted only “honest and laborious” members in his cooperative association who would make their deposits and could obtain loans. Men and women who wanted to join had to pay an entrance fee and buy a minimum of one $5 share.

Alphonse Desjardins

Meanwhile, Monsignor Pierre Hevey, pastor of Sainte-Marie parish in Manchester, became aware of the success of the Quebec credit union. He then invited Desjardins to meet with him in May 1908 to form a similar financial institution.  Desjardins agreed to meet. Hevey told him that his relatively poor French-Canadian parishioners lacked access to needed funds, given their low-wage employment in the Amoskeog Textile Mill and elsewhere.  Desjardins then gave advice about how to create such an entity to Hevey and others.

Monsignor Pierre Hevey

St. Mary’s

Based on the successful organizational model created by Desjardins, the St. Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association began its operations on Nov. 24, 1908. Thus it became the first credit union in the United States.  The initial location was in the parlor of the home of Joseph Boivin, who became the president and manager.  The New Hampshire General Court subsequently granted the credit union a charter by a special act on April 9, 1909.  By 1913 it had its own building.

The not-for-profit financial entity was member-owned and operated. Each member had to buy at least one $5 share in the corporation and pay an entrance fee.  Membership was initially restricted to the men, women and children of Manchester.  The pooled savings deposits (credits) became the source for loans to the members at an interest rate capped at 6 percent.

Workers at the Amoskeag Mill Yard

The organizational structure of the credit union had three groups: at least five directors; a three-member supervision committee; and a three-member credit committee.  The directors oversaw financial affairs; could declare a dividend payment from net earnings, subject to a 20 percent contribution to a guaranty fund for unforeseen expenses or incurred losses; and initially had to select a president, treasurer and clerk.

Moreover, the state exercised control over the credit union through supervision by bank commissioners. It also required payment of the same types of taxes that were imposed on savings banks.

A New Name

On April 3, 1917, the New Hampshire Legislature allowed the credit union to change its name to La Caisse Populaire Ste. Marie (Bank of the People, St. Mary’s).  A further change came on April 28, 1925, that allowed the credit union to use its 1917 designation or be known as St. Mary’s Bank.

Ste. Marie Church in Manchester

Meanwhile, Edward Filene, a Boston department store owner, and Pierce Jay, the Massachusetts banking commissioner, saw a need to encourage the formation of credit unions (coined by them) through a state general incorporation law, rather than through special acts pertaining to a specific entity (i.e., St. Mary’s).  Thus, they helped secure passage of the Massachusetts Credit Union Act on April 15, 1909 (six days after the granting of St. Mary’s charter). That became the first general law for the creation of credit unions.

The Industrial Credit Union opened in Boston in 1910, becoming the first credit union in Massachusetts.  Within New England, other credit unions emerged. Rhode Island started its first in 1915 (La Credit Union de Notre Dame de Central Falls, Maine in 1921 (Telephone Workers Credit Union of Maine), Vermont in 1925 (Montpelier Credit Union) and Connecticut in 1938 (Manchester Teachers Federal Credit Union).

Edward Filene

Legacy of the First Credit Union

Since its founding in 1908, St. Mary’s Bank has been durable and popular.  It has survived both world wars, the Great Depression (especially after the bankruptcy of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in 1935) and various financial turmoils over succeeding decades.  Its popularity had depended on higher savings rates on deposits, lower interest rates on borrowings and customized personal services offered in a local setting.  Nevertheless, challenges have included questions about its management, computer software usage and external threats. Those criticisms, however, are common to other financial institutions.

Edward T. Howe, Ph.D. is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena University near Albany, N.Y.

Images: Illustration of Desjardins and Hevey created by ChatGPT. Ste. Marie Church by By John Phelan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30614758

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Now available in paperback and as an ebook from the New England Historical Society! A collection of stories about the French people who came to America. Click here to order your copy today!

 

 

 

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Boston Builds The First U.S. Subway System

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Near the end of the 19th century, Boston needed to alleviate its heavily congested downtown traffic.  The three-phase subway project, completed in about three years, was successful in reducing the gridlock. It also led to further subway expansion in the 20th century.

In the colonial era, Bostonians relied on walking, horses, horse-drawn carriages and water transportation – including a ferry service begun by Thomas Williams in 1631 from Boston to Chelsea – to conduct activities within their small peninsula and to nearby communities (e.g., Cambridge and Roxbury).  As the population and land area of Boston expanded, horse-drawn modes of public transportation emerged.  By 1793 stagecoach service had begun from Boston to Cambridge. The stage was followed in the 1820s by the the omnibus — a lengthier version of the stagecoach, but with frequent stops.

A major advance came on March 26, 1856, when the Cambridge Horse Railway Company introduced the first horse-drawn street railway from downtown Boston to Cambridge.  No longer did passengers have to endure jouncing travel over rutted and muddy roads.  The instant success of this streetcar railway drew numerous competitors.  Ridership overall expanded to 13 million in 1860 and about 60 million by 1880.

Henry Whitney

Henry Whitney foresaw the need for further improvements in the system. So he formed the West End Street Railway Company in 1887. He realized that sharing several end-of-line stations with his rivals in the narrow downtown Boston streets promoted congestion.  Other inefficiencies included the need to switch to rivals’ tracks and higher than necessary fares.

Henry Whitney around 1900

After acquiring a majority of the common stock in each of his four major competitors, he convinced the Massachusetts Legislature to legalize his virtual monopoly through passage of the West End Consolidation Act of 1887.  True to his promise of benefits, passengers enjoyed lowered fares, better routes and expansion of service.

Whitney, however, realized that the cost of maintaining thousands of horses was unsustainable. Fortunately, he learned that Frank Sprague had installed an electric motor traction system in Richmond, Va., to power its streetcars. After witnessing this achievement in July 1888 with his general manager, Whitney soon contracted with Sprague to electrify a streetcar (trolley) line in Boston with overhead lines. It  opened on Jan. 1, 1889.  Within five years, most of the horse-drawn railway cars were non-existent.

Although the faster trolley cars improved service in the Boston area, their arrival only worsened downtown congestion.  With roughly 200,000 people arriving daily in the center of Boston, congestion became especially dense in the area of Washington and Tremont streets.  Walkers and horse-drawn vehicles only compounded the problem.

Controversy

Finally, a Rapid Transit Commission, approved by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1891, issued a report about the congestion on April 6, 1892. It recommended, among several other projects, that a subway system be built that would link to the surface lines of the West End Street Railway.  In July 1894 the Legislature authorized the formation of the Boston Transit Commission to develop what would become a three-phase subway project.

Opponents of the subway voiced concern that it would be too costly to build, construction would disrupt business operations,  workers would be exposed to dangerous conditions, various non-human inhabitants (e.g., rats and insects) would be found, and passengers would experience breathing bad air underground.  Nevertheless, politicians, newspapers and other adherents convinced voters to approve a citizen referendum for the subway system on July 25, 1894.

The first phase of subway construction began on March 28, 1895, under the supervision of the Boston Transit Commission.  The subway would run under Tremont Street between Boylston Street and Park Street stations. It would be known as the Tremont Street Subway.

Building the Subway

Construction workers on the Tremont Street subwau

The project mainly used a novel “cut-and-cover” technique of construction that was economical. Workers dug sections of trenches about 10 feet in length, 12 feet in width at a depth of 6 feet.  Temporary wooden braces supported the walls, to prevent the dirt from caving in. They were used to form a temporary roof over the top of the trench.  The trenches were then dug down to a depth of 50 feet.  After reaching this level, steel beams reinforced the sides of the walls, with concrete used to build walls and floors.  Brick arches between steel beams formed the roof of the tunnel, with the upper surface containing soil and concrete.  Small carts carried tons of dirt, rock and other items on conveyors to railcars. The railcars then transported them to landfill projects in Boston and its suburbs.

Tunneling Through Trouble

Despite all the construction activity, streetcar service on Tremont Street continued while work occurred day and night.

Two notable incidents happened during the digging of the tunnel.  On April 18, 1895, only three weeks after the project began, medical students discovered human remains from the Central Burying Ground. They were interred beneath part of Boston Common on Boylston Street.  Eventually 910 bodies were found and reburied in the Central Burying Ground.  Almost two years later, on March 4, 1897, a gas main on the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets exploded. It killed 10 people and injured more than 50 others in the area.  Work in the tunnel did not directly cause the explosion, thus allowing work on the subway project to continue for the final six months of construction.

Immediate aftermath of the gas explosion

The Subway Finished

On Sept. 1, 1897, the first section of the subway system opened to the public.  Trolley car No. 1752 left the Allston Depot, operated by James Reed; entered the Public Garden entrance to the Boylston Street station at 6:01 a.m., and reached the end of the one-half mile trip to the Park Street station three minutes later.   By midnight more than 150,000 passengers had paid the 5-cent fare for the ride on the four-track line between the two stations.  Consequently, congestion dropped noticeably on Tremont Street.

The first subway car, driven by Jimmy Reed

The second and third phases of the subway system were soon completed by November 1898. They allowed passengers to travel about two miles between the Boylston Street and Haymarket Square stations.  The entire three-phase project had a total cost of about $4 million. The city paid for it with no state or federal funds.  The West End Railway Company originally agreed to lease the subway, but subsequently leased all its lines to the Boston Elevated Railway Company in December 1897.  Additional development of the subway system continued into the 20th century.  The last subway expansion, the Huntington Avenue extension, opened in 1941.

 

In 1947 the Legislature created the Metropolitan Transit Authority, a public utility, to take over the Boston Elevated Railway, a private company.

Edward T. Howe, Ph.D. is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena University near Albany, N.Y.

***

Now available in paperback and as an ebook from the New England Historical Society! A collection of stories about the French people who came to America. Click here to order your copy today!

 

 

 

 

Photo Credits

Images: Construction workers: Tremont St. subway. 1896. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/96512682/>.. Park Street Subway station postcard Boston, Park St. Subway Station. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2025667735/>. Stagecoach Swett, Moses, Artist. Phoenix Line, “safety coaches” Owned by Beltzhoover & Co. running between Washington and Baltimore, time 5 hours / / M. Swett, invt. et del. ; lith. of Endicott & Swett, N.Y. [Between 1830 and 1834] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/95504531/>. Gas explosion Explosion at Tremont & Boylston St., Boston, Mar. 4. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2005686695/>. First subway car By Unknown author – Frank Cheney, Anthony Mitchell Sammarco. Trolleys Under the Hub. Arcadia Publishing, 1997. Page 19., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9489740, colorized by ChatGPT.

 

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The Gundalow: The Workhorse Barge of the Piscataqua River

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The gundalow (from “gondola”) was a flat-bottomed sailing barge, akin to a scow, that first appeared in the Piscataqua River Region in the 17th century.  It continued to assist in the economic development of the region until the early 20th century.

The gundalow Piscataqua, The Portsmouth-based Gundalow Company offers scenic river cruises on the gundalow.

Small gundalows, less than 30 feet long, without a sail, propelled by poles and long oars  (“sweeps”), appeared in the mid to late 17th century in northeastern Essex County in Massachusetts.  They transported two types of grass (either “marsh hay” for livestock or “thatch” for roofs and gardens) from tidal creeks to a place for distribution.  Larger gundalows also began to appear in Massachusetts along the Merrimack River and the Ipswich marshes. They could be up to 50 feet long.

The Gundalow on the Piscataqua

The Piscataqua River Region in the southern part of New Hampshire and Maine generally embraces the 12-mile Piscataqua River and its tributaries (including Great Bay and Little Bay).  It is a tidal estuary that flows into Portsmouth Harbor before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Piscataqua River watershed. Map courtesy Google Maps.

As in Massachusetts, 17th-century settlers in the Piscataqua River Region came from England.  The abundance of natural resources (e.g., fish, timber and wild game) that they enjoyed encouraged further migration.  As trade grew between island settlements and Portsmouth, a need arose for a practical and efficient mode of water transport that could handle the fast-moving current of the tidal estuary twice a day.

Thus, the gundalow had appeared by mid-17th century as a 20-30 feet long flat-bottomed boat with a wide beam.  It initially did not have a sail, but was propelled by a crew using poles.  They had no decks or raised platforms to aid direction but could travel in shallow water as low as four feet deep.  Given that wharves were scarce, the boats rested on mudflats when they reached their destination.  Over time riverboat storehouses would appear on the banks to facilitate the loading and unloading of the vessels.

View of Portsmouth, New Hampshire from across the Piscataqua River, 1780

Freight Carriers

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the gundalows primarily carried “salt hay” for animals, various kinds of fish, lumber (i.e., oak and pine), furs and farm goods for export to Portsmouth and other domestic and foreign ports.  On the return trip, they brought back manufactured goods (e.g.,  furniture, linens and hardware) that had arrived from England.  After the American Revolution, trade resumed with the West Indies and the region again received sugar and rum.

The tidal currents on the Piscataqua River are very fast. They allowed the gundalow operators to move swiftly both upriver as the tide comes in and downriver with the outgoing tide.  The owner-operators of the gundalow did not always stay on the water.  Many of them pursued farming, crafts and other activities.

The Gundalow Evolves

After 1800 the design of the gundalows totally changed.  The stern acquired a rounded form, allowing for a fixed rudder and tiller for better steering. Raised platforms gave the crew a better view of potential hazards.  The first sails on gundalows were square-shaped and mounted on a mast  and further enhanced the speed of the vessels.  Although unclear when it first appeared, the lateen sail had a triangular shape and was mounted on a mast located at the bow.  It could be lowered to allow the gundalow to safely pass under low bridges.  Over time the size of the gundalows increased. It could become more than 65 feet long and 20 feet wide.   Cabins for the captain and crew also began to appear.

Besides the aforementioned goods, the gundalows of the 19th century began exporting bricks and cotton cloth.  Brickmaking rested on using the marine clay of the estuaries, with the finished product transported to schooners for delivery to Boston and other coastal locations.  When cotton mills appeared in the early 1800s in the region, the gundalows brought coal, raw cotton and machinery to the mills. They also took the cloth produced to Portsmouth for transfer to other ships. Although Portsmouth was the main port for the gundalows, other New Hampshire ports included Dover, Exeter and Newmarket, along with Berwick, Maine.

Piscataqua River from Portsmouth at sunset. Today, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, is the largest enterprise on the Piscataqua.

The Ultimate Demise

When the Boston and Maine Railroad received its charter to operate in New Hampshire in 1835, it foreshadowed the demise of the gundalow.  Compared to the gundalow, it could operate all year. It could also travel faster and provide access to more inland settlements.  By the end of the 19th century, more railroads and steam-powered tugs had all but replaced the need for  the gundalow.

In 1896 Capt. Edward H. Adams launched the last commercial gundalow, the Fannie M., in Durham, N. H.  It operated in the region until 1925.

(Click here to see a short video of a gundalow in action. )

***

Now available in paperback and as an ebook from the New England Historical Society! A collection of stories about the French people who came to America. Click here to order your copy today!

 

 

 

 

Edward T. Howe, Ph.D. is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena College near Albany, N.Y.

Images: View of Portsmouth, Des Barres, Joseph F. W. , Engraver. View of Portsmouth, New Hampshire from across the Piscataqua River. [London: J.F.W. Des Barres] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2004671484/. Map of Piscataqua River by Google Maps. 

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Margaret Knight Invents the Flat-Bottom Bag and More  

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Margaret Eloise Knight (1838-1914) was a prolific late 19th- and early 20th-century  inventor.  She made improvements to various devices but is best known as the creator of the flat-bottom bag used in the retail industry.

Margaret Eloise Knight was born on Feb. 14, 1838, in York, Maine, to Hannah (Teal) and James Knight as the youngest of five children.  As a child, she was inclined to make sleds, kites and wooden toys — rather than play with dolls.  Her widowed mother then moved the family to Manchester, N.H.  Margaret started working in 1850 at the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, a textile company.  One day she saw a steel-tipped flying shuttle used to weave thread break off and injure a young worker.  Although she was only 12 years old, Margaret  created a metal device to keep the shuttle secure.  Unaware of the process for obtaining a patent, she failed to profit from what became a widely adopted innovation.

Margaret Knight Gets a Patent

Margaret left textile employment as a teenager and then found work in the upholstery, photography and engraving industries before taking a job in 1867 with the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, Mass.  Observing the need for improvements in workflow, she obtained her first patent (US109,224) on Nov. 15, 1870. She described her invention as an “Improvement in paper-feeding machines” that found use in printing presses and machines for folding paper.

Her most notable invention — making flat-bottomed paper bags — came a year later.

Initially, a paper bag was hand-made by merchants for  carrying food and other small items. As early as 1852 Francis Wolle of Pennsylvania obtained the first patent for a “machine for making bags of paper.” It could feed, cut, and fold paper into 1,800 bags an hour with a flat bottom, shaped like an envelope.  However, this machine (and patents for improvement in 1855 and 1858) yielded bags that could not stand upright, were not strong and had limited capacity to hold items.

Soon after obtaining her first patent, Knight began working on a wooden prototype machine that could improve upon the bags made by Wolle.  Her invention hinged on taking a paper tube and folding the end of it three times into a flat square bottom.  By applying paste as the folding process occurred, the bottom quickly fastened and the brown bag with the wide base was removed from the machine.  The prototype machine proved successful, so Knight filed for a patent using  an iron model.  However, Charles Annan saw the iron version being built, stole the design and filed a patent request.

Legal Victory for Margaret Knight

Knight lodged a successful patent interference suit against him and obtained a patent for an “Improvement in paper-bag machines” (US116,842) on July 11, 1871.  Annan had made an ambiguous argument about having a different machine, but Knight successfully defended her expensive lawsuit through a copious trove of hand-drawn blueprints, journals and models. She also produced numerous witnesses attesting to her skills.  Attempting to benefit from her patent, Knight co-founded the Eastern Paper Company in Hartford with a Massachusetts businessman.  Not wanting to stay and help manage the company, she settled for an initial payment of $2,500, company stock and royalty income.  Concluding a highly successful 1871 , she received the Royal Legion of Honor from Queen Victoria.

Knight continued her inventive activity for the next four decades.  Her patents included: upgrades to the paper bag machine, a skirt protector, a spit or rod for cooking food, machines for cutting soles for shoes, a clasp for robes, a numbering machine, a window frame and sash and improvements for rotary engines.

This story about Margaret Knight appeared in the Boston Sunday Post in 1912.

By the 1880s, she had moved back again to Massachusetts, settling in Ashland and then Framingham.  She established a laboratory in Boston where she worked on many of these aforementioned pursuits, accepting royalties in payment.

Throughout her life, she  amassed about 30 patents in total, an impressive feat as she had no technical training.  Margaret Knight, unmarried, died on Oct. 12, 1914 from pneumonia at 76 years of age.  She was buried in Newton, Mass.

Edward T. Howe is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, of Siena College near Albany, N.Y 

Images: Colorized image of Margaret Knight created by ChatGPT.

 

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Hopedale Community: Utopia Commune Becomes Capitalistic Enterprise  

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The Hopedale Community (1841-1856) in Massachusetts attempted to integrate Christian Socialism with private enterprise in its attempt to live in a utopian society.  Its failure occurred when utopian ideals fell victim to the power of two brothers.

The Hopedale Community Gets its Start

The Hopedale Community began in Milford, Mass., in a rural setting about 25 miles southeast of Boston.  Adin Ballou (1803-1890).  a clergyman born in Cumberland, R.I., led the community.  Two years of planning for a utopian society, from 1839 to 1841,  by Ballou and his followers led to the creation of  “Fraternal Community No. 1,” subsequently designated “Hope Dale.”

Adin Ballou

After buying 258 acres of the former Jones farm along the Mill River on June 30, 1841, settlement began by October.  By April 1842, 28 people had joined the community.  They mainly consisted of farmers, carpenters, craftsmen, and small manufacturers  who supported agricultural activity- along with their spouses and children.  They had  experienced the Panic (economic depression) of 1837, with its devastation on their livelihoods and a belief that capitalism was the source of economic and social inequality.

Before Jones farm was bought, the members had agreed on a constitution.  The articles included : adherence to Christian principles; a socialist republic based on private property and   equal wages for all; non-discrimination regarding age, color of skin, sex, or social class; sharing goods; education; choosing a vocation; owning property and other assets; marriage; free speech; and payment of taxes.

Just as important, it denounced bad behavior toward others; gambling; drunkenness; profanity; slavery; violence against individuals, groups, or governments; waging war ; poverty and governmental interference in its internal affairs.

Practical Christianity

The “Practical Christian” Community -– an effort to apply Christian  principles to daily life — began as a joint stock company (i.e., members purchased shares). Profit from their economic activities would sustain them.  Although early members lived in a single house, overcrowding led to the construction of private homes.  Soon after settlement, they  also began building a dam, various shops, a printing facility and a church for worship and education.   By 1854 its 235 members lived in 41 houses  and ran 16 businesses.

The Little Red Shop, Hopedale

Nevertheless, disagreements arose over time regarding rewards for individual initiative, compliance with moral norms, and a willingness to sacrifice for the welfare of the group.  For example,  the community  had to deal with arguments over equal wages regardless of occupation,  a “free love” scandal in 1852, and cooperatives that placed individual interests over those of the group.  Despite these internal debates, the community endured until two brothers decided to withdraw their support.

The End to the Hopedale Community

Although founded as a joint stock company, Ebenezer and George Draper owned three-quarters of the investment.  They grew upset in 1855 when a report of the treasurer showed industrial output had unexpectedly fallen. Additionally, building and machinery had depreciated and the 4 percent joint stock dividend would not be paid.  They  then threatened  to withdraw their support, which would have resulted in bankruptcy.  Consequently, the Drapers reached a settlement with the community in 1856. Under the agreement, they gained control of the industrial property and assumed the debts of the community.  Thus, the industrial property became part of a privately-owned company controlled by the Drapers.  In turn, the utopian community with its beliefs and practices came to an end.

The Draper  brothers were determined to run the textile company in a paternalistic way.  This meant providing the workers in the company town with housing and other amenities.  Meanwhile,  Adin Ballou remained in the area as a minister, an author of Christian books and local historian, until he died on Aug. 5, 1890, at the age of 87.  In 1886 the Town of Hopedale was incorporated after separating from Milford.

From 1730 to 1860 eight other utopian communities were established in Massachusetts.  With the exception of four Shaker communes, the Hopewell Community outlasted the Shaker Savoy settlement (1817-1825), Brook Farm (1841-1847), the Northampton Association (1842-1846) and Fruitlands (1843-1848).

Accomplishments

Over the 15 years of the Hopedale Community, it  had many achievements.   Despite internal squabbles, the willingness to compromise extended its lifespan.  Pursuing their ideals, the members sheltered slaves, raised funds for the abolitionist movement and cared for those in need.  The group also experimented with spiritualism, hydrotherapy, homeopathic cures and vegetarian diets.  Finally, most of the women led traditional home-centered lives but enjoyed some rights generally not granted to those living outside the community.  These included:  owning property, voting, holding community offices, being compensated for nursing infants, being granted a divorce in limited cases and having opportunities for intellectual development.

Map of Hopedale, 1888

By the 1890s, the Draper enterprise had become the largest user of technology for making cloth in the U.S.  In 1967, Rockwell International bought the company, which then neared bankruptcy. Thereafter,  a  combination of international competition, government regulation and rising energy costs led to its foundry closing in 1975.  The Draper facility officially closed on Aug.  29, 1980.

Abandoned Draper factory in Hopedale.

Edward T. Howe, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena College near Albany, N.Y.

Images: Hopedale map courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection. Draper looms By Jack E. Boucher, HAER photographer, courtesy Library of Congress. Bible By NYC Wanderer (Kevin Eng) – originally posted to Flickr as Gutenberg Bible, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9914015.

 

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