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Granite Mills
| Firmenname | Granite Mills |
| Ortssitz | Fall River (Mass.) |
| Art des Unternehmens | Textilfabrik |
| Anmerkungen | Baumwollspinnerei und -weberei in zwei Betriebsteilen. [Phillips]: Three mills; incorporated in 1863 had a capital of 225,000, changed several times until it was 400,000 in 1871. Charles O. Shove was the active manager until 1875 when his son Charles M. Shove became treasurer and so remained until 1932, when all the mills were sold, one passing into the hands of the Pepperell Manufacturing Company. |
| Quellenangaben | [Earl: Centennial history of Fall River (1877) 123] [Bishop: History of American manufacturers 3 (1868) 535] [Phillips: Phillips History of Fall River 2 (1944) 126] |
| Zeit |
Ereignis |
| Anfang 1863 |
Gründung durch die Kooperation von Edmund Chase und anderen mit einem Kapital von 225.000, geteilt in Anteile von jeweils 1.000 |
| 03.03.1863 |
Eintragung mit William Mason, Southard H. Miller, Charles O. Shove und weiteren als Teilhaber |
| 05.1864 |
Das Kapital wird auf $400.000 erhöht und die Fabrik vollständig in Betrieb gesetzt. |
| 07.1864 |
Weitere Kapitalerhöhung im 15.000 auf 415.000 |
| 01.1865 |
Wegen der verspäteten Maschinenlieferung und der enormen Baumwollpreise beginnt die Produktion erst im Januar 1865. Sie ist mit einem Verlust von $60.000 verbunden. |
| 1871 |
Verringerung des Kapitals wieder auf $400.000 |
| 1871 |
Errichtung eines neuen Gebäudes auf dem erwobenen Land an der Nordseite der Bedford Street, ein fünfgeschossiges Gebäude aus Granit mit 378 feet Länge ud 74 feet Breite. |
| 19.09.1874 |
Im Mule-Raum der Fabrik 1 bricht ein Feuer aus, das bald außer Kontrolle gerät. Bei den Arbeitern der oberen Stockwerke bricht ein Panik aus, und etliche stürzen sich von den oberen Geschossen in die Tiefe. Die oberen Geschosse brennen aus, 23 Personen werden getötet und 33 verletzt. |
| 07.1875 |
Charles O. Shove, der Gründer des Unternehmens, stirbt nach kurzer Krankheit, und sein Sohn Charles M. Shove wird sein Nachfolger. |
| ZEIT | 1868 |
| THEMA | Firmenbeschreibung |
| TEXT | So called from the material of their two fine structures, was the first enterprise established during the dark days of the war. For several years, Charles O. Shove, Esq., had contemplated the erection of a cotton-mill. In the early part of 1863, with the co-operation of Edmund Chase (with whom he had had many conferences upon the subject) and others, he took the preliminary steps for the organization of a company with a capital of $225,000, divided into shares of 1000 each. A charter was secured under date of March 3d, 1863, by which William Mason, Southard H . Miller, Charles O. Shove, and their associates were incorporated as the "Granite Mills" William Mason was elected president; Charles O. Shove, treasurer; and William Mason, Lazarus Borden, Edmund Chase, Samuel Hathaway, Charles 0. Shove, and Charles P. Stickney, the first board of direction. A mill site was purchased, comprising the lot fronting on Twelfth street, and extending from Pleasant to Bedford street, and the construction immediately commenced of a factory 328 feet long by 70 feet wide, and five stories high, with a barn roof. Prudential considerations, due to the uncertainty which prevailed in business circles at the time, led the managers to contract at first for machinery for but half of the mill. In May, 1864, however, it was determined to increase the capital stock to 400.000, and to put the whole mill into complete running order . Two months later (July, 1864), the stock was further increased to 415.000, but reduced again in 1871 to 400.000. The plans, specifications, drawings, and indeed the estimates for the establishment in its entirety, were tabulated by Mr. Shove, the prime mover of the enterprise. Owing to, some delay in receiving the machinery, and the enormous price to which cotton advanced, the mill did not commence running until January, 1865, and the first lot of cotton manufactured into print cloths netted the company a loss of 60.000. But better times soon dawned, the mill began to run at a profit, paid up its indebtedness, remunerated its stockholders handsomely, and in 1871 it was determined to build a new structure on land bought on the north side of Bedford street, and quite contiguous to their first purchase. This mill, also of granite, is 3 78 feet long, 74 feet wide, and five stories high, and when finished was considered one of the most perfect in the city, harmonious in proportions, stately in appearance, and complete in detail. Every provision for the comfort and safety of the operatives, and the manufacture of the raw cotton into the finished cloth, that industrial science could suggest, was adopted, and experts regarded the two mills as models and standards of excellence. But experience, "that dear school for learners," taught that perfection had not yet been attained. On the morning of September 19th, 1874, a fire started in the mule-room of the No. 1 Mill, which soon got beyond control, and the dense black masses of smoke, terrifying the operatives in the upper stories, created a panic, which prevented their using the means of escape at hand, and numbers threw themselves from the upper story to the ground. Twenty-three persons were killed and thirty-three wounded in this dreadful calamity. The upper stories of the mill were burned before the fire was subdued. As soon as the débris could be cleared away, the mill was rebuilt with a flat roof, however, instead of the barn roof, which through its inaccessibility had proved itself a very fire-fiend, and every additional safeguard furnished that experience or wisdom could suggest. Five distinct means of escape are now provided on every story of the mill. Tanks of water are placed overhead, and sprinkler pipes liberally distributed to every part of the structure. There are five stand-pipes to each mill, and hydrants connected with the city water-works, besides two powerful force-pumps, one in each building, connected by a pipe underground, so that both can be used on one mill should necessity require. The recurrence of another such calamity thus seems to have been put beyond the possibility of a contingency. The company owns about eleven acres of land, and has built nearly one hundred tenements for the accommodation of its operatives. The
machinery of the No. 1 Mill, mostly of American manufacture, is propelled by a double Corliss engine of 650 horse-power, fed by twenty-four cylinder boilers. Water for steam purposes is drawn through a canal from the upper Fall River stream. The engine of the No . 2 Mill is also a double Corliss engine of 750 horse-power, with twenty-four cylinder boilers for the generation of steam. The machinery, spinning-mules, and fly-frames are English, the remainder American. The No. 1 Mill contains 33.856 spindles and 860 looms; the No. 2 Mill, 44.664 spindles and 1.008 looms Nine thousand bales of cotton are used in the annual production of about 21,500,000 yards of print cloths, 64 by 64. The company employs 900 operatives, with a monthly payroll of 22,000. The mills are lighted by gas from the Fall River Gas Works. The present number of stockholders is sixty. In July, 1875, Charles O. Shove, the originator of the enterprise, who had managed the manufacturing and financial departments of the company from the beginning, died after a short illness, and his son, Charles M . Shove, was elected his successor. |
| QUELLE | [Earl: Centennial history of Fall River (1877) 123] |
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