In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBERTY 

A History of Manufacturing in Philadelphia 

by Jack McCarthy 

A publication of 

the Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia

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A History of Manufacturing in Philadelphia 

by Jack McCarthy 

A publication of the 

Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia 

HPNbooks 

A division of Lammert Incorporated 

San Antonio, Texas

First Edition 

Copyright © 2016 HPNbooks 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing 

from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to HPNbooks, 11535 Galm Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (800) 749-9790, www.hpnbooks.com. 

Rights to the images in this book, except for those in the public domain, are the property of the individuals or organizations that provided them; 

these images may be not be reproduced in any form without consent of the rights holders. 

ISBN: 978-1-944891-04-6 

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2016935232 

In the Cradle of Industry and Liberty—A History of Manufacturing in Philadelphia 

author: Jack McCarthy 

contributing writers for “Sharing the Heritage”: Gini Moore Campbell 

Joe Goodpasture 


2 

HPNbooks 

president: Ron Lammert 

project manager: Bob Sadoski 

administration: Donna M. Mata 

Melissa G. Quinn 

book sales: Dee Steidle 

production: Colin Hart 

Evelyn Hart 

Glenda Tarazon Krouse 

Tim Lippard 

Christopher D. Sturdevant 

Tony Quinn

CONTENTS 

4 FOREWORD 

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

8 CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Context & Overview 

20 CHAPTER TWO From Holy Experiment to Revolutionary City: 

Manufacturing in Colonial and Revolutionary Philadelphia 

32 CHAPTER THREE From Athens of America to Arsenal of the Union: 

The Federal Period to the Civil War 

58 CHAPTER FOUR From Centennial City to Workshop of the World: 

The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 

84 CHAPTER FIVE From Manufacturing Powerhouse to Post Industrial City: 

The Mid-Twentieth to Early Twenty-first Century 

98 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

101 INDEX 

104 SHARING THE HERITAGE 

152 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

CONTENTS 

3

FOREWORD 

I am pleased that the Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia has published this book documenting 

over 330 years of one of the most vitally important aspects of the city’s history. Philadelphia is 

proud of its history and legacy as the Workshop of the World and its role as a center for manufacturing, 

trade, and commerce in the “New World” since the late 1600s. While the historical significance of 

Philadelphia as the cradle for American democracy is well known today, many people do not realize 

how critical this city’s manufacturing sector was towards the growth and success of our nation. Baldwin 

locomotives, Stetson hats, Budd railcars, Cramp ships, Disston saws; all products made in Philadelphia 

that were known and used throughout the world. 

Over time, Philadelphia has modernized and evolved into a national leader in life sciences, arts and 

culture, education, financial services, medicine, and technology. And yet, industry has remained a 

critical sector within Philadelphia’s economy that is responsible for nearly one out of every six jobs 

today. Where old industries have left, new companies, people, and products emerged: medical devices, 

transportation equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and household food-names such as baked 

goods, meats, and candy. 

Manufacturing continues to be an important economic development priority for this city because in 

my opinion, it serves as a bridge to the middle class; providing family-sustaining wages and infinite 

opportunities for career growth to individuals who may or may not have a four-year college degree. As 

manufacturing and technology become more intertwined and interdependent, the need to educate our 

children in science, technology, engineering, and math for the careers of tomorrow is paramount. 

Growing this city’s industrial sector is not without its challenges, but with the continued partnership 

with the business community and leaders in government, education, utilities, and labor, I am confident 

in Philadelphia’s bright future as America’s premier center for urban manufacturing. 

Michael A. Nutter 

Mayor, City of Philadelphia 

2008-2015 


4

@ 

Michael A. Nutter, 

Former Mayor, City of Philadelphia 

FOREWORD 

5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

In addition to being one of the most historic cities in America, Philadelphia is also one of the most 

well-documented. A wide range of books, articles, dissertations, websites, and other sources is 

available on almost every aspect of the city’s history. This book builds specifically on the substantial 

body of work that has been produced on the rich history of manufacturing in Philadelphia. While this 

body of work is extensive, it consists largely of scholarly studies or sources that focus on certain aspects 

of the city’s manufacturing history, such as particular time periods or specific industries, companies, 

or neighborhoods. There is no overall history of Philadelphia manufacturing designed for the general 

reader. This book aims to fill that need. 

Of the many sources I have consulted, a few merit special mention. First and foremost, I am indebted 

to the work of scholars Walter Licht and Philip Scranton. Their various books and articles, written both 

separately and together, on Philadelphia industrial history serve as the foundation for much of what 

follows on these pages. Another invaluable source has been the Workshop of the World website of the 

Oliver Evans (Philadelphia) Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology. The society’s website is a 

wealth of information on Philadelphia manufacturers, with historical surveys of over 150 of the city’s 

industrial sites, conveniently organized by neighborhood and industry type. 

Other websites that were particularly helpful include the Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network, 

sponsored by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia; the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, sponsored by 

the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities at Rutgers University-Camden; PhillyHistory.org, 

sponsored by the Philadelphia City Archives; PhilaPlace, sponsored by the Historical Society of 

Pennsylvania; ExplorePAhistory.com, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum 

Commission and WITF, Inc; Economic History in the Philadelphia Region, sponsored by the Library 

Company of Philadelphia; Places In Time: Historical Documentation of Place in Greater Philadelphia, 

sponsored by Bryn Mawr College; To Commit Ourselves To Our Own Ingenuity, historian James J. Farley’s 

website on early Philadelphia shipbuilding; Phillyh2o, Historical Consultant to the Philadelphia 

Water Department Adam Levine’s website on Philadelphia waterways and sewer systems; and 

KennethWMilano.com, local historian Ken Milano’s website on Kensington and Fishtown history. In 

searching for images for the book I made extensive use of the online digital libraries of the Historical 

Society of Pennsylvania, Library Company of Philadelphia, Library of Congress, Free Library of Philadelphia, 

Hagley Museum & Library, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, and National Archives & 

Records Administration. 

These sources, together with numerous traditional print materials, provided the information necessary 

to piece together the complex, 330-plus year history of manufacturing in Philadelphia. All sources 

consulted are listed in the bibliography. 

My gratitude to those who read drafts of the book and offered their constructive feedback: historians 

Nathaniel Popkin and Rob Armstrong; two of my colleagues at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 

Sarah Leu and Celia Caust-Ellenbogen; and my wife Patty. Their input improved the book immensely. 

Indispensable in clarifying the current state of manufacturing in Philadelphia were Steve Jurash, 

President & CEO of the Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia; Michael Cooper, Director of the 

Philadelphia Office of Manufacturing & Industry; and Alan Greenberger, Philadelphia Deputy Mayor 

for Economic Development and Director of Commerce. I was most fortunate in having the unique, 

inside perspective of these key players in contemporary Philadelphia manufacturing. 


6

For the historical images that enliven these pages and tell the story as much as the text, I am indebted 

to my colleagues in the Philadelphia region’s many outstanding archival repositories. Sara Borden of 

the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Nicole Joniec of the Library Company of Philadelphia 

were exceptionally helpful in procuring the dozens of images I requested from those two renowned 

institutions. Sara Borden in particular went above and beyond in tracking down numerous elusive 

images. Others who helped locate, reproduce, and/or arrange for the use of historical images include 

John Alviti and Susannah Carroll of The Franklin Institute; Terry Potter and Craig Bruns of the 

Independence Seaport Museum; Lynsey Sczechowicz of the Hagley Museum and Library; David 

McKnight, John Pollack, and Dennis Mullen of University of Pennsylvania Libraries; Tamoul Quakhaan 

of the Free Library of Philadelphia; Lou Iatarola of the Historical Society of Tacony; Josue Hurato of 

Temple University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center; Susan Couvreur of the Historical 

Society of Frankford; Adam Levine of the Philadelphia Water Department; Rob Armstrong and 

Alina Josan of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation/Fairmount Park Historic Resource Archive; 

Leslie Tobias-Olsen of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University; and Mary Crauderueff of 

the Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford College. Michael Sherbon and the reference staff of 

the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg were very helpful in making available images from the 

important Philadelphia Commercial Museum Photograph Collection. 

Photographer Tim McCusker took most of the contemporary images of Philadelphia industrial sites 

in the book. Bradley Maule, Theresa Stigale, Lauren Work, and Michael Spain-Smith each provided one 

of their contemporary photos as well. I am indebted to Merrill Mason and Hannah Sisk of the American 

Philosophical Society for providing the contemporary map of colonial-era Dock Street, to Alexandra 

Hill and Jamie Leary of Philadelphia Magazine for the Philadelphia energy hub graphic, and to Jessica 

Calter and Chamor Hollinger of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation for the PIDC 

industrial land use map and other images. Jolene Nieves Byzon of the mayor’s office provided the 

photo of the Philadelphia Manufacturing Task Force members. My thanks to the following companies 

for providing or approving the use of photos of their facilities or activities: Amuneal, AgustaWestland, 

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Globe Dye Works, NextFab, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, and Tasty 

Baking Company. I have also made considerable use of historical and contemporary images from 

Wikipedia Commons, the online repository of free and freely usable media. 

The company profiles that form the second half of the book are not my work. These were submitted 

directly to the publisher by the companies that sponsored the book. 

My thanks to publisher HPNbooks, including President & CEO Ron Lammert, Business Profile 

Marketer Bob Sadoski, Production Manager Colin Hart, and Production Assistant Glenda Krouse. Ron 

Lammert was particularly understanding as the scope of the book expanded and deadlines passed 

and word counts increased. His patience and support allowed me the time and space necessary to tell 

the complex story of Philadelphia manufacturing as best I could. HPN’s editorial and design input 

improved the work considerably as well. 

My thanks also to Mayor of Philadelphia Michael A. Nutter for writing the foreword and to both 

his Executive Assistant Denise Dixon and to Director of the Philadelphia Office of Manufacturing & 

Industry Michael Cooper for making the arrangements. 

Lastly, my eternal gratitude to my wife and partner in history, Patty McCarthy, for not just putting 

up with the various history projects that seem to take over my life on a regular basis, but for actively 

supporting and engaging in them. My work is infinitely better because of it. 

—Jack McCarthy 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

7

CHAPTER 

ONE 

INTRODUCTION: 

CONTEXT & OVERVIEW 

@ 

The Philadelphia of To-Day, 1908. 

This publication celebrating the 225th 

anniversary of Philadelphia’s founding 

proclaims it “The World’s Greatest 

Workshop.” In this aerial view of the city, 

the Delaware River is in the foreground, 

the Schuylkill River in the background. 

The island on far left is League Island, 

site of the U.S. Navy Yard. 

GEOGRAPHY & MAP DIVISION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Of the many nicknames that have been bestowed on the City of Philadelphia—Quaker City, 

Cradle of Liberty, City of Neighborhoods, and of course its literal translation, City of Brotherly Love— 

there is one that was popular around the turn of the twentieth century that best captures the city’s 

role at that time as a manufacturing powerhouse: Workshop of the World. The phrase is not an 

exaggeration. While Philadelphia may be renowned today for its history, its arts and culture, and 

its sports teams, for the better part of a century it was known primarily as one of the world’s 

most important manufacturing centers. “Philadelphia is the greatest manufacturing city in the 

world,” wrote Arthur Shadwell, English author of a comprehensive two-volume study of industry in 

Europe and America that was published in 1906. Philadelphia was the city that produced everything 

from the iconic hats worn by American cowboys to ships that sailed the seven seas and locomotives 

that powered trains on five continents to tools, clothing, and textiles used all over the world. 


8

This is a history of manufacturing in 

Philadelphia, from its beginnings in the late 

seventeenth century to the “postindustrial” 

city of the early twenty-first. It is intended 

as a broad overview of the subject for the 

general reader; it is by no means a scholarly 

or comprehensive study. To fully cover the 

rich and complex story of manufacturing in 

Philadelphia over the course of its 330-plus 

year history would take several volumes. This 

is a brief version of that long, multi-faceted 

story, an overview of the key developments 

and significant narratives in the history of 

Philadelphia manufacturing, with a special 

focus on the people and companies that have 

had a particularly important role in shaping 

that history. It is very much a pictorial history, 

highly illustrated with archival photographs, 

prints, and other images. 

OVERALL GROWTH 

AND DEVELOPMENT 

OF MANUFACTURING 

IN PHILADELPHIA 

In its simplest form the history of manufacturing 

in Philadelphia can be summarized 

as follows: the commencement of manufacturing 

on a mostly small scale by artisans and 

craftsmen working in shops in the colonial 

period, followed by the introduction of 

machine-based factory production methods 

in the early years of the nineteenth century, 

leading to Philadelphia’s central role in 

America’s industrial revolution of the early 

to mid-nineteenth century, followed by the 

development of manufacturing on a massive 

scale and Philadelphia’s emergence as an 

industrial giant in the late nineteenth and 

early twentieth century. The latter period of 

intense industrial activity was followed by a 

dramatic downsizing in manufacturing in 

the second half of the twentieth century 

and the city’s transition to a much smaller, 

more specialized manufacturing sector in the 

late twentieth and early twenty-first century. 

Within this broad, over-simplified story line 

lays a myriad of individual narratives, a 

web of interrelated stories that unfold in 

intriguing and, in some cases, surprising or 

dramatic fashion. 

The history outlined above is similar in 

many ways to that of any number of other 

northern American cities that were once 

major manufacturing centers. There are, 

however, several specific characteristics to the 

growth and development of manufacturing in 

Philadelphia that make its history unique. 

Chief among these is that Philadelphia has 

always supported an amazing variety of 

manufacturers. Unlike some cities—Detroit 

and automobiles, Pittsburgh and steel— 

Philadelphia was never dependent on just one 

or two industries. The range of products the 

city was a world leader in making is truly 

extraordinary, encompassing textiles and garments, 

hats, carpets, iron and steel products, 

machine tools and hardware, locomotives, 

street and rail cars, ships, saws, medical 

@ 

Above: Aerial view of the massive Baldwin 

Locomotive Works at Broad and Spring 

Garden Streets, c. 1884. Baldwin was the 

largest locomotive works in the world and 

Philadelphia’s biggest employer at this 

time. From History of Philadelphia, 

1609-1884, by Thomas Scharf and 

Thomson Westcott. 

Below: Hog Island Shipyard, 

South Philadelphia, 1918. Hog Island was 

a huge naval shipyard during World War I, 

employing over 35,000 workers who 

assembled military vessels. It closed soon 

after the War and the site later became 

Philadelphia International Airport. 

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SHIPBUILDING COLLECTION, 

INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA. 

CHAPTER ONE 

9

@ 

Above: Harrison Brothers chemical plant on 

the Schuylkill River in Grays Ferry, 1888. 

John Harrison began making paint in 

Northern Liberties in the 1790s and the 

company moved to Grays Ferry in 1863. 

It remained a family-run Philadelphia firm 

until it was purchased by DuPont in 1917. 

HEXAMER GENERAL SURVEYS, MAP COLLECTION, 

FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Bottom, left and right: Cotton mills and 

carpet factories were key industries in 

Philadelphia in the late nineteenth and 

early twentieth century, when the city was 

the largest textile manufacturing center in 

the world. In these photos, workers tend 

machines at (left) an unidentified early 

twentieth-century cotton mill and (right) 

Hardwick & Magee carpet mill at Sixth 

Street and Lehigh Avenue in Kensington 

in 1925. 

PHILADELPHIA COMMERCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION, 

PENNSYLVANIA STATE ARCHIVES. 

instruments, pharmaceuticals, food products, 

leather, chemicals, petroleum, paints and 

varnishes, glass, cutlery, paper, jewelry, and 

boots and shoes. These are just the industries 

in which Philadelphia was a major world 

producer; a full list of items manufactured in 

large quantities in the city over the years 

would fill many pages. 

This amazing variety of products was produced 

in a wide range of settings, from huge 

industrial plants to factories of various sizes 

to small shops. Philadelphia did have massive 

“fully integrated” companies that controlled 

all steps in the manufacturing process, but 

more often than not products made in the city 

went through several smaller companies in 

the course of their production, with each firm 

specializing in a particular aspect of the 

process. A textile piece could start out as 

cotton or wool fibers that were spun by one 

company, woven by another, cut in a third, 

dyed in yet another, and finished in a final 

one. Likewise, a metal part could be fabricated 

in one factory and sent across town to 

another to become part of a ship or a streetcar. 

This is another defining characteristic of manufacturing 

in Philadelphia: a sector comprised 

not primarily of industrial giants, although 

the city had its share of those, but of a vast, 

inter-connected web of specialty companies, 

large and small, that collectively produced a 

huge output of finished products. 

Related to its high percentage of specialized 

industries is the city’s longstanding tradition 

of making high-quality custom products 

rather than mass producing cheaper goods. 


10

While other manufacturing centers were 

known for large-scale production of standardized 

lesser-quality goods, Philadelphia was 

known for its specialty companies and its 

skilled workforce that made a wide variety of 

high-quality products, from fine clothing to 

precision medical instruments to specialized 

tools and machine parts. Many of these 

companies were family-owned and operated 

firms rather than publicly traded corporations, 

often remaining in the family through 

multiple generations. Philadelphia’s high 

percentage of such family firms is yet 

another defining characteristic of its manufacturing 

history. 

The wide range of its manufacturers 

notwithstanding, certain industries grew to be 

especially large and important in Philadelphia 

and came to be closely identified with the city. 

Among these were textiles, iron and steel, 

ship and locomotive building, and food processing. 

In certain industries, such as textiles 

and metal working, it was the sheer number 

and range of sizes of companies that is striking. 

There were some 700 individual textile 

companies and 660 metal working shops in 

Philadelphia around the turn of the twentieth 

century, for example. Some were quite large, 

with thousands of employees, but most were 

much smaller, employing anywhere from a 

few to a few hundred workers. 

For most people, Philadelphia’s storied 

manufacturing history is best represented by 

the handful of industrial giants it produced: 

iconic firms such as Baldwin Locomotive, 

Cramp Shipyard, Stetson Hat, Disston Saw, 

@ 

Above: The Bridesburg Machine Works 

of Alfred Jenks & Son, 1856. Jenks was a 

longtime family-run firm in Bridesburg that 

manufactured specialty cotton and 

woolen machinery. 

LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Below: Two of Philadelphia’s major 

nineteenth-century iron founders are shown 

in this 1856 print: I. P. Morris & Company 

on the Delaware River in Port Richmond 

and Merrick & Sons Southwark Foundry 

at Fifth Street and Washington Avenue 

in Southwark. 


CHAPTER ONE 

11

@ 

Above: Aerial view of Cramp Shipyard 

on the Delaware River in lower Kensington, 

1892. One of Philadelphia’s largest 

employers, Cramp was at this location from 

the 1840s to the 1940s, employing some 

6,000 workers at its height. 


Below: Women workers trimming 

hats at the John B. Stetson hat factory in 

Kensington, c. 1910. Founded in 1865, 

Stetson grew to be the largest hat 

manufacturer in the world, with 

5,400 employees. 

JOHN B. STETSON COMPANY POSTCARDS, 


and others that employed thousands of workers 

and were world leaders in their industries. 

Entire neighborhoods grew up around these 

companies, which anchored their communities 

and provided employment for generations 

of families. Such huge companies were really 

just the more visible faces of Philadelphia 

industry, however; the city’s real strength, as 

previously noted, was in the overall diversity 

of its manufacturers and the variety of products 

they made. 

Philadelphia was well positioned to support 

such a diverse manufacturing base. With 

an abundance of natural resources in its 

surrounding areas, fairly easy access by water 

to the important trading centers of the 

Atlantic world, a strategic central location 

on the American eastern seaboard, and a 

large and varied workforce continually 

strengthened by a steady stream of immigrants, 

Philadelphia had all the ingredients 

for intense industrial development. The city’s 

merchants and industrialists, demonstrating 

what one historian aptly calls “a vigorous 

spirit of enterprise,” forged these assets into 

a dynamic, multi-faceted economy in which 

manufacturing flourished. Of course, these 

mercantile and industrial entrepreneurs also 

had to contend with larger adverse forces 

such as wars, recessions and depressions, 

changing government policies, and constantly 

evolving public tastes and habits of 

consumption. In later years, labor and 

environmental issues and changing urban 

demographics became major factors as well. 

But for nearly a century and a half, from 

the early 1800s to the mid-1900s, thousands 

of Philadelphia manufacturers large and 

small were able to navigate these challenges 

successfully. In so doing they developed 

the city into one of the world’s foremost 

industrial centers. 

Ultimately larger adverse forces became 

too great in the late twentieth century 

and manufacturing declined precipitously 

in Philadelphia, as it did in most northern 

American cities. At the height of Philadelphia’s 

industrial power in the early 1950s, some 

365,600 workers were engaged in manufacturing 

in the city, over 45 percent of its private 

sector workforce. As of 2014 there were only 

23,000 city workers in manufacturing, just 

over 4 percent of total private sector employment. 

The huge “smokestack” industries of the 

past have largely been replaced by smaller, 

more specialized firms, often high-tech in 

nature. The city does still have several largescale 

manufacturers, however, primarily in 

transportation equipment and parts, chemicals 

and pharmaceuticals, and food processing. 

While much smaller, the metropolitan 

area’s manufacturing sector is not insignificant. 

Manufacturing in the broader elevencounty 

Philadelphia region (including the 

surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, New 

Jersey, and Delaware) accounted for some 

$105 billion in annual output in 2013. 


12

@ 

Above: Workers at Midvale Steel plant 

in Nicetown, undated photo, probably early 

twentieth century. Midvale was one of 

Philadelphia’s largest manufacturers at the 

turn of the twentieth century, employing 

over 7,000 workers. 

MIDVALE COLLECTION, 

HISTORICAL & INTERPRETIVE COLLECTIONS 

OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, PHILADELPHIA. 

Left: In this c. 1912 photo, passengers board 

a streetcar made for the Philadelphia Rapid 

Transit Company by J. G. Brill Company in 

Southwest Philadelphia. Brill was then the 

largest streetcar manufacturer in the world. 

J. G. BRILL COMPANY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

CHAPTER ONE 

13

@ 

Right: Tasty Baking Company’s former 

home on Hunting Park Avenue in Nicetown. 

The company occupied this site from 1922 

until moving to the Philadelphia Navy Yard 

in 2010. 

PHOTO BY SMALLBONES, 2011, WIKIPEDIA COMMONS. 

Below and bottom: Aerial views of two 

of Philadelphia’s major manufacturers 

in the early twenty-first century—Aker 

Philadelphia Shipyard and AgustaWestland 

helicopter. Located at opposite ends of 

the city, Aker in South Philadelphia 

and AgustaWestland in the Northeast 

(adjacent to Northeast Philadelphia 

Airport), represent Philadelphia’s longtime 

strength in transportation manufacturing. 

IMAGES COURTESY OF AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD 

AND AGUSTAWESTLAND PHILADELPHIA CORPORATION. 

MANUFACTURING IN 

EARLY TWENTY- FIRST 

CENTURY PHILADELPHIA 

Philadelphia’s economy in the early twentyfirst 

century is much more service-based than 

industrial. Its major employers are in education 

and healthcare (“Eds and Meds”), professional 

services such as law and insurance, and 

hospitality. But if Philadelphia no longer has 

industrial giants on the order of Baldwin 

Locomotive or Cramp Shipyard, it does have 

longtime local manufacturers making signature 

products. In food processing, Dietz & 

Watson and Amoroso are among the bestknown 

makers, respectively, of the lunch 

meats and rolls for Philly’s ever popular 

hoagie and cheese steak sandwiches. The 

Tasty Baking Company, although no longer 

locally owned, continues to make its beloved 

Tastykake snack cakes in the city, as it has 

since 1914. Beer, soft pretzels, scrapple, ice 

cream, and candy are other modern food processing 

industries whose manufacturing traditions 

extend back many years in Philadelphia. 

In 2010 Tastykake (as Tasty Baking Company 

is known to locals) moved from its longtime 

base in North Philadelphia’s Nicetown neighborhood—a 

once bustling industrial area that 

was home to such major manufacturers as 

Midvale Steel, Brown Instrument (precision 

gauges), George W. Blabon (oilcloth and 

linoleum), Atwater Kent (radios), and the 

Budd Company (auto and rail car bodies)—to 

the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. The 

latter location, formerly the Philadelphia 

Naval Shipyard, had itself been a major 

industrial area, the site of government shipbuilding 

since the U.S. Navy moved there 

in the 1870s. The Navy shut down most of 

its operations at the Navy Yard in the late 

twentieth century, after which the city took 

over the site and converted it to a business 

and industrial park. Among Tastykake’s 

neighbors at the Navy Yard is the Aker 

Philadelphia Shipyard, a Norwegian company 

that makes large tanker vessels. Aker is 

continuing a Philadelphia commercial ship 

building tradition that dates to the seventeenth 

century. At the other end of the city, 

adjacent to Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 

the Anglo-Italian company AgustaWestland 

expanded its helicopter manufacturing 

facilities in 2008 and continues yet another 

Philadelphia tradition of making rotary winged 


14

aircraft that dates to the earliest years of the 

industry in the 1940s. 

These large firms—whether foreign conglomerates 

such as Aker and AgustaWestland 

or home-grown companies such as Tastykake 

and Dietz & Watson—are the new face of 

large-scale manufacturing in Philadelphia. 

Employing anywhere from several hundred to 

a thousand or more workers, they do not 

operate on the scale of the industrial giants of 

the past but are major players in the city’s still 

significant manufacturing sector. There is one 

Philadelphia manufacturer that does approach 

the giant firms of the past in terms of size 

and scope of operations: Cardone, an auto 

parts re-manufacturer headquartered in the 

Lawndale neighborhood of lower Northeast 

Philadelphia. A family-owned company founded 

in 1970, Cardone has some 6,000 employees 

in multiple locations throughout North 

America, about 2,300 of whom work at its 

assembly plant and executive offices in 

Philadelphia. These big companies are the 

exception rather than the rule, however. 

Of the approximately 1,100 manufacturers in 

the greater Philadelphia area in 2014, sixty 

percent employed twenty or fewer workers. 

The real strength of Philadelphia manufacturing 

in the early twenty-first century, as in its 

heyday of a century earlier, is in its many 

smaller specialty manufacturers. 

Particularly revealing in this regard is the 

story of the Disston company. Founded as a 

small saw making shop by English immigrant 

Henry Disston in 1840, it grew over time into 

the world’s largest saw manufacturer, a familyowned 

enterprise that at its height employed 

some 4,000 workers at its sprawling plant 

along the Delaware River in 

the Tacony neighborhood. The 

company began downsizing significantly 

in the mid-twentieth 

century and was largely broken 

up after the Disston family sold 

it in 1955. It is still operating on 

the same site, however, although 

on a greatly reduced scale. Now 

known as Disston Precision, the 

company employs a few dozen 

workers who, in addition to 

making custom metal plates and 

other specialty items, continue to make 

precision saw blades, using both the latest 

in high-tech electronic equipment and 

century-old machinery still in place at the 

plant. Disston is the only company among 

Philadelphia’s early twentieth-century industrial 

giants that is still in business in the city. 

Another example of the change in scale in 

Philadelphia manufacturing in recent years 

can be seen in its beer making industry. 

Breweries were first established in Philadelphia 

in the 1680s and have been an important part 

of the city ever since. In the nineteenth and 

twentieth centuries the city was home to 

dozens of major breweries; indeed, there is a 

neighborhood in North Philadelphia known 

as “Brewerytown” where a number of them 

were located. Many older Philadelphians still 

remember drinking Schmidt’s and Ortlieb’s, 

locally made beers that were national brands 

into the late twentieth century. All of the large 

breweries are now gone, but Philadelphia has 

become an important center in the smaller 

but very popular craft beer movement. This 

same phenomenon—smaller companies producing 

specialty items for niche markets—can 

be seen playing out all across Philadelphia, 

from beer making and metal working to any 

number of other industries. 

@ 

Above: Aerial view of Disston Saw Works 

in Tacony, c. 1884, when it was the world’s 

largest saw manufacturer. Although 

Disston’s current workforce of a few dozen 

is a fraction of the size in the company’s 

heyday, the firm, now known as Disston 

Precision, has occupied this site in 

Tacony since the 1870s and is the only 

manufacturer among Philadelphia’s 

industrial giants of the past that is still in 

business in the city. 

IMAGE FROM HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA, 1609-1884, 

BY THOMAS SCHARF AND THOMSON WESTCOTT. 

Below: Yards Brewing Company on 

Delaware Avenue in Northern Liberties. 

Established in 1994, Yards is one of several 

popular craft breweries that began 

operating in Philadelphia in the late 

twentieth and early twenty-first century. 

Except for a brief hiatus in the 1980s, 

beer has been brewed continuously in 

Philadelphia since the 1680s. 

PHOTO BY TIM MCCUSKER, 2015. 

CHAPTER ONE 

15

@ 

Map of the City of Philadelphia showing its 

major sections. Within these larger sections 

are dozens of individual neighborhoods in 

which manufacturing has taken place. 

SCHOENBERG CENTER FOR ELECTRONIC TEXT & IMAGE, 

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LIBRARIES. 

In some ways, manufacturing in Philadelphia 

has come full circle. Today’s manufacturers, 

like those in colonial times, are generally 

smaller, more flexible, and located close to 

their customers. The high-volume, lowmargin 

industries of the past—companies 

that employed thousands of workers and 

made products in great quantities that were 

sold worldwide—have largely been replaced 

by smaller firms that produce fewer, more 

specialized goods that are sold within more 

defined markets. The modern version of the 

colonial craftsman who was hands-on in 

creating his products and knew his customers 

personally is likely to be an entrepreneur with 

a similar business approach, albeit one that 

uses the latest in high-tech equipment and 

stays in touch with customers through a 

website and social media. It is no surprise 

that Philadelphia is a major hub in the 

new “Maker Movement,” the growing body 

of modern-day do-it-yourselfers who take an 

independent, hands-on approach to making 

tangible products. 

PARAMETERS 

The word “manufacturing” is a tricky term 

that can have different meanings in different 

contexts. For the purposes of this book, it is 

defined as the making of raw materials into 

finished products, generally on a large scale, 

for sale or distribution. “On a large scale” is 

itself a relative term, encompassing everything 

from a colonial boot maker who turned 

out a few pairs of boots a week to a massive 

twentieth-century textile mill that produced 

thousands of articles of clothing a day. 

Generally, this study will consider a “manufacturer” 

to be any person or company that 

makes raw materials into finished products 

in quantity for sale or distribution rather 

than personal use. 

Geographically, the focus of the book is 

the City of Philadelphia proper, as defined by 

its modern boundaries. It is an area of 128 

square miles with a population that in 2014 

was just over 1.5 million. Philadelphia’s population 

went from a few hundred inhabitants 

at the time of its founding in 1682 to a peak 

of over 2 million in 1950, at the height of 

its manufacturing prowess. The city then saw 

a gradual decline in population to about 1.5 

million over the course of the late twentieth 

century, a decline that was directly related 

to the major loss of manufacturing jobs in 

this period. (The trend has now reversed, 

with the city enjoying modest increases 

in population in the 2010s.) Although 

Philadelphia was and is the hub of a larger 

metropolitan region that includes several 

important manufacturing centers in its outlying 

areas, space does not permit telling 

their stories here. The focus of the book is 

specifically on the history of manufacturing 

within the current boundaries of the City 

of Philadelphia. 

HISTORICAL 

CONTEXT 

This history unfolded in one of the 

most historic cities in America. Although 

founded considerably later than other major 

colonial cities, by the mid-eighteenth century 

Philadelphia was the largest and most 

prosperous city in America and second largest 

city in the English speaking world after 

London. It was primarily a mercantile rather 

than a manufacturing center in the eighteenth 

century, led by enterprising merchants who 

grew wealthy trading farm and forest products 

from the rich hinterlands surrounding the 

city for goods from Europe and the Caribbean. 

By the 1770s Philadelphia was the unofficial 

capital of the American colonies—politically, 

economically, and culturally—a position it 


16

would hold into the early nineteenth century. 

Of course, the nation was founded in 

Philadelphia—the Declaration of Independence 

and U.S. Constitution were written in the 

city in 1776 and 1787, respectively—and it 

served as the capital of the new Unites States 

of America from 1790 to 1800. 

Along with its early political importance, 

Philadelphia has long been one of America’s 

great centers of learning and scientific inquiry. 

It is home to the nation’s first subscription 

library (1731), learned society (1743), public 

hospital (1751), medical school (1765), pharmacy 

school (1821), and children’s hospital 

(1855), as well as its first fine arts academy 

(1805), natural history museum (1812), one 

of its oldest scientific institutes (1824), and 

its first zoo (1874). In business and commerce, 

Philadelphia is the site of the nation’s 

oldest insurance company (1752), first stock 

exchange (1790), first bank (1781), and first 

commodities exchange (1895). Notably, all 

of the aforementioned organizations are still 

active in Philadelphia except the first bank 

and commodities exchange. 

This spirit of inquiry and innovation 

naturally extended to the city’s manufacturing 

sector, fostering a culture of continual 

experimentation and invention that kept 

Philadelphia at the forefront of advancements 

in manufacturing technology. From Benjamin 

Franklin’s famous experiments in electricity 

in the 1750s to Oliver Evans’ invention of 

the high-pressure steam engine in 1803 to 

the development of the world’s first computer 

at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, 

Philadelphia has a long tradition of serving as 

an incubator for transformational technologies. 

This spirit, particularly as it relates to the 

relationship between science and industry, is 

best embodied in The Franklin Institute, the 

scientific institution named for Philadelphia’s 

great statesman and scientist, Benjamin 

Franklin. Founded in 1824 for “the promotion 

and encouragement of manufactures and 

the mechanics and useful arts,” The Franklin 

Institute remains one of the nation’s premiere 

science and technology institutes, as well as 

one of Philadelphia’s most popular museums. 

In 1800 the U.S. capital moved from 

Philadelphia to Washington D.C., and the 

census revealed that New York had surpassed 

Philadelphia as America’s most populous city. 

The nation’s center of gravity in commerce, 

finance, and culture would gradually shift 

from Philadelphia to New York in the early 

nineteenth century as well. By the 1820s 

Philadelphia had lost its standing in several 

keys areas and while still an important city, 

it was no longer the preeminent American 

metropolis. It was precisely at this point, 

however, that Philadelphia began its ascent 

into one of the world’s greatest manufacturing 

centers. Its industrial growth over the 

course of the nineteenth century was 

astonishing. By the time it hosted the 1876 

U.S. Centennial Exposition—officially the 

International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, 

and Products of the Soil and Mine—Philadelphia 

was ready to demonstrate its manufacturing 

might to the nearly ten million visitors it 

hosted from throughout the nation and the 

world. By the turn of the twentieth century 

Philadelphia was known as the Workshop 

of the World, widely considered one of the 

greatest manufacturing centers on earth. 

@ 

Silk souvenir for the 1899 National 

Export Exposition held in Philadelphia. 

The souvenir was made by Sauquoit Silk 

Manufacturing Company, which was 

headquartered in New York but had a large 

mill in Philadelphia, one of forty silk mills 

in the city around the turn of the twentieth 

century. Pictured are the Philadelphia 

Commercial Museum, along with William 

Penn (lower left), Benjamin Franklin 

(lower right), and then U.S. President 

William McKinley (top). 


CHAPTER ONE 

17

@ 

Above and opposite: Two former factory 

buildings in East Frankford. 

Above: Miller Lock Company, which in the 

mid-1910s employed some 600 workers and 

was producing over one million locks 

a month. 


The city certainly celebrated its industrial 

status in this period. When the Philadelphia 

Bourse Building, the nation’s first commodities 

exchange, opened in 1895 across from 

Independence Hall, it treated visitors to displays 

of working machinery of city industries, 

along with samples of the products they 

made. Promotional activities continued in 

1899 when Philadelphia hosted The National 

Export Exposition For The Advancement Of 

American Manufactures And The Extension Of 

Export Trade. Coinciding with the Exposition 

was the opening of the Philadelphia Commercial 

Museum, the first institution in the nation to 

actively promote American business and 

industry to the world. The museum’s early 

twentieth-century monthly journal, Commercial 

America, regularly highlighted Philadelphia 

manufacturers. (Photographs from this journal 

are featured throughout this book.) 

The Philadelphia Commercial Museum is 

long gone, its collections dispersed to various 

area cultural institutions, and although manufacturing 

still plays a significant role in the 

local economy, Philadelphia’s status as one of 

the world’s great industrial centers is now a 

matter of history, not current reality. Efforts 

are underway in the 2010s (as described later 

in this book) that could spur a major revival of 

manufacturing in the city, but manufacturing 

in Philadelphia in the early twenty-first century 

is nowhere near the force it once was in the 

national or world economy. 

Fortunately, archives and artifacts of 

Philadelphia’s rich industrial history are well 

preserved in its many outstanding museums 

and historical repositories. The city itself is 

also a living museum, its landscape dotted 

with countless former factory buildings that 

serve as physical reminders of its manufacturing 

past. Riding the elevated train through the 

neighborhoods of Kensington and Frankford 

or driving through Nicetown or Manayunk, 

one can see numerous old mills and factories, 

their dormant smokestacks and rusting water 

towers forming a silent skyline in these once 

thriving industrial communities. Many of 

these buildings are now deteriorating hulks, 

but others have been renovated for new uses 

as housing, artist lofts, or commercial spaces. 

The offices of the Manufacturing Alliance of 

Philadelphia are housed, appropriately enough, 

in the Globe Dye Works Building in East 

Frankford. Globe Dye Works, a textile dying 

plant owned and operated by the same 

Philadelphia family from 1865 to 2005, was a 

key player in Frankford’s once booming 

textile industry. The Alliance shares the converted 

building with businesses, artists, and 

even some small manufacturers. 

TELLING THE STORY 

The following pages tell the story of 

over three centuries of manufacturing in 

Philadelphia, from its beginnings in the late 

seventeenth century to the current landscape 

of the early twenty-first. One of the limitations 

in a historical overview such as this is 

that it can relate the who and what of the 

story, but not always the how or why. That 

is, a book of this nature can explain what 

happened and who the major players were, 

but cannot unravel the complexities of how 

or why developments unfolded the way they 

did. For example, the story of the rise of 

large-scale manufacturing in Philadelphia in 

the late nineteenth century is told in terms 

of who the companies were, what they made, 

and how they grew, but only passing reference 

is made to the larger forces—advances in 


18

technology, transportation, and communication 

in this period, as well as broader economic 

developments and governmental policies— 

that fueled the growth of these companies. 

Fortunately, scholars have covered these subjects 

in great detail; the bibliography provides 

sources for further reading for those who 

are interested. 

Some readers may be disappointed that 

certain companies or industries receive little 

or no mention in these pages. It is impossible 

to be comprehensive in a historical overview 

of this nature. Of the many thousands of 

Philadelphia manufacturers over the course of 

the city’s 330-plus year history, space permits 

highlighting only the most significant or those 

with especially interesting or revealing stories. 

Certain industries—grist and saw milling, furniture 

making, for example—are mentioned 

only in passing, not because they are unimportant, 

but because other industries loom 

larger in the broader story and had a greater 

impact on the overall history of manufacturing 

in the city. 

Yet another challenge in a brief history 

such as this is that it tends to paint a much 

rosier picture than the often harsh realities 

manufacturers and their workers faced. For 

every successful company profiled in these 

pages, hundreds of others that failed are not 

covered. For every large, profitable manufacturer 

whose history is celebrated, there were 

innumerable others that barely survived and 

whose stories remain untold. Manufacturing 

work itself was hard and often dangerous, 

sometimes deadly. Economic realities frequently 

pitted management and labor against 

each other in struggles that resulted in bitter, 

sometimes violent strikes. Philadelphia’s 

critical role in the rise of the labor movement 

is an especially significant story that is only 

briefly covered here. Likewise, the social and 

environmental impacts of the industrialization 

of Philadelphia cannot be adequately 

explored in this general overview. Readers 

must look elsewhere for the history of these 

important subjects. Fortunately, again, others 

have written extensively on these topics. 

Finally, a note regarding the numbers of 

employees given for the sizes of the workforces 

of the companies profiled in this book. 

These figures are informed estimates intended 

to give a general sense of the scope of companies’ 

operations; they are not precise numbers. 

Exact employee numbers are often 

unavailable, while published figures cannot 

always be verified. Even with current manufacturers, 

employee numbers can be moving 

targets, depending on what projects the 

companies have underway at any given time. 

While the history of manufacturing in 

Philadelphia is rich and important and very 

well documented, the general public knows 

relatively little of this key part of the city’s 

past. This book is another opportunity to 

tell this important story. As historian Philip 

Scranton so eloquently put it in his introductory 

overview to the Workshop of the World 

website of the Philadelphia Chapter of 

the Society for Industrial Archaeology, 

“Where [the historic buildings of Old City 

Philadelphia] call up visions of bewigged 

gentlemen debating the birth of a nation, 

scribbling away with quill pens, you must 

conjure a later cacophony of steam engines, 

whirling lathes, pounding forges, clattering 

looms, smoke, sweat and strain.” Hopefully, this 

book provides the historical context in which 

to conjure up those images and in so doing 

accurately tells the story of this exceptionally 

important chapter in Philadelphia history. 

@ 

Globe Dye Works, home to a family-run 

textile dying company for 140 years. 

The Globe Dye Building has been converted 

to offices, artist studios, and small 

manufacturing shops. 


CHAPTER ONE 

19

CHAPTER 

TWO 

FROM HOLY EXPERIMENT 

TO REVOLUTIONARY CITY: 

MANUFACTURING IN COLONIAL 

AND REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA 

@ 

William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians, 

painting by Benjamin West, 1771. Legend 

has it that William Penn made a treaty 

with the Lenni Lenape, the area’s original 

inhabitants, in 1682, soon after arriving in 

Pennsylvania. This famous painting, done 

almost ninety years later, is not historically 

accurate—the people and buildings would 

not have looked like they are depicted 

here—but the image has become an 

important one in Philadelphia history. 

ORIGINAL PAINTING IN PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY 

OF THE FINE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA. 

The history of manufacturing in Philadelphia begins with the city’s founding by William Penn 

in 1682. Prior to Penn receiving his royal charter in 1681 from King Charles II of England for 

the land that would become Pennsylvania, the area that is now Philadelphia was a sparsely 

populated region with perhaps a few hundred inhabitants. These included both the Lenni Lenape 

Indians who had been living in the Delaware River Valley for thousands of years and Europeans— 

primarily Swedes, Dutch, and English—who had been settling in the region since the late 1630s. 

Neither group was engaged in manufacturing per se. While both made things that could be sold 

or bartered, they were essentially subsistence societies that survived by farming, hunting and 

fishing, and trading. With the exception of a few grist mills built by the Swedes beginning in 

the mid-seventeenth century, which were more agricultural than manufacturing operations, the 

inhabitants were not engaged in large-scale transforming of raw materials into finished products 

for sale or distribution. 

That all changed when William Penn arrived in the fall of 1682 and officially founded the 

Colony of Pennsylvania and its chief city, Philadelphia. It was at this point that an actual city 

began to take shape on the Delaware River, an urban concentration of people, institutions, and 

businesses, the latter including manufacturers. Penn was an English nobleman who at a young 


20

age had joined the Religious Society of 

Friends, commonly called Quakers. Having 

been persecuted for his religious beliefs, 

he envisioned his new colony as a “holy 

experiment,” a place where people of all 

faiths could enjoy freedom of conscience 

and live in peace. It was a noble endeavor to 

be sure, but as much as William Penn was 

a visionary city planner and champion of 

religious freedom, he was also a businessman 

who viewed Pennsylvania as an investment, 

a way to wealth through real estate development, 

trading, and manufacturing. 

EARLY 

MANUFACTURERS 

Shortly after receiving his charter from 

King Charles, Penn and a group of English 

businessmen, mostly London Quakers, formed 

a joint stock company called the Free Society 

of Traders. The company had grand plans 

for making money in Pennsylvania. Among 

other ventures, they intended to establish 

manufacturing operations of various types. 

The Free Society did build saw and grist 

mills, as well as a glass factory, brick kiln, 

and tannery, but these did not last long and 

the company itself was a failure, surviving 

only a few years. Its lasting legacy to 

Philadelphia is the name of its original tract 

of land just south of the Old City area, 

the neighborhood known as “Society Hill.” 

If the Free Society of Traders’ early attempts 

at manufacturing in Philadelphia were not 

successful, those of others certainly were. 

The new city grew rapidly in the 1680s 

and 1690s, giving rise to all sorts of businesses 

that transformed raw materials into 

finished products to serve a population 

that grew from a few hundred to over 

2,000 by 1700. Tanneries, breweries, and 

brick kilns were among the active enterprises 

in the city’s early manufacturing sector. 

Tanners supplied the leather goods that 

were always in demand and breweries were 

essential to the early colonists, who were 

prodigious drinkers of beer. Beer in those 

days was generally less potent than today 

and its consumption was largely a matter 

of the need for brewed beverages due to 

@ 

Above: Philadelphia in 1702. This c. 1875 

print depicts Philadelphia as it might have 

looked in 1702. The cove at mid left is 

the mouth of Dock Creek, along which 

tanneries, slaughter houses, and other early 

industries were located. The building at mid 

right on the riverfront with the two partially 

constructed boats in front is the Pennypot 

Tavern, where James West had the city’s 

first shipyard. Smoke from a brick kiln can 

be seen rising directly behind the tavern. 


Left: A Letter From William Penn, 

Proprietary and Governour of 

Pennsylvania In America, To The 

Committee Of The Free Society of 

Traders of that Province, residing in 

London. This 1683 report to the Free 

Society of Traders is one of a number of 

letters and pamphlets William Penn sent 

to England and other parts of Europe, 

describing life in Pennsylvania and 

encouraging investment and emigration to 

the colony. 

QUAKER & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, HAVERFORD COLLEGE, 

HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA. 

CHAPTER TWO 

21

@ 

Scull & Heap’s Plan of the City and 

Environs of Philadelphia, 1777. The 

city is the rectangular area in the center, 

stretching from the Delaware River on the 

right to the Schuylkill River on the left. 

The city in this period was a two-square 

mile area located within the 128-square 

mile County of Philadelphia. The shaded 

area within the city is the colonial-era 

populated section that was concentrated 

within six blocks of the Delaware River. 

GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

unreliable local water quality. William Penn 

described beer making in Pennsylvania in a 

1685 account of the colony: 

Our drink has been beer and punch, made 

of Rum and water. Our Beer was mostly 

made of Molasses which well boyld, until 

it makes a very tolerable drink, but…Mault 

Drink begins to be common, especially in the 

Ordinaries [taverns] and the Houses of the 

more substantial People. In our great Town 

there is an able Man [William Frampton], 

that has set up a large Brew House, in order 

to furnish the People with good Drink, both 

there and up and down the River. 

Another early brewer was Anthony Morris, 

who came to Philadelphia with William Penn 

in 1682 and established a brewery in 1687 

on Front Street below Walnut. Later named 

Francis Perot’s Sons Malting Company for 

the Perot family that descended from Morris, 

it remained in the family for well over 200 

years and in 1916 was deemed the oldest 

continuously family-owned firm in the 

United States. 

Brick making was also important to Penn, 

who had witnessed the devastating 1666 

Great Fire of London and who envisioned 

Philadelphia as a city of brick that would 

“never be burnt.” Brick kilns were in operation 

from the earliest years of Philadelphia, 

producing the basic building materials for 

much of the city and giving it another of its 

surviving colonial legacies—the ubiquitous 

red brick townhouse. 

In 1690 John Goodson, a member of the 

Free Society of Traders, wrote a letter to 

friends in London in which he listed thirtyfive 

businesses active in Philadelphia at that 

time, with the number of men engaged in 

each. Enumerated along with merchants and 

shopkeepers and workers in the building 

trades such as carpenters and bricklayers, 

were those who made things—the “leather 

apron” men, including potters, brass and 

pewter workers, tin and black smiths, makers 

of barrels, gloves, hats, combs, clocks and 

watches, saddles, soap, candles, rope, and 

other necessities. There were also, in 

Goodson’s words, “Seven Master Bakers… 

Four Master Butchers…Four Brick-makers 

with Brickills…Nine Master Shoemakers… 

Nine Master Taylors…Three Master Ship 

Carpenters, Three Woolen Weavers that are 

entering upon the Woolen Manufactury in the 

Town…Three Brewers that send off many a 

Tun of good Malt-Beer [and] Three Maltsters 

in this Town also.” 

THE EARLY 

MANUFACTURING 

LANDSCAPE 

The bulk of these activities took place 

along a one-mile stretch within a few 

blocks of the Delaware River, where most 


22

Philadelphians lived in the city’s early years. 

William Penn’s original plan for Philadelphia 

was for a two-square mile city stretching 

one mile north to south from Vine to Cedar 

(now South) Streets and two miles east to 

west from the Delaware to the Schuylkill 

River. Penn anticipated settlers spreading 

out over this entire area, occupying spacious 

lots from river to river, creating a pleasant 

“greene country towne.” The reality was quite 

different; everyone wanted to live near the 

Delaware River, the city’s primary access to 

the world. The result was a much more 

compact, densely populated city than Penn 

envisioned, with settlement concentrated 

within a couple of blocks of the Delaware 

River. As the city grew in the colonial period 

its populated area expanded westward to 

around Sixth Street. This colonial era section, 

a bustling urban area in the eighteenth 

century, is known today as “Old City.” 

(The original two-square mile city was 

located within the much larger County of 

Philadelphia. In 1854 the city and county 

were consolidated and the city boundaries 

were expanded to encompass the entire 

County of Philadelphia, at which point the 

city went from two square miles to its current 

size of 128 square miles. This book focuses on 

the entire 128 square-mile area that comprises 

the present City and County of Philadelphia. 

References to “the city” or the “the city proper” 

in the pre-1854 period are to the original 

two-square mile city; references to “outlying 

districts” or “settlements outside the city” 

are to areas that are now within the city but 

were outside of it prior to 1854.) 

There were also various settlements outside 

the city where manufacturing took place 

in the early years. In 1690 Dutch immigrant 

William Rittenhouse established the first 

paper mill in America near Germantown, 

an area that is now part of Philadelphia but 

was then a German settlement on the western 

outskirts of the city. It remained the only 

paper mill in the American colonies for the 

next twenty years. “All sorts of paper are 

manufactured here in Germantown,” wrote 

William Penn in 1691, “and very good 

German linen such as no person of quality 

need be ashamed to wear.” As Penn noted, 

Germantown was a center of linen manufacture 

in the 1690s. Since paper was made from 

linen rags in this period, a convenient selfcontained 

eco-system developed in which 

locally manufactured linen became rag 

material for the paper mill once it became too 

worn for its original use. 

Clearly, there was a good bit of manufacturing 

going on in Philadelphia’s earliest years. In 

both Goodson’s 1690 list and Germantown’s 

linen and paper industries we can, in fact, 

see the first manifestations of some of the 

hallmarks of Philadelphia manufacturing in 

later centuries: a high percentage of workers 

engaged in certain industries such as textiles 

and food processing, but overall, a sector 

that encompassed a variety of interrelated, 

mutually supportive manufacturing activities. 

All of this activity notwithstanding, 

Philadelphia was much more of a mercantile 

than a manufacturing city in the colonial 

period. Its major businesses were in 

commerce and shipping, not in making 

things. Its wealthiest men were merchants, 

not manufacturers. (“Merchants” in this case 

refers not to shop keepers, but to overseas 

traders who mostly dealt in large quantities 

of goods.) These merchants, many of them 

Quakers, exported farm and forest products 

from the rich hinterlands surrounding 

Philadelphia to Europe and the Caribbean 

in exchange for goods from these regions. 

@ 

Rittenhouse Paper Mill, near the site outside 

Germantown where William Rittenhouse 

built the first paper mill in America in 

1690. This photograph, taken in 1889, 

shows the fourth mill on the site; the first 

mill was washed away in a flood in 1701. 

THOMAS H. SHOEMAKER GERMANTOWN AND 

PHILADELPHIA PORTRAITS AND VIEWS COLLECTION, 


CHAPTER TWO 

23

@ 

Above: Southeast Prospect of the City 

of Philadelphia, by Peter Cooper, 1720. 

This view of Philadelphia’s Delaware 

riverfront shows that the city had become 

a bustling mercantile center by 1720. 

This is the oldest surviving painting of a 

North American city. 


Below: Elfreth’s Alley, a one-block lane 

between Front and Second Streets in the 

northern part of Old City Philadelphia, 

is America’s oldest continuously inhabited 

residential street. It was home to a variety 

of artisans and craftsmen in the 

colonial period. 


While many items of routine necessity were 

made in the city, most finished products were 

imported rather than manufactured locally. 

It would not be until the nineteenth century 

that Philadelphia shipped locally made goods 

out to the world more than it imported 

foreign-made products. 

ARTISANS AND CRAFTSMEN 

The typical Philadelphia manufacturer in 

the colonial period was the individual craftsman 

or artisan who labored in his shop, 

perhaps assisted by an apprentice or helper 

or two, often an indentured servant or 

sometimes an enslaved African American. 

The craftsman fashioned raw materials into 

products that he sold there in the shop. 

Usually, his shop was the front room of the 

house, with the back rooms and second 

story serving as family living quarters. Most 

manufacturing in colonial Philadelphia took 

place in such small settings. Blacksmiths, 

shoemakers, candle makers, and other artisans 

fashioned the everyday products that were 

needed in colonial Philadelphia. Women were 

also involved, engaged primarily in needlework, 

but also selling finished products or 

doing occasional piece work for craftsmen. 

Perhaps America’s best surviving example 

of the physical landscape of such craftsmen 

shops and dwellings is Elfreth’s Alley, the 

narrow one-block lane from Front to Second 

Street in the northern section of Old City. 

Lined with modest mostly two-story houses, 

many dating from the 1720s, Elfreth’s Alley 

was home to silver and pewter smiths, 

glassblowers, ship wrights, and furniture 

makers. In the later colonial period, one-third 

of Elfreth’s Alley households were headed by 

women. One such household was the home 

and shop of dressmakers Mary Smith and 

Sarah Milton. It now serves as the Elfreth’s 

Alley Museum. Like much of Philadelphia, 

Elfreth’s Alley was an ethnically diverse place, 

home over the years to a free African American 

tailor, a Jewish furniture maker, and German 

shoemakers and bakers, among others. 

EARLY 

SHIPBUILDING 

While most manufacturing in colonial 

Philadelphia took place in such small shops, 

there were a few industries that operated on a 

larger scale, employing sometimes dozens of 

workers and taking up large amounts of 

space. Chief among these was ship building, 

a key industry in early Philadelphia. William 

Penn stipulated early on that in clearing 

land for the new city the best oak trees be 

reserved for shipbuilding. “Some vessels 

have been built here,” Penn reported in 1685, 


24

“and many boats, which are useful for passage 

of people and goods.” The Philadelphia merchants 

who developed the city into the preeminent 

trans-Atlantic trading center of early 

America needed ships of all sizes, from large 

ocean going vessels to smaller boats to ply 

the local rivers and coastal waters. By 1700 

there were at least three shipyards along the 

Delaware River in and around Philadelphia; 

twenty years later there were about a dozen. 

Related manufacturers such as sail lofts, ropewalks 

(long narrow buildings where rope was 

made), and lumber yards were part of the 

city’s ship building industry as well. These 

industries, together with the busy wharves 

and warehouses of the merchants, the nearby 

workers’ housing, and the taverns and shops 

that serviced the maritime community, made 

the riverfront a vibrant, bustling part of colonial 

Philadelphia. 

The earliest known ship builder in 

Philadelphia was James West, who established 

his business around 1676. West’s shipyard, 

located on the northern edge of the city 

near present day Vine Street and Columbus 

Boulevard, was in front of the Pennypot 

Tavern, where beer was sold “for a penny a 

pot.” In 1690 West petitioned to expand his 

original sixty-foot wide riverfront property 

by an additional forty feet “for a conveniency 

to build Ships and Vessels upon, he having 

bought the penny pot House of the Widdow.” 

(It is reported that West often paid his 

workers in drink.) When James West died in 

1701 his son Charles carried on the business; 

between them they ran one of the most highly 

respected shipyards in Philadelphia for over 

sixty years. Another early ship building 

enterprise that passed from father to son was 

that of Bartholomew and Thomas Penrose. 

Bartholomew Penrose arrived in Pennsylvania 

around 1700 and set up a wharf and shipyard 

on the Delaware River at the foot of Market 

Street. In 1707 he built and was part owner of 

a vessel with William Penn. Later, the family 

re-located to Southwark, just below the city, 

where Thomas Penrose and his sons operated 

one of the region’s most prosperous shipyards 

through the late eighteenth century. 

A number of other shipbuilders established 

themselves in early Philadelphia and the city 

became renowned for this industry. Orders for 

vessels from local merchants in the overseas 

trade kept the shipyards busy, but many 

English traders also arranged to have their 

ships built in Philadelphia. “What a great 

advantage…to us a Trading Country,” wrote 

Benjamin Franklin in 1729, “that has Workmen 

and all the Materials proper…to have Ship- 

Building as much as possible advanced.” It is 

estimated that over 400 vessels were built in 

the city in the 1720s and 1730s. By the 1750s 

and 1760s the number had risen to over 800, 

with the average size of the ships being built 

increasing substantially also. 

As the shipbuilding industry grew, it 

became too large for the riverfront area within 

the city itself, which had become crowded 

with merchant wharves and warehouses, and 

in the later colonial period began to be concentrated 

in areas either just north of the city, 

such as Northern Liberties and Kensington, or 

just to the south in Southwark. (The latter 

neighborhood was named after the famed 

Southwark shipbuilding section of London.) 

Like Germantown, these neighborhoods are 

now part of the city but were then outlying 

districts. Emanuel Eyre was a prominent ship 

builder in Kensington in the mid-eighteenth 

@ 

Above: A c. 1830 depiction of the Pennypot 

Tavern in the early eighteenth century, 

showing a vessel under construction at 

James West’s shipyard. Established c. 1676 

at what is now Vine Street and Columbus 

Boulevard, West’s was the earliest shipyard 

in Philadelphia. 

PRINT DEPARTMENT, LIBRARY COMPANY 

OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Below: Detail from Scull & Heap’s 1756 

East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia, 

showing a crowded Delaware riverfront and 

densely populated city. The tall spire in the 

center is Christ Church, then the tallest 

building in America. The tower at mid left 

is the Pennsylvania State House, 

now Independence Hall. 


CHAPTER TWO 

25

century; later, he built gun boats to defend the 

Delaware River from the British during the 

Revolutionary War. In Southwark, in addition 

to the aforementioned Penrose shipyard, were 

the major yards of the Wharton family and 

those of Warwick Coats and Henry Dennis, 

the latter two both descendants of early 

Swedish settlers. The shipyards of smaller 

builders and the manufacturing facilities of 

related industries such as rope walks, sail 

lofts, and blacksmith shops were part of these 

riverfront maritime communities as well. 

Ship building continued in these areas north 

and south of Old City into the nineteenth 

and twentieth centuries and, in the case of 

South Philadelphia, continues to this day. 

DOCK 

CREEK 

Another area of concentrated manufacturing 

activity in early Philadelphia was along Dock 

Creek, which was actually a network of 

creeks in Old City that fed into a cove known 

as “the Dock” that emptied into the Delaware 

River at the foot of Society Hill. A number of 

tanneries, distilleries, and slaughter houses 

sprang up along these waterways beginning 

in the 1690s, making it an early hub of 

manufacturing but also giving rise to the 

city’s first major environmental dispute. 

Refuse and odors from these industries 

had so fouled the Dock that in 1739 local 

inhabitants petitioned the Pennsylvania 

Assembly regarding “the great annoyance 

arising from the Slaughter-Houses, Tan-Yards, 

Skinner Lime Pits, etc. erected on the public 

Dock, and Streets, adjacent.” A public debate 

ensued, with rival Philadelphia publishers 

Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Bradford 

taking the sides, respectively, of the petitioners 

and business owners in editorials in their 

newspapers. Despite their attendant problems, 

the industries along Dock Creek were 

allowed to continue and it was not until later 

in the eighteenth century that the situation 

was resolved when the waterways began to be 

built over and converted into sewers. The 

only trace of all of this activity today is Dock 

Street, the winding cobblestone street that 

follows the original course of Dock Creek, 

diagonally traversing the otherwise uniform 

grid of right-angle streets for a few blocks on 

the eastern edge of Society Hill. 

GOVERNOR’ S 

MILL 

The Governor’s Mill in Northern Liberties, 

later known as the Globe Mill (not to be 

confused with the Globe Dye Works in 

Frankford), was yet another area of early 

manufacturing activity. It was established 

by William Penn in 1701 as a grist mill on 

Cohocksink Creek at what is now the intersection 

of Girard and Germantown Avenues 

and Third Street. The area was then largely 

marshy swampland that often proved inaccessible 

and the mill was not successful. 

James Logan, one of William Penn’s commissioners 

who managed the enterprise, wrote 

to Penn in 1708 that “Our mill proves the 

unhappiest thing of the kind, that ever man, 

I think, was engaged in.” In 1714 wealthy 


26

Quaker merchant Thomas Masters purchased 

the mill to provide his wife Sybilla a place 

to make “Tuscarora Rice,” a type of hominy 

made from Indian Corn that purportedly 

had medicinal powers. Sybilla had developed 

a new milling process to make the product, 

based on her observations of how Native 

Americans made it. In 1715 she received, 

through her husband Thomas, a patent 

from the King of England for “Cleaning 

and Curing the Indian Corn Growing in the 

several Colonies in America.” This was the 

first English patent ever awarded to an 

American. Women could not receive patents 

at this time so it was issued to Thomas, 

with the specification that it was for “a new 

invention found out by Sybilla, his wife.” The 

Tuscarora Rice venture was also unsuccessful. 

In 1760, descendants of the Masters sold 

the property to two partners who converted 

the mill to a chocolate and mustard factory. 

It continued in this line until 1790, after 

which it was converted to a textile mill. 

TEXTILES 

Germantown continued to be an important 

center of textile manufacturing in the 

mid-eighteenth century. Andrew Barnaby, an 

English clergyman who visited Philadelphia 

as part of a tour of the mid-Atlantic colonies 

in 1759-1760, wrote that “Germantown 

thread stockings are in high estimation and 

the year before last I have been credibly 

informed there were manufactured in that 

town alone above 60,000 dozen pairs.” 

Barnaby also noted that elsewhere in 

Philadelphia “the Irish settlers make very 

good linens; some woolens have also been 

fabricated…. There are also several other 

manufactures…of beaver hats, of cordage 

[rope], linseed-oil, starch, myrtle-wax, spermaceti 

[whale oil] candles, soap, earthen 

ware, and other commodities.” 

Carpet making was another growing 

textile industry in eighteenth-century 

Philadelphia. By the time of the Revolution 

the city was a major producer of carpets and 

floor cloths, well on its way to becoming 

a world leader in this industry in the 

nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

IRON 

WORKS 

Most iron works were located outside of 

Philadelphia in the colonial period, in rural 

areas in surrounding counties that were closer 

to iron ore deposits. By 1750 there were 

several iron works within the city, however, 

and one in an outlying district of Philadelphia 

County. Stephen Paschal had a steel furnace 

at the northwest corner of Eighth and Walnut 

Streets, William Branson had one on High 

(now Market) Street, and John Hall had a tilt 

hammer forge in Byberry Township at the 

northern edge of the county. Around this time 

Quaker iron worker Daniel Offley established 

the well-known Anchor Forge on Front Street, 

where he made anchors for the maritime 

industry. Early Philadelphia historian John 

Fanning Watson offers this colorful description 

of Offley’s forge: 

Looking through the Front Street low 

windows down into the smoking cavern 

below…where, through the thick sulphurous 

smoke, aided by the glare of light from the 

forge, might be seen Daniel Offley, directing 

the strokes of a dozen hammer-men, striking 

with sledges on a welding heat produced on 

an immense unfinished anchor, swinging from 

the forge to the anvil by a ponderous crane, he 

at the same time keeping his piercing iron 

voice above the din of the iron sound. 

There were also a number of blacksmiths 

in Philadelphia in the mid-eighteenth century, 

craftsmen who used the iron produced at 

local forges to make horseshoes, tools, and 

other hardware for city residents, as well as 

products for industries such as shipbuilding. 

@ 

Opposite, top: A 1920s rendering of 

Dock Creek in the early eighteenth century, 

showing the drawbridge at Front Street and 

the Blue Anchor Tavern, Philadelphia’s first 

public house. Legend has it that this was 

where William Penn landed when he first 

arrived in Philadelphia in 1682. A number 

of the city’s earliest tanneries and breweries 

were situated upstream on Dock Creek. 

FRANK H. TAYLOR COLLECTION, LIBRARY COMPANY 


Opposite, bottom: This map, made for a 

2008 Dock Creek art installation sponsored 

by the American Philosophical Society, 

shows the location of early tanneries along 

the creek. The small circles indicate tannery 

locations. Dock Creek was a network of 

streams in the central and southern section 

of Old City in the colonial period. The 

section of the creek labeled “Dock Street” 

at right is the current cobblestone street 

that follows the original course of the creek. 

All of these waterways were covered by the 

late eighteenth century. 

MAP COURTESY OF AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 

Above: Depiction of an early American iron 

forge. There were a few iron forges within 

the city in the colonial period, but most were 

located in outlying counties, in areas closer 

to rural iron ore deposits. 

SOCIETY PRINT COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

CHAPTER TWO 

27

@ 

Above: David Rittenhouse, in a 

1796 painting by Charles Willson Peale. 

Rittenhouse was a brilliant scientist, 

inventor, astronomer, and builder of 

scientific instruments. In 1792 he became 

the first director of the U.S. Mint, one 

of Philadelphia’s early federal 

manufacturing operations. 

PAINTING IN NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

Below: Detail from 1767 Philadelphia 

County Commissioners tax list, showing the 

taxable assets of sailmaker John Malcome, 

which included “5 Negros.” 

KISLAK CENTER FOR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, RARE BOOKS 

AND MANUSCRIPTS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

MID- CENTURY 

PROSPERITY 

By the mid-eighteenth century Philadelphia 

had become the largest and most prosperous 

city in America. As the city grew in this period, 

so did its manufacturing sector. Every manner 

of craftsmen could be found in Philadelphia in 

the 1750s and 1760s, from occupations such 

as shipwrights, brick makers, and brewers that 

had been part of the city since its founding, 

to makers of fine furniture and sophisticated 

tools and instruments. David Rittenhouse, 

born in 1732 into the family that had founded 

America’s first paper mill, set up a shop as 

a young man on the family farm outside the 

city, where he made and sold clocks and 

surveying instruments. A brilliant self-taught 

astronomer and inventor, by the time he 

moved into Philadelphia in 1770 he was one 

of America’s most renowned scientists and a 

highly regarded maker of telescopes and 

advanced scientific devices. 

Other high-end craftsmen made fine 

products for Philadelphia’s emerging upper 

class in the mid-eighteenth century. Irish 

immigrant Philip Syng was a well-known 

silversmith whose work graced the homes 

of many of Philadelphia’s leading colonial 

families. An inkstand he made in 1752, now on 

display at Independence Hall, was used for 

signing both the Declaration of Independence 

and U.S. Constitution. The firm of Bonnin & 

Morris operated America’s first commercial 

porcelain factory, the American China 

Manufactory, in Southwark for a few years in 

the early 1770s. They made exquisite bowls 

and dishes before going out of business, due 

in part to England’s Wedgewood company 

flooding the Philadelphia market with similar 

wares and drastically undercutting Bonnin & 

Morris’ prices. 

“ THE LOWER SORT” 

At the other end of the economic scale, 

among “the lower sort” as they were then 

called, were those who did the grunt work 

in the city’s industries: the apprentices, indentured 

servants, day laborers, and slaves. The 

indentured service system was particularly 

important in the industrial development of 

early Pennsylvania. A young man would be 

bound to work for a craftsman for a period of 

time, usually four to seven years, in the course 

of which, in exchange for his labor, he would 

be taught a trade and given room and board 

by his master. Poor young Europeans who 

sought a better life in America would pay for 

their passage by indenturing themselves, 

the men as tradesmen and the women usually 

as house servants. Many of Philadelphia’s 

colonial craftsmen learned their trades 

through this system. 

Slaves were another important source of 

labor for city industries. The 1767 Philadelphia 

tax list shows 748 enslaved African Americans 

working in dozens of industries in the city. 

Manufacturers who depended on slave labor 

at this time included brick maker John Coats, 

who had six slaves; sailmaker John Malcolme, 

with five; baker William Hodge, with six; and 

the city’s largest slave owner, John Phillips, 

who had thirteen enslaved workers at his 

ropewalk in Southwark. Many of the city’s 

free blacks (Philadelphia had the largest 

population of free African Americans of any 

city in the colonial era) also labored in its 

manufacturing establishments. 

BREWERIES 

The city’s breweries continued to produce 

beer throughout the colonial period. The 

earliest breweries, dating from 1685, were 

mostly concentrated in the Dock Creek area, 

but over time breweries came to be located in 

other parts of the city and in the outlying 

districts. Some thirty breweries were started 

in Philadelphia at various times in the colonial 

era, at least six of which were still active on 

the eve of the Revolutionary War. In addition 

to making beer for local consumption, 

Philadelphia brewers were major exporters 

to both American and overseas markets. The 

Boston Evening Post noted on October 31, 

1774 that a shipment of Philadelphia porter 

had just arrived in Boston and that it was 

“little if any inferior” to that in London. John 

Adams, in Philadelphia in 1775 representing 

Massachusetts in the Continental Congress, 

wrote to his wife back home that “I drink no 

cider, but feast on Philadelphia beer.” 


28

INDUSTRY 

INVENTORS 

Manufacturers in this period were often 

inventors as well. Toolmaker Job T. Pugh and 

his father-in-law formed a company in 1774 to 

make augers. Pugh later invented the double 

twist auger, which proved much more efficient 

in boring through materials than the flat auger 

generally in use at that time. The new tool 

proved highly popular and the Job T. Pugh 

Company went on to make augers in 

Philadelphia into the 1920s. New machines to 

speed the spinning of cotton and wool, known 

as “jennies,” were of particular interest in late 

colonial America. The April 1775 issue of 

The Pennsylvania Magazine included a detailed 

drawing of a “Machine for spinning twenty-four 

threads of cotton or wool at one time,” with a 

note that it was constructed in Philadelphia 

by Christopher Tully “who first made and 

introduced this machine in this country.” 

Tully’s jenny was among several American 

efforts to replicate the new textile manufacturing 

devices then in use in England, efforts that 

would intensify in the 1780s and 1790s. 

The same month that Christopher Tully’s 

cotton jenny appeared in The Philadelphia 

Magazine, musical instrument maker John 

Behrent, a German immigrant, advertised in 

the Pennsylvania Packet that he had “just 

finished for sale, [an] extraordinary fine 

instrument, by the name of Piano Forte.” This 

was the first piano manufactured in America. 

Eight years later the same newspaper carried 

a notice that: “James Julian, lately arrived in 

this city…informs the public, that he makes 

the great North-American Forte-Pianos, the 

mechanical part of which is entirely of his 

own invention.” These newspaper notices 

signaled the birth of yet another industry in 

which Philadelphia would play a significant 

role in later years: piano making. 

IMPORTATION AND 

CONFRONTATION 

Despite these innovations and the overall 

growth in manufacturing activity in Philadelphia 

in the late colonial period, most finished goods 

continued to be imported rather than made 

locally. Cloth, tools, instruments, and other 

finished products were either not made in 

sufficient quantity or quality to meet local 

demand, or could be made much more cheaply 

abroad. Such goods were usually obtained 

from the mother country, England. John 

Penn, grandson of William Penn, described in 

a 1767 letter a manufacturing operation that 

had been set up in Philadelphia three years 

earlier “for making of sail-cloth, ticking [tightly 

woven cloth], and linens.” Penn noted that 

the business was soon discontinued because 

“the high price of labour will not allow any of 

the articles to be made at so cheap a rate as 

those of the same quality and goodness made 

in England are sold for by the retailers here.” 

One particularly important item that was 

made in England and imported to Philadelphia 

was, fittingly, remade in the city. In 1751 the 

Pennsylvania Assembly ordered from a London 

foundry a bell for the new tower then being 

built on the State House. Upon its arrival in 

August 1752, the bell cracked and had to be 

melted down and recast by two Philadelphia 

iron founders, John Pass and John Stow. 

Now known as the “Liberty Bell,” it is one 

of America’s most important symbols and 

Philadelphia’s most popular tourist attraction. 

@ 

Above: The April 1775 issue of Pennsylvania 

Magazine included a drawing of “A New 

invented Machine for Spinning of Wool or 

Cotton.” The drawing was “Engraved for 

the Pennsylvania Magazine by Christopher 

Tully [of Philadelphia], who first Made and 

Introduced this Machine in the Country.” 

JOHN CARTER BROWN LIBRARY AT BROWN UNIVERSITY. 

Below: Advertisement by John Behrent in 

the March 13, 1775 Pennsylvania Packet 

that he “Has just finished for sale an 

extraordinary fine instrument, by the name 

of PianoForte.” This was the first piano 

manufactured in America. 

NEWSPAPER COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


CHAPTER TWO 

29

England actually placed restrictions on 

certain American industries to prevent them 

from competing with its own manufacturers. 

Later, it began to tax the importation of 

certain products into America, causing 

much resentment among the colonists. When 

such a tax was imposed in the 1760s on 

the importation of pigments and dyes for 

making paints and varnishes, Philadelphia 

textile merchant Samuel Wetherill went into 

this business so that he could make the 

products locally. The company he established, 

later named Wetherill & Brothers, 

went on to become one of the nation’s leading 

manufacturers of paints and varnishes into 

the 1930s, one of several companies that 

made Philadelphia an important center in 

the paint, and later chemical, industry. 

As tensions increased between the American 

colonies and England in the 1760s and 1770s 

over taxation and other issues and the possibility 

of war loomed, it became apparent that 

the colonies needed to enhance their manufacturing 

capacity in order to compete against 

England militarily and be able to survive independently. 

The First Continental Congress, 

meeting in Philadelphia in 1774, took action 

towards this end, adopting an agreement 

prohibiting the importation of British goods 

into the colonies and resolving to “encourage 

frugality, economy, and industry, and promote 

agriculture, arts and the manufactures of this 

country.” The Non-Importation Agreement, a 

pivotal development in the movement toward 

independence, hurt Philadelphia’s trading 

merchants, to be sure, but it also helped to 

spur local manufacturing. 

THE 

REVOLUTION 

When fighting broke out in the spring of 

1775 between the colonies and England, the 

need to bolster American manufacturing 

became even more acute. The United 

Company of Philadelphia for Promoting 

American Manufactures was founded at this 

time, with the great statesman and physician 

Benjamin Rush as its president. The company 

set up a factory at Ninth and Market Streets 

where local farmers brought their wool, 

flax, and hemp to be spun. The company 

employed some 400 women, some of whom 

worked in the factory but most of whom did 

spinning in their homes. Samuel Wetherill 

was a founding member of the United 

Company and became an ardent supporter of 

the Revolutionary War, despite his pacifist 


30

Quaker upbringing. Known as the “Fighting 

Quaker,” he later supplied the Continental 

Army with cloth, dye, and other materials 

during its historic encampment at Valley 

Forge, just outside Philadelphia. 

In February 1776 the Second Continental 

Congress, meeting again in Philadelphia, 

appointed a committee “to contract for the 

making of muskets and bayonets for the use 

of the United Colonies, and to consider of 

farther ways and means of promoting and 

encouraging the manufacture of fire arms in 

all parts of the United Colonies.” Five months 

later, in July 1776, the Congress adopted the 

Declaration of Independence, severing ties 

with England once and for all and further 

heightening the need for local manufacturing. 

Some 4,000 Philadelphia-area women made 

textiles in their homes in the summer of 

1776 in support of the war effort. Among 

them was former upholsterer’s apprentice 

Betsy Ross, who would become America’s 

most famous seamstress. She may or may not 

have actually made the first American flag, 

but her home and shop on Arch Street in 

Old City is widely celebrated for this reason. 

Other manufacturers stepped up production 

in support of the war effort as well, from 

iron forges to tent and wagon makers. The 

defunct Bonnin & Morris porcelain factory 

was converted to a foundry for casting brass 

cannons. Philadelphia’s renowned shipyards 

were particularly busy, converting existing 

merchant ships for military use or building 

new armed vessels for the fledgling 

Continental and Pennsylvania navies that 

were created in 1775. (Both the U.S. Navy 

and the Marine Corps were founded in 

Philadelphia at this time.) The Pennsylvania 

Assembly appointed a Committee for Safety 

and Defense, from which a subcommittee for 

“Construction of Boats and Machines” was 

formed. The subcommittee was headed by 

several prominent Philadelphia shipbuilders 

who organized an accelerated program of 

building fighting vessels on the Delaware 

River. Veteran Kensington shipbuilder 

Emanuel Eyre made gun boats, while young 

Philadelphia ship builder Joshua Humphreys 

gained valuable experience designing and 

building military vessels at this time. Another 

young Philadelphian in the maritime trades, 

James Forten, son of a free African American 

sailmaker, gained experience during the 

War that he would later use in running his 

successful sail making business. 

All of this manufacturing activity came 

to a grinding halt in September 1777 as 

the British army approached to occupy 

Philadelphia, the colonial capital. Local 

artisans and manufacturers were among the 

thousands of residents who fled the city in 

advance of the occupation, taking what 

equipment and supplies they could and 

destroying the rest so the British could not 

make use of them. Several vessels under 

construction in the city’s ship yards were 

sunk or burned as well. The British stayed for 

almost nine months and when they left in 

June 1778 they returned the favor, destroying 

materials and burning ships. The artisans and 

manufacturers who returned to Philadelphia 

along with the other evacuees in mid-1778 

came back to a largely decimated city and 

had to rebuild their industries. 

The end of the Revolutionary War in 1782 

brought victory for the American cause, 

but also a severe economic downturn as 

wartime manufacturing activities ceased and 

a backlog of European-made goods flooded 

American markets. Compounding the situation 

was the ineffectiveness of the federal 

government under the new nation’s first 

constitution, the Articles of Confederation. It 

was a difficult time for local manufacturers, 

but the post-war economic upheavals 

eventually subsided and industry began to 

grow again in Philadelphia. When the 

new U.S. Constitution was adopted in 

Philadelphia in the fall of 1787, the nation 

finally had a stable and effective government 

and was poised for major growth. The 

ensuing years would witness the beginning 

of the Industrial Revolution in America and 

the United States’ rise as a manufacturing 

giant, with Philadelphia as one of its chief 

industrial centers. 

@ 

Opposite: Notices in the January 2, 1750 

edition of The Pennsylvania Gazette 

(published by Benjamin Franklin) of 

ship arrivals and departures between 

Philadelphia and its two main trading 

partners, England and the Caribbean. 

Most finished goods were imported rather 

than made locally in the colonial period. 

Imported items listed for sale in these 1750 

notices include clothing, textiles, kitchen 

ware, tools, and other products. 



Above: Wetherill & Brothers’ White Lead 

Manufactory & Chemical Works. Corner 

of 12th and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, 

1831. White lead was the primary 

ingredient in paint in early America and 

paint manufacturers were often called 

“white lead works.” Samuel Wetherill began 

making pigments and dyes in the 1760s and 

the company he founded remained a familyowned 

Philadelphia firm into the 1930s. 


Below: A notice of a “Plan of an American 

Manufactory” was published in the 

March 6, 1775 Pennsylvania Packet. 

In introducing the plan, the subscribers state 

that “As the establishing of manufactories 

among ourselves must undoubtedly be of 

great advantage to the public, it is hoped 

that every friend to his country will 

endeavor to promote the following plan.” 



CHAPTER TWO 

31

CHAPTER 

THREE 

FROM ATHENS OF AMERICA 

TO ARSENAL OF THE UNION: 

THE FEDERAL PERIOD 

TO THE CIVIL WAR 

@ 

The Bank of the United States, the nation’s 

central bank, built in 1797, as depicted in 

Birch’s Views of Philadelphia, published in 

1800. Philadelphia was home to a number 

of federal institutions and a thriving 

business and cultural life in this period. 

The building is still standing on Third Street 

below Chestnut. 


“You will consider Philadelphia from its centrical situation, the extent of its commerce, the 

number of artificers, manufactures, and other circumstances, to be to the United States what 

the heart is to the human body,” wrote Philadelphia mega merchant Robert Morris, financier 

of the Revolution and the richest man in America, in 1776. As America’s chief city in the late 

eighteenth century, Philadelphia was at the center of several high-profile efforts to develop the 

new nation’s manufacturing capacity in the years following the Revolutionary War. Some of these 

efforts, involving grandiose attempts to establish large-scale manufacturing operations in and 

around the city, as well as secretive plans to smuggle new industrial technologies out of England, 

had the makings of high drama, with elements of intrigue, deception, hubris, and, in a few cases, 

spectacular failure. Like the business ventures of William Penn’s Free Society of Traders a century 

earlier, these grand plans proved to be largely unsuccessful but did serve to lay the groundwork 

for subsequent manufacturing endeavors that were sustainable. 

The half century after the Revolutionary War was in many ways a golden age for Philadelphia. 

In addition to being the largest city and capital of the United States from 1790-1800, Philadelphia 

served as the nation’s commercial and financial center and a vibrant hub of arts and culture. 

The stately federal and Greek Revival buildings that were erected and the pioneering cultural 

institutions that were founded in Philadelphia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century 

led to the city being dubbed the “Athens of America.” It was within this context of a bustling 

metropolis, home to thriving business and cultural sectors as well as key government operations, 

that some of the most significant developments in American manufacturing took place in 

Philadelphia in the nation’s early years. 


32

MAKING A CASE 

FOR AMERICAN 

MANUFACTURING 

On August 9, 1787, Philadelphia merchant 

and economist Tench Coxe spoke before 

“an assembly of the friends of American 

manufactures, convened for the purpose of 

establishing a Society for the encouragement 

of Manufactures and the useful arts.” 

The assembly was held at the University of 

Pennsylvania, then located at Fourth and 

Arch Streets, just a few blocks from the 

State House (now Independence Hall), where 

delegates to the Constitutional Convention 

were then in the final stages of drafting the 

new U.S. Constitution. The latter document 

would not be completed for another five 

weeks, but Tench Coxe was already charting 

a new industrial course for the young nation. 

Advocating for increased development of 

American manufacturing in general, and for 

the adoption of the new mechanized industrial 

processes recently introduced in England 

specifically, Coxe outlined a vision for the 

future of American industry to the assembled 

group that formed itself into the Pennsylvania 

Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures 

and the Useful Arts, with Coxe serving as its 

secretary and chief promoter. Some excerpts 

from his address: 

“Factories [as opposed to indentured 

servants]…are not burdened with any heavy 

expense of boarding, lodging, clothing, and 

paying workmen and they supply the force 

of hands to a great extent…. By wind and 

water machines we can make [a wide range 

of products]…. Steam mills have not yet been 

adopted in America, but we shall probably 

see them after a short time…. Machines…will 

give us immense assistance. The cotton and 

silk manufactures in Europe are possessed 

of some that are invaluable to them. Several 

instances have been ascertained, in which 

a few hundreds of women and children 

perform the work of thousands.” 

mostly by hand in small shops to production 

on a larger scale in mechanized factory 

settings was well underway in England by the 

1780s but had not yet been adopted to a 

great extent in America. Still primarily an 

agrarian society, the United States relied 

heavily on the importation of finished goods 

rather than their domestic manufacture. 

In his 1787 address and in subsequent 

writings Coxe proposed increasing the 

nation’s industrial output. Four years later, as 

Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under 

Alexander Hamilton, Coxe would contribute 

significantly to Hamilton’s influential 1791 

Report on Manufactures to the U.S. Congress. 

INTRIGUE AND 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

Coxe and Hamilton were not just making 

philosophical arguments; they were actively 

engaged in manufacturing endeavors themselves 

in the 1780s and 1790s. In 1787 Coxe 

tried to have the model for a new cotton 

spinning machine smuggled out of England, 

@ 

Above: Philadelphia businessman and 

economist Tench Coxe (1755-1824). 

An influential figure in the early 

development of American manufacturing, 

Coxe served as Assistant Secretary of the 

U.S. Treasury under Alexander Hamilton. 

PORTRAIT COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


Left: A View of the United States 

of America, by Tench Coxe, 1794. 

Coxe published this collection of his 

1787-1794 writings and speeches on a 

wide range of subjects, including 

American manufacturing. 


Tench Coxe was essentially introducing 

the Industrial Revolution to America. The 

transition from artisans making products 

CHAPTER THREE 

33

@ 

United States Patent Office copy of 

William Pollard’s drawing of his machine 

for “Spinning and Roving Cotton.” Pollard, 

whose last name is obscured by a tear at 

the top of the document, received the first 

U.S. patent for a cotton spinning machine 

on December 30, 1791, having developed 

the device based on one invented by 

Englishman Richard Arkwright. 

PATENT RECORD OFFICE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND 

RECORDS SERVICE. 

a country which jealously guarded its technological 

developments and had strict laws 

against machines or men with expertise 

leaving its borders. England reportedly had 

agents in America who would purchase 

smuggled devices and ship them back, or, if 

they could not acquire them, resort to arson 

to destroy them. Coxe’s plan involved shipping 

the English cotton spinning model to 

Paris, where then U.S. Ambassador to France 

Thomas Jefferson would arrange for its transport 

to America. The plan was foiled when 

English agents discovered the plot before the 

model could be secreted out of the country. 

This was but one in an ongoing series of clandestine 

efforts by Americans to acquire English 

textile technologies in this period. 

Shortly after its founding by Tench Coxe 

and others in 1787, the Pennsylvania Society 

for the Encouragement of Manufactures set 

up a cotton factory in Philadelphia, and, after 

considerable effort, found artisans who could 

build and operate new textile machinery for 

the enterprise. The society proudly displayed 

some of this machinery in the Grand Federal 

Procession held in Philadelphia on July 4, 1788, 

to celebrate the ratification of the new U.S. 

Constitution. The mile-long parade featured 

floats and working demonstrations by many of 

the city’s manufacturers. The Society for the 

Encouragement of Manufactures’ float had two 

spinning jennies, two looms, and a carding 

machine (a device that cleans and disentangles 

fibers). It also featured multi-colored flags 

from the local calico print works of society 

member John Hewson, whose fabrics were 

highly regarded and were reportedly worn 

by Martha Washington. Despite the society’s 

public display, its factory proved a poorly 

managed and unsuccessful operation; when it 

burned down in 1790 (arson was suspected) 

it was not revived. 

Both Coxe and Alexander Hamilton were 

active in another organization, the Society for 

Establishing Useful Manufactures (SUM). 

Created in 1791 with the backing of prominent 

businessmen and government officials, 

SUM embarked on an ambitious plan to build 

an entire manufacturing town—a “national 

manufactory”—at Patterson, New Jersey. This 

enterprise also turned out to be poorly managed 

and unsuccessful. Wealthy Philadelphia 

merchant John Nicholson, one of the 

founders of the Pennsylvania Society for the 

Encouragement of Manufactures, purchased 

some of the machinery from the failing project 

in 1794 and had it brought to the Falls of 

Schuylkill, now the East Falls neighborhood 

of Philadelphia, where he was building an 

extensive manufacturing complex of his own. 

Nicholson’s operation was to include a textile 

mill, glass works, iron foundry, button factory, 

steam engine works, and a store and housing 

for his workers. 

Nicholson was a supporter of William 

Pollard, an English immigrant and Philadelphia 

merchant who had his own plans for becoming 

a textile manufacturing mogul. In the late 

1780s Pollard purchased a model for a cotton 

spinning machine that had been smuggled 

out of England and had it “brought into this 

Country at the risque of vessel and cargoe.” 

Pollard improved on the model significantly 

and in 1791 was awarded the first U.S. patent 

for such a device. With the promise of major 

financial backing from John Nicholson, 

Pollard began building machines and setting 


34

up cotton manufacturing operations in various 

places in Philadelphia, investing much of 

his own limited resources in the effort. 

Unfortunately, John Nicholson was involved 

at this time with financier Robert Morris in 

huge land speculation schemes that were 

beginning to fail spectacularly; he could not 

make good on his promises to Pollard. As 

Pollard’s situation grew increasingly desperate 

he wrote a series of heartbreaking letters to 

Nicholson in the mid-1790s, telling Nicholson 

that he was “quite out of money,” that he 

could not even buy bread for his family, and 

that they were being evicted from their home. 

Pollard pleaded with Nicholson to make the 

promised payments “to prevent destruction 

from falling on me now.” His pleas were for 

naught. Nicholson went bankrupt and eventually 

ended up in debtors’ prison, where he 

died in 1800. Pollard died in poverty the 

following year, his dream of becoming one 

of America’s first major cotton manufacturers 

unfulfilled. Robert Morris also went to debtors’ 

prison for several years before being released 

after Congress passed a new bankruptcy law 

that was designed in part to free him. 

THE INDUSTRIAL 

REVOLUTION 

All of these tangled ventures, sad and 

unsuccessful as they were, presaged the eventual 

emergence of a strong manufacturing 

sector in Philadelphia. The roots of the 

Industrial Revolution had been firmly planted 

in America by the turn of the nineteenth 

century and the ensuing years would witness 

an ongoing expansion of mechanized manufacturing 

activity in the city, what historian 

Walter Licht describes as “a steady mushrooming 

of enterprise.” The small-scale artisan 

approach to making things never ceased—the 

city would always have its traditional craftsmen, 

seamstresses, and artisans—but their 

type of work was gradually being superseded 

by larger-scale, mechanized factory-based 

production methods. 

The transition was not without its detractors. 

While prominent men such as Tench Coxe 

and Alexander Hamilton eagerly promoted 

industrialization, others such as future presidents 

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison 

(the former’s role in smuggling the cotton spinning 

model out of England notwithstanding) 

were adamantly opposed to it. They were not 

against new technologies per se, but they 

envisioned America as primarily a rural 

agrarian nation, not an urban industrialized 

one. They despaired of the numbing effects 

of mechanized factory work and the wage 

labor system on American society. Another 

group fiercely opposed to industrialization 

was Philadelphia’s many handloom operators, 

craftsmen who generally worked out of their 

homes and who viewed the emergence of 

mechanized factories as a threat to their 

livelihood. The Industrial Revolution could 

not be stopped, however. 

FEDERAL 

FACILITIES 

When the U.S. capital was removed from 

Philadelphia in 1800, federal officials opted 

to keep the government’s key manufacturing 

@ 

The original and current U.S. Mint 

buildings in Philadelphia. 

Left: The nation’s first Mint building, on 

Seventh Street near Arch. The Mint began 

making coins in 1793 under the direction of 

David Rittenhouse. It moved within the city 

several times over the years. 

PRINT COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


Right: The current mint building 

opened in 1969 at Fifth and Arch Streets, 

just 100 yards from the site of the original 

1793 building. 

PHOTO BY BEYOND MY KEN, 2013, WIKIPEDIA COMMONS. 

CHAPTER THREE 

35

INVENTOR/ 

MANUFACTURERS 

@ 

Above: Illustration of The First Steam 

Engine Designed and Built in the United 

States by Oliver Evans, Philadelphia, PA, 

1801. At upper right is a depiction of 

Evans’ Oruktor Amphibolos, the steampowered 

vehicle he built that is considered 

the first automobile in America and the 

world’s first amphibious vehicle. 

PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION, 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Below: Oliver Evans in a c. 1790 engraving. 

A pioneering inventor and engineer, 

Evans was a pivotal figure in America’s 

industrial development. 

PORTRAIT FROM DIBNER LIBRARY OF HISTORY AND 

TECHNOLOGY, SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES. 

operations in the city. These included the 

nation’s first mint, navy yard, and arsenal. 

The U.S. Mint, established in 1792 under 

the directorship of inventor and scientist 

David Rittenhouse, began producing coins 

in 1793 at its building near Seventh and 

Arch Streets. The Navy Yard began in the 

late 1790s with the building of warships 

for America’s undeclared war with France 

at Joshua Humphreys’ shipyard on the 

Delaware River in Southwark. Humphreys’ 

facility eventually became the U.S. Navy 

Yard. The Schuylkill Arsenal, established in 

1799 across the city on the Schuylkill River 

in Grays Ferry, made uniforms and other 

military materials and also helped outfit 

Lewis and Clark’s famed 1803 transcontinental 

expedition. Linking the federal Navy Yard 

and Arsenal facilities was Federal Street, 

which opened in 1801 and ran east to 

west from river to river. These government 

manufacturing operations continued for 

centuries in Philadelphia: the Schuylkill 

Arsenal closed in the 1960s, its operations 

shifted mostly to other military facilities in 

the city; the Navy Yard, after relocating in 

the 1870s to the southern edge of the city, 

was active until its decommissioning in 

1996; and the U.S. Mint, after several moves 

within the city, is still making coins in 

Philadelphia, just a hundred yards from its 

original 1793 location. 

Philadelphia attracted a number of notable 

inventor/manufacturers in the federal period. 

John Fitch, born in Connecticut in 1743, 

tried all kinds of work without success before 

settling in the Philadelphia area in the 1780s 

and making the first operative steam boat 

in America. Members of the Constitutional 

Convention and others witnessed a successful 

trial run of Fitch’s steam-powered vessel 

on the Delaware River in Philadelphia on 

August 22, 1787. Fitch initiated steamboat 

service between Philadelphia and other 

Delaware River cities a few years later and 

received a patent for his invention in 1791, 

but could not make a success of his venture 

financially. After various other failed ventures, 

he committed suicide in 1798. Robert Fulton 

would start a successful steamboat service in 

1807 on the Hudson River in New York and 

become much better known than Fitch for 

development of the steamboat. 

One of the experts with whom John Fitch 

consulted in Philadelphia was inventor and 

engineer Oliver Evans (1755-1819), a key figure 

in the history of American manufacturing. 

Born and raised in nearby Delaware, Evans 

was a pioneer in automation, materials handling, 

and steam power; a brilliant inventor 

whose innovations gave great impetus to 

the Industrial Revolution. Prior to settling in 

Philadelphia in 1793 Evans had successfully 

developed the technology for a fully-automated 

flour mill. The Evans milling system was 

widely implemented in the late eighteenth 

century; George Washington was so impressed 

upon seeing it in action that he had his own 

mill at Mount Vernon converted to it. While 

living in Philadelphia Evans turned his attention 

to the development of a high-pressure 

steam engine. It was in this realm that his 

innovations would change the world. 

STEAM 

Steam engines had long been used for 

industrial purposes, but the high-pressure 

engine Oliver Evans developed in 1803 was 

much more powerful, efficient, and practical. 


36

After receiving a patent for the engine in 

1804, Evans experimented with using it in 

motorized vehicles. One of the most remarkable 

of these was his Oruktor Amphibolos 

(Amphibious Digger), built in 1805 at the 

request of the Philadelphia Board of Health, 

which had been looking for a way to clean 

and dredge the city’s dock areas. Propelled by 

his steam engine, Evans’ Oruktor Amphibolos 

was a boat-like vehicle that moved on both 

land and water. While it didn’t work well for 

its intended purpose and was not developed 

further, it is considered by many to be the first 

automobile in America and the world’s first 

amphibious vehicle. 

In 1806 Evans opened the Mars Works at 

Ninth and Vine Streets in Philadelphia, one of 

the first steam engine manufacturing plants 

in the United States. The publication Picture of 

Philadelphia For 1811 described the operation 

as follows: 

Mars Works, at the corner of Ninth and 

Vine streets…the property of Oliver Evans, 

consists of an iron foundry, mould-maker’s 

shop, steam-engine manufactory, blacksmith’s 

shop, and mill-stone manufactory, and a 

steam-engine used for grinding sundry 

materials for the use of the works,…[A]bout 

thirty-five workmen are daily employed…. 

Mr. Evans also makes steam engines on 

improved principles, invented and patented 

by the proprietor, which are more powerful 

and less complicated, and cheaper than 

others; requiring less fuel, and not more than 

one fiftieth part of the coals commonly used. 

By the 1830s steam engines were in use 

in a wide range of manufacturing settings 

and were transforming American industry. 

In addition to being the city where the 

high-pressure steam engine was invented, 

Philadelphia became a leader in their manufacture. 

Some forty-four steam engine makers 

were active in the city by 1838. 

The high-pressure steam engine was just 

one of numerous important technological 

innovations of Oliver Evans. Fittingly, the 

Philadelphia area chapter of the Society for 

Industrial Archaeology is named in Evans’ 

honor. Evans was apparently not the easiest 

person to get along with, however, and in his 

later years he was continually engaged in legal 

battles with those whom he believed had 

infringed upon his many patents. 

LARGER FORCES 

AND LOCAL EFFORTS 

While new technologies were beginning 

to revolutionize manufacturing in the early 

nineteenth century, larger forces were at 

work that would give further impetus to 

the industrialization of America. The Non- 

Importation and Embargo Acts of 1806 and 

1807, designed to protect American interests 

during the Napoleonic Wars between 

England and France, followed a few years 

later by the United States’ War of 1812 

with England, combined to severely curtail 

American transatlantic trading activities and 

spur its manufacturers to produce more 

goods domestically. Matthew Carey, the 

high-profile Philadelphia publisher whose 

periodicals and pamphlets were widely read, 

was among the many local proponents of 

American manufacturing and a strong advocate 

for government protection of domestic 

industries in this period. 

These developments gave rise to yet 

another Philadelphia organization whose 

mission was to promote American manufactures, 

the Philadelphia Premium Society. 

The February 1809 edition of the Universal 

Magazine featured a lengthy “Address of the 

Philadelphia Premium Society to the People 

of the United States” that outlined the need 

for America to become more self-reliant 

through development of its own industries. 

@ 

Detail from 1804 Oliver Evans letter to 

the Lancaster Turnpike Road Company. 

Evans proposes that the company use his 

steam-propelled vehicles on its turnpike 

between Philadelphia and Columbia, 

Lancaster County. He writes that 

“I conceive that carriages may be 

constructed (to be propelled by the power 

of steam engines which I have invented) to 

transport merchandise and produce from 

Philadelphia to Columbia…much cheaper 

than can be done by the use of cattle.” 

OLIVER EVANS PAPERS, HISTORICAL AND 

INTERPRETIVE COLLECTIONS OF THE FRANKLIN 

INSTITUTE, PHILADELPHIA. 

CHAPTER THREE 

37

@ 

Above: Philadelphia Almshouse at Tenth 

and Spruce Streets, as depicted in Birch’s 

Views of Philadelphia, 1800. Located here 

from 1767 to 1834, the Almshouse had its 

own factory where residents made products 

under a Superintendent of Manufactures. 


Below: Survey of Globe Mills property 

in Northern Liberties, 1867. In 1701 

William Penn established a mill on the site, 

which was home to a variety of industrial 

enterprises for the next 300 years, including 

one of Pennsylvania’s largest cotton mills in 

the early nineteenth century. At the time of 

this survey six different industries occupied 

the complex, including cotton and wool mills 

and paper and carriage factories. 



To that end, the society announced that it was 

offering “premiums for the encouragement 

of useful industry.” Through a competitive 

process it would award premiums, or prizes, 

for American-made products in fourteen 

different categories. Premiums ranged from 

fifteen to fifty dollars and were given in such 

categories as “the individual, or company, 

who first sets up a throwing or thread mill,” 

or that produces “the best piece of superfine 

broadcloth” or “the best piece of cotton goods.” 

One of the first organizations to which 

the Premium Society gave awards was the 

Philadelphia Almshouse. The city Overseers 

of the Poor had long operated houses of 

employment to give useful work to those in 

its charge. The Philadelphia Almshouse, a 

large complex of buildings located at Tenth 

and Spruce Streets from 1767 to 1834, had its 

own factory where residents were engaged in 

various manufacturing activities, particularly 

textile production. In December 1808 the 

Premium Society notified the managers of 

the Almshouse that they were being awarded 

twenty-five dollars for their “throwing or 

thread machine” and twenty dollars for “the 

best piece of sheeting…made of linen chain 

and cotton filling, bleached and fit for sale.” 

The society also commended the Almshouse 

for having produced thirty thousand yards of 

such sheeting that year. Around the same 

time, Philadelphia merchant Stephen Girard 

sent 5,200 pounds of cotton to the Almshouse 

and paid the institution to make bedspreads 

and covers from the material. All was not so 

well with Almshouse manufacturing operations 

in later years, however: an investigation 

in 1842 found widespread mismanagement 

and noted that the “Superintendent of 

Manufactures…makes no entry whatever 

whenever anything is sold by him for cash, 

but puts the money in his pocket.” 

THE RISE OF TEXTILES 

It was in the textile industry that 

Philadelphia excelled in the antebellum 

period. The new technologies that Tench Coxe 

and others had tried so hard to acquire and 

that England had guarded so jealously in the 

late eighteenth century became increasingly 

available in the early years of the nineteenth. 

At the same time the invention of the cotton 

gin in 1793 allowed cotton growers in the 

American South to provide Philadelphia mills 

with enormous amounts of usable cotton. 

Neighborhoods such as Kensington, Frankford, 

Manayunk, and Germantown developed into 

important textile centers as immigrant mill 

operators with expertise in the new technologies 

settled in these areas and set up shop, 

drawing hundreds, sometimes thousands, of 

workers to their factories. These industries 

needed water power to operate and it was along 

creeks and streams on the outskirts of the city 

that larger textile operations were generally 

located in the early years of the nineteenth 

century. This was before the widespread introduction 

of steam power and when waterways 

within the city itself were largely being covered 

over as Philadelphia’s urbanized area expanded. 


38

The Globe Mill on the Cohocksink Creek 

in Northern Liberties, which had served 

variously as William Penn’s Governor’s Mill, 

a production center for Sybilla Masters’ 

“Tuscarora Rice,” and then a chocolate and 

mustard works, became one of Pennsylvania’s 

largest cotton mills in the early nineteenth 

century under the firm of Craige, Holmes, and 

Company. In 1832 the Globe Mill employed 

114 men and women and 190 children and 

processed over 500,000 pounds of cotton 

annually. The mill complex also included 

saddlery, yarn dying, and calico printing 

operations at various times. The Whitaker 

textile mill, established by Henry Whitaker in 

1813 along the Tacony Creek in Cedar Grove 

(now the Crescentville neighborhood) above 

Frankford, began as a small operation that 

grew significantly over the years. By the time a 

steam engine was installed in 1835 it was a 

sprawling industrial complex that employed 

several dozen workers. The Whitaker family 

operated the mill until it closed in 1970. 

WATERWAYS AND 

OUTLYING AREAS 

A sampling of some of the industries along 

this waterway reveals the types of manufacturing 

taking place in the rural parts of 

Philadelphia in this period. In Frankford former 

Revolutionary War sea captain Stephen 

Decatur Senior operated a gun powder mill 

from 1803 to 1808, while English immigrant 

Samuel Martin established a mill in 1809 to 

make woolen blankets, the first of some half 

dozen textile mills established by immigrant 

Englishmen in Frankford in the early decades 

of the nineteenth century. The Borough of 

Frankford also included several umbrella 

frame factories and a number of traditional 

craftsmen shops such as blacksmiths, tanners, 

Philadelphia’s Historic Streams 

@ 

Left: The Whitaker textile mill on Tacony 

Creek at Cedar Grove, as shown in an 

1894 survey drawing. The mill was run by 

the Whitaker family from the time it was 

established in 1813 until it ceased operation 

in 1970. At the time of this drawing it 

employed 150 workers. 



Below: Philadelphia’s original creeks 

and streams. These waterways were the 

lifeblood of many industries through the 

early nineteenth century, providing both 

water power for running machinery and 

transportation routes for moving materials. 

Virtually all of the creeks and streams in 

the central part of the city and areas 

immediately adjacent have long since been 

covered over and converted to sewers. 

Only the outer reaches of Philadelphia 

still have their original waterways. 

PHILADELPHIA WATER DEPARTMENT 

HISTORICAL COLLECTION/PHILLYH2O.ORG. 

The Tacony Creek on which the Whitaker 

mill was located flows eastward from Cedar 

Grove, past Frankford (just above Frankford 

its name changes from Tacony to Frankford 

Creek), and then on to Bridesburg, where it 

empties into the Delaware River. In the early 

nineteenth century the region surrounding 

the Tacony/Frankford Creek was mostly rural 

and agricultural, with industrial areas clustered 

along the creek in the aforementioned 

communities of Cedar Grove, Frankford, and 

Bridesburg. (Another community, now longgone, 

on the creek between Cedar Grove and 

Frankford was the village of Rowlandville, 

where the Rowland family had a rolling mill.) 

CHAPTER THREE 

39

wheelwrights, potters, and jewelers. It was 

in a Frankford jewelry shop in 1811 that a 

sixteen year old apprentice named Matthias 

Baldwin began his professional career. Twentysome 

years later he would found Baldwin 

Locomotive Works and become arguably the 

greatest manufacturer in Philadelphia history. 

Further downstream in Bridesburg, on the 

north bank of Frankford Creek, work began 

in 1816 on the Frankford Arsenal. President 

James Madison laid the cornerstone in 1817. 

The Frankford Arsenal grew into a large 

industrial complex and gave Philadelphia yet 

another federal military production facility, 

one that would make arms and serve as a 

munitions research and development center 

until it closed in 1977. Across Frankford Creek 

from the Arsenal were the Jenks and Lenning 

Companies in Bridesburg. 

Alfred Jenks established a textile complex 

in 1819 in Bridesburg and later with his 

son founded the Bridesburg Manufacturing 

Company, which, among other products, made 

textile manufacturing machinery. Nicholas 

Lenning and his son Charles established 

a chemical works just south of Bridesburg 

in Port Richmond in 1819. In 1842 Charles 

moved the operation to Bridesburg, to the 

key location where Frankford Creek empties 

into the Delaware River. In 1921 the Rohm & 

Haas Company, then just twelve years old in 

America, acquired the Lenning company and 

set up chemical manufacturing there. 

Similar concentrations of industrial activity 

could be found along Philadelphia’s other 

major creeks and their tributaries in the early 

nineteenth century, particularly Wissahickon 

Creek in the northwest part of the city and 

Pennypack Creek in the northeast. Pennypack 

Creek was home in the 1820s and 1830s to 

a shovel works, a silk factory, several cotton 

factories, and various print and dye works. 

In the Wissahickon Valley, the Rittenhouse 

family, founders of America’s first paper 

mill in 1690, were still making paper near 

the original mill site on Paper Mill Run, 

a tributary of the Wissahickon. Historic 

Rittenhouse Town, the complex of eighteenthand 

nineteenth-century buildings in which 

the family lived and worked for some 200 

years, is now a National Historic Landmark. 


40

@ 

Opposite: Detail from 1849 map showing 

the course of the Tacony/Frankford Creek, 

beginning at Whitaker’s Cotton Factory 

at Cedar Grove (top), passing through 

Rowlandville, then Frankford (center), 

and finally emptying into the Delaware 

River at Bridesburg (bottom). In Bridesburg, 

the United States (Frankford) Arsenal is on 

the north (right) side of the creek, Lenning 

Chemical Works is on the south side, 

and Jenks Machine Works is to the left of 

Lenning. Map of the Township of Oxford, 

Boroughs of Frankford & Bridesburg, 

M. Dripps. 1849. 

MAP COLLECTION, FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Top: Early twentieth-century view of 

Frankford Creek where it empties into the 

Delaware River, looking west towards 

Bridesburg. On the left is the Lenning 

Chemical Company, which was taken over 

by Rohm & Haas in 1921; on the right is 

the southern edge of the Frankford Arsenal. 

Philadelphia was a major center of both 

chemical and military equipment 

manufacturing for most of the nineteenth 

and twentieth centuries. 

BRUCE CONNER COLLECTION, 

FRIENDS OF NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA HISTORY. 

Center: Spinning Mill on Pennypack Creek 

in Northeast Philadelphia, 1815, 

unidentified artist. 

GEORGE H. PATTISON GLASS SLIDE COLLECTION, 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FRANKFORD. 

Bottom: This c. 1870 photograph looks west 

across the Falls Bridge over the Schuylkill 

River to the William Simpson print and dye 

works at the Falls of Schuylkill. Simpson 

tried to keep his business, but eventually 

sold it in the mid-1870s to the Fairmount 

Park Commission, which at that time was 

acquiring and demolishing industrial 

properties along the Schuylkill River and 

Wissahickon Creek to protect Philadelphia’s 

water supply. 

FAIRMOUNT PARK HISTORIC RESOURCE ARCHIVES, 

PHILADELPHIA PARKS AND RECREATION. 

CHAPTER THREE 

41

@ 

Above: View of the Wakefield hosiery mills 

in Germantown, c. 1850. Germantown 

was known for its hosiery production and 

Wakefield was one of the largest such mills 

in the nation in this period. 



Below: Joseph Ripka’s mills in Manayunk, 

1856. Ripka’s cotton mills were among the 

largest in the nation before he went 

bankrupt during the Civil War. 



Numerous other mills and factories were 

located along Wissahickon Creek, which 

drains into the Schuylkill River above the 

Fairmount Waterworks, the landmark facility 

that began providing Philadelphians with 

drinking water in 1815. Pollution from industries 

situated on the creek and the river 

upstream from the Waterworks began posing 

a threat to the city’s water supply, which led to 

the creation of the Fairmount Park Commission 

in 1867. The commission acquired large tracts 

of land in the area to create Fairmount Park 

and acquired and demolished the offending 

factories along the waterways to protect the 

city’s water quality. 

GERMANTOWN 

Close by Wissahickon Creek, the community 

of Germantown continued to be an 

important center of textile manufacture, as 

it had been since the 1680s. The original 

German settlers and their descendants had 

long been known for making hosiery, which 

local residents still produced by hand in the 

early nineteenth century. Factory-based textile 

production by non-Germans began with 

William Logan Fisher’s construction of a 

textile mill on the Wingohocking Creek in 

1809 and a calico print works a few years later. 

The former would evolve into the Wakefield 

Mills Manufacturing Company, one of the 

nation’s major producers of hosiery and fancy 

knit goods. English and Scottish immigrants 

established additional mills in Germantown 

in the 1830s and 1840s. One such Englishman, 

Charles Spencer, began by renting space on 

the upper floor of a Germantown building in 

1843 and by 1850 had prospered enough to 

build his own hosiery and knit goods factory 

that grew to employ some 350 workers. Fisher 

and Spencer were among many Germantown 

manufacturers in the mid-nineteenth century. 

The 1850 Census of Manufactures noted 

that the town had ninety-seven different 

industrial establishments. 

MANAYUNK 

One of the largest concentrations of manufacturing 

activity in early nineteenth-century 

Philadelphia was along the Schuylkill River in 

Manayunk, where water-powered mills flourished. 

The Schuylkill Navigation Company, 

chartered in 1815 primarily to transport coal 

to Philadelphia from regions north and west 

of the city, built the Flat Rock Dam and 

Manayunk Canal and began selling mill sites 

and water power rights to prospective millers. 

Among the water-powered mills established 

in Manayunk in the early 1820s were those 

for processing cotton, making woolen rags, 

fulling (beating and cleaning cloth), making 

oil and grinding drugs, grinding saws, and 

making hat bodies. By 1828 there were ten 

mills along the Manayunk Canal, with plans 

for a half dozen more. An observer at the time 

noted that “A flourishing and populous village 

has risen up suddenly and where we but lately 

paused to survey the simple beauties of 

the landscape...the eye is arrested by the less 

romantic operations of a manufacturing 

community, and the ear filled with the noise 

of ten thousand spindles.” 

It was the textile industry, particularly 

cotton manufacture, that would come to 

define Manayunk. There were some seventeen 

textile factories in Manayunk by 1850, 

employing over 2,000 workers, about a third 


42

of the town’s total population. Silesian immigrant 

Joseph Ripka began building his textile 

empire in Manayunk in the 1820s and by 

the 1850s his complex of four- and five-story 

cotton mills along the canal was among the 

largest in the nation. Ripka and his extended 

family also managed textile operations in 

downtown Philadelphia and along the 

Pennypack Creek in Northeast Philadelphia. 

The latter included the Pennypack Print 

Works, one of the largest mills in that area. 

At the height of his operations in the 1850s 

Ripka employed over 1,000 workers. He went 

bankrupt and had to close his mills during 

the Civil War, however, due to disruptions in 

business with the southern plantation owners 

that supplied his raw cotton and purchased 

his finished products. 

Other family-owned textile enterprises that 

were established in and around Manayunk 

and downstream at the Falls of Schuylkill 

prior to the Civil War continued successfully, 

mostly notably those of the Campbell, 

Schofield, and Dobson families (with members 

of the latter two families intermarrying). 

Some of these companies profited greatly 

from major war-time contracts for woolen 

army blankets. Manayunk remained an 

important textile center into the twentieth 

century, as well as home to paper, chemical, 

and other manufacturers. 

depressing conditions for factory workers in 

this period: twelve- or even fourteen-hour 

days, six days a week, performing difficult, 

monotonous work in unhealthy conditions 

for low pay. Particularly distressing was the 

plight of the child workers, some as young 

as seven, who made up nearly half of 

Manayunk’s textile workforce. A witness at 

an 1837 state hearing on child labor in 

Pennsylvania described how child workers 

were “summoned by the factory bell before 

daylight…had their first scanty meal at home 

and commence work at six o’clock in the 

morning and continue until eight o’clock at 

night with nothing but [a] recess of fortyfive 

minutes to get their dinner.” While particularly 

acute in Manayunk, the problem was 

@ 

Above: Early twentieth-century 

photograph of the ruins of the Pennypack 

Print Works on Pennypack Creek in 

Northeast Philadelphia. Owned by members 

of the Ripka family, Pennypack Print Works 

was one of the largest mills in mostly 

rural Northeast Philadelphia in the 

nineteenth century. 

LINCOLN CARTLEDGE PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FRANKFORD. 

Below: Child workers in a textile mill in 

Macon, Georgia, in 1906. Scenes like this 

would have been common in nineteenthcentury 

Philadelphia, where children made 

up a large part of the textile workforce. 



PLIGHT OF THE WORKERS 

If Manayunk represented the epitome of 

the early nineteenth-century factory town, 

its textile mills, particularly those of Joseph 

Ripka, also came to symbolize the worst of the 

CHAPTER THREE 

43

@ 

Above: Although this photograph dates 

from 1906, it depicts the practice of 

“outwork” that was common in nineteenthcentury 

Philadelphia of textile workers 

processing materials in their homes and 

shops under arrangements with mill 

operators. Shown here are wool combers 

at the Yewdall & Jones woolen mill in West 

Philadelphia. The man in the doorway is 

picking up raw wool to comb, while the man 

at right is returning a sack of combed wool. 

PHILADELPHIA COMMERCIAL MUSEUM PHOTOGRAPH 

COLLECTION, PENNSYLVANIA STATE ARCHIVES. 

Below: William Horstmann & Sons silk 

factory, which operated at Fifth and Cherry 

Streets from 1854 to 1880. Horstmann 

started a silk weaving workshop in 

Philadelphia in 1815 and in 1824 

introduced the Jacquard loom into 

American silk weaving. 



widespread. According to the 1820 census 

some forty percent of textile workers in the 

City of Philadelphia were children. Various 

reform movements undertaken at the time 

to address the problem met with limited 

success; it was not until the early twentieth 

century that oppressive child labor practices 

were effectively abolished in Pennsylvania. 

Labor confrontations became common in 

Philadelphia in the early nineteenth century, 

as workers began to organize and press 

for better pay and working conditions. 

When the Federal Society of Journeymen 

Cordwainers, a union of Philadelphia shoemakers 

established in 1794, went on strike 

in 1805 to secure higher wages, several of 

their members were brought to trial and 

convicted of conspiracy. The case is considered 

a key moment in U.S. labor history. 

Other important developments in the 

American labor movement that occurred in 

Philadelphia in the early nineteenth century 

include the formation in 1827 of the 

Mechanics’ Union of Trade Associations, the 

first central labor council in the nation, 

and the 1835 Philadelphia General Strike, 

the first general strike in America. The latter 

involved some 20,000 workers who struck 

for a ten-hour workday and increased 

wages, an effort that ended in victory for 

the workers. 

Labor issues turned violent in the 1840s 

among Philadelphia’s many independent 

handloom operators, who were working 

under very difficult economic conditions. 

One of their chief supporters was the 

provocative Philadelphia journalist and 

novelist George Lippard, who in 1849 

declared in his news-paper, The Quaker City, 

“We would advise Labor to go to War, in 

any and all forms—War with the Rifle, 

Sword, and Knife! The War of Labor—waged 

with pen and sword—is a Holy War.” No 

such war ensued, although there were many 

battles, to be sure. The evolving relationship 

between labor and management—sometimes 

cooperative, often distrustful and confrontational—would 

be a major factor throughout 

the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 


44

On a positive note, a group of Frankford 

textile mill owners and local businessmen, 

wishing to provide their workers with decent 

housing opportunities, met at a Frankford 

hotel in 1831 and formed the Oxford 

Provident Building Association, a memberbased 

financial institution in which workers 

could purchase shares and through which 

they could secure home mortgages. This was 

the nation’s first savings and loan institution, 

signaling the birth of an eventual multibillion 

dollar industry. 

OUTWORK AND 

MECHANIZATION 

Not all textile workers labored in factories. 

Philadelphia had an extensive network of 

handloom operators and textile combers 

(those who cleaned and straightened rough 

fibers) engaged in “outwork”—working in 

their homes and shops under various 

arrangements with textile businessmen. The 

Globe Mill in Northern Liberties often sent its 

yarn out to handloom operators to be woven. 

The adjacent neighborhood of Kensington 

was known for its many handloom operators. 

These traditional craftsmen were among those 

who viewed the early nineteenth-century 

introduction of mechanized factory-based 

production methods as a threat to their livelihood. 

In the 1830s a group of Kensington 

handloom operators marched to Manayunk in 

an attempt to destroy new labor saving 

machinery that was being installed in the 

latter town’s mills. A decade later, Kensington 

weavers, most of whom were Irish Catholic 

immigrants, would be involved in one of the 

bloodiest chapters in Philadelphia history, 

the anti-Catholic riots of the 1840s. While 

primarily a religious and ethnic conflict, the 

riots were fueled in part by societal disruptions 

wrought by the Industrial Revolution in 

this period. Outwork remained part of the 

Philadelphia textile industry, particularly in 

Kensington, but became less of a factor over 

time as mills absorbed more and more of the 

industry’s workers. 

A significant figure in the mechanization 

of textile manufacturing in early nineteenthcentury 

Philadelphia was Alfred Jenks. Jenks 

was originally from Rhode Island, where he 

studied under Samuel Slater, the pioneering 

English immigrant industrialist who had 

developed the factory system for textile production 

that was in wide use in New England. 

In 1810 Jenks came to Philadelphia and 

established a factory in Holmesburg for making 

cotton machinery, the first such factory 

in Philadelphia. Here he built machinery for 

many cotton mills throughout the region, 

including for Joseph Ripka and others in 

Manayunk. As previously noted, Jenks moved 

to Bridesburg in 1819 and with his son Barton, 

himself a brilliant inventor, established the 

Bridesburg Manufacturing Company, which 

continued to make machinery for area textile 

mills. Jenks power looms were installed at 

the Globe Mill in 1840. 

Another significant figure in early textile 

industry mechanization is William Horstmann, 

a German immigrant who started a silk weaving 

workshop in Philadelphia in 1815 that 

grew into a large enterprise for making tassels, 

fringe, and lace. In 1824 Horstmann was the 

first in America to use the Jacquard loom, a 

mechanical loom that was controlled by 

punch cards for weaving patterns into textiles. 

The Jacquard loom would eventually become 

widely used in textile manufacture. In 1854 

the William Horstmann Company built a 

five-story silk factory at Fifth and Cherry 

Streets in downtown Philadelphia that 

employed 400 to 500 workers and remained 

in operation until 1880. 

ANTHRACITE 

While textiles were predominant, new 

types of manufacturing were being implemented 

in other industries throughout the 

Philadelphia area in the early years of 

the nineteenth century. Downstream from 

Manayunk, at the Falls of Schuylkill (now 

East Falls), engineer and inventor Josiah 

White (1781-1850) and his partner Erskine 

Hazard (1789-1865) established an iron 

rolling mill and wire factory around 1809. In 

1810 White received a patent for a machine 

for “rolling and moulding iron,” the first of 

six patents he would be awarded. Among 

White and Erskine’s employees in 1812 were 

CHAPTER THREE 

45

@ 

Above: Stock certificate for Lehigh Coal 

and Navigation Company, with images of 

founders Josiah White (left) and Erskine 

Hazard (right), along with the 1822 

company logo at lower left. 

POSTED ON WIKIPEDIA COMMONS BY DOWNINGSF, 2013. 

Below: Smoke from coal burning mills of the 

Powers & Weightman chemical works fills 

the sky in this mid-nineteenth century 

image of the Falls of Schuylkill. The 

introduction of anthracite coal as a fuel 

source in the early nineteenth century 

revolutionized manufacturing in 

Philadelphia and beyond. 



a dozen wire-drawers, men who made the wire 

teeth for the carding devices used to disentangle 

and clean cotton and wool fibers. In 1816 

White and Hazard built a wire suspension 

pedestrian bridge over the Schuylkill River, 

connecting their mills on the east bank of the 

river to workers’ homes on the west side. The 

“spider bridge,” as it was called, was 408 feet 

long, supported by six wires, and had iron 

work that was rolled at their mill. Although 

soon replaced by another bridge, it is considered 

America’s first wire suspension bridge. 

White and Hazard’s main importance to 

the history of manufacturing lies not in the 

above accomplishments, however, but in their 

pioneering use of anthracite coal and in the 

development of a transportation system to 

bring this important new energy source from 

the coal regions of northeastern Pennsylvania 

to Philadelphia and other manufacturing 

centers. Prior to the 1820s, most coal used in 

American manufacturing was bituminous, 

a dirtier, less efficient energy source than 

anthracite. The latter, although it takes longer 

to ignite, burns much cleaner and longer 

than bituminous and produces much greater 

heat. It was also abundant in the northeastern 

Pennsylvania region above Philadelphia. 

Josiah White became interested in the properties 

of anthracite coal in the 1810s and began 

experimenting with it. As the story goes, in 

1815 a group of his workers was trying without 

success to get some of it to burn. Getting 

frustrated, they gave up, threw the coal in the 

furnace, and left. When one of them returned 

later to retrieve a forgotten jacket, he found 

the furnace blazing with intense heat. The 

discovery that anthracite coal, when used in a 

properly designed furnace, was an efficient, 

high-powered energy source was a key development 

in the history of manufacturing. 

Together with Oliver Evans’ invention of the 

high-pressure steam engine a decade earlier, it 

would change the course of American industry. 

White and Hazard set about exploring 

ways to get anthracite to Philadelphia from 

the coal regions north and west of the city. 

They initially created the Schuylkill Navigation 

Company to bring it down the Schuylkill 

River from the City of Reading, but soon 

abandoned that effort and turned their attention 

to the Lehigh River, forming in 1818 

what would become the Lehigh Coal and 

Navigation Company. The company began 

mining anthracite and developing a complex 

system of dams, canals, locks, and railways to 

transport the coal to Philadelphia. It was a 

complicated, risky venture; the 1818 act of 

the Pennsylvania legislature granting the company 

rights to improve the Lehigh riverbed 

noted that it was “giving these gentlemen 

the opportunity of ruining themselves.” 

Nevertheless, by the mid-1820s the Lehigh 

Coal and Navigation Company was bringing 

large amounts of anthracite to Philadelphia, 

proving both a very profitable enterprise for 

White and Hazard and a boon to Philadelphia 

manufacturers who could now run their 


46

factories with a powerful energy source. 

Fueled by anthracite coal and the steam 

engine, the iron and steel industries grew significantly 

in Philadelphia in the antebellum 

period. Thus began the “smokestack” era, the 

age of factories belching fumes into the 

Philadelphia sky. 

Another group of Philadelphians that 

profited greatly from the anthracite coal 

boom was the Coxe family. Recognizing the 

potential of anthracite as a fuel source early 

on, Tench Coxe purchased some 80,000 acres 

of land in Pennsylvania coal country. He died 

in 1824 before the profits could be realized, 

but years later his descendants became very 

wealthy from these land holdings. 

SHIPBUILDING 

AND THE NAVY YARD 

Shipbuilding was among the many industries 

that would be transformed by these 

new technologies in the first half of the nineteenth 

century, a period that saw a transition 

from traditional methods of building sailing 

ships of wood and cloth to construction of 

iron and steel vessels powered by steam. 

Representing the traditional approach was 

Joshua Humphreys (1751-1838), the most 

prominent ship designer and builder in 

federal-period America. Humphreys learned 

his craft as an apprentice in the Philadelphia 

shipyard of the Penrose family and later 

by designing and building military vessels 

in the city during the Revolutionary War. 

By the early 1790s his shipyard in Southwark, 

located at what is now Washington Avenue 

and Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia, 

was busy building new commercial vessels and 

refitting older ones for the city’s merchants. 

@ 

Above: USS United States, built at 

Joshua Humphreys’ Philadelphia shipyard 

and launched in 1797. The United States 

was the first ship built for the U.S. Navy, 

which was established in the 1790s at 

Humphreys’ shipyard in Southwark. 

J. WELLES HENDERSON COLLECTION, 


Below: The building of the 

USS Philadelphia at Joshua Humphreys’ 

shipyard in 1797-1798, is depicted in this 

illustration entitled Preparation for War 

to defend Commerce, published in Birch’s 

Views of Philadelphia in 1800. The war 

at the time was America’s Quasi-War 

with France and construction of the 

USS Philadelphia was funded in part by a 

subscription that raised over $100,000 

from city residents. After being captured in 

a later conflict, the Barbary Wars with 

Mediterranean pirate states, and used as 

gun battery against American vessels in 

the Tripoli harbor, the ship was destroyed 

intentionally in 1804 in a daring naval 

raid led by Philadelphian Stephen 

Decatur, Junior. 

CHAPTER THREE 

47

@ 

Two views of the U.S. Navy Yard at 

Southwark, the nation’s first navy yard. 

Top: The 1837 launching of the 

USS Pennsylvania, the largest wooden 

warship ever built for the Navy. The yard’s 

two massive ship houses are visible at left. 

SOCIETY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 


Above: An unidentified ship in the yard’s 

dry dock in 1853. 

SOCIETY PRINT COLLECTION, 


In 1794 Humphreys was called upon to 

design and supervise construction of the first 

major vessels for the U.S. Navy: six frigates, 

each to be built in a different city. Humphreys’ 

designs for these ships were revolutionary, 

resulting in vessels that were among the 

fastest and most maneuverable in the world. 

The first of the ships, the USS United States, 

was built at Humphreys’ Philadelphia shipyard 

and launched in 1797. It saw action 

beginning in 1798 in America’s Quasi-War 

with France under the command of John 

Barry, the “Father of the American Navy,” and 

later in the War of 1812 under another 

notable Philadelphian, Commodore Stephen 

Decatur, Junior, son of Revolutionary War sea 

captain Stephen Decatur, Senior. 

Stephen Decatur, Junior, figured prominently 

in the colorful history of another vessel built 

by Joshua Humphreys, the USS Philadelphia. 

Funded in part through a subscription that 

raised over $100,000 from local citizens, the 

Philadelphia was launched from Humphreys’ 

Southwark shipyard in 1799. It was captured 

in 1803 in the Barbary Wars, the United States’ 

conflict with Mediterranean pirate states, 

and was being used as a gun battery against 

American vessels in the harbor of the 

Mediterranean port city of Tripoli. In February 

1804, in one of the legendary exploits in 

U.S. naval history, Stephen Decatur, Junior, 

secretly maneuvered a ship under his 

command into the Tripoli harbor and burned 

the USS Philadelphia to prevent its continued 

use by the enemy. The daring act made 

Decatur a national hero, but also spelled the 

end in the brief life of the ship that had been 

the namesake and pride of his hometown. 

In early 1801 the federal government 

created the first U.S. Navy Yard, having 

purchased Joshua Humphreys’ shipyard and 

various adjoining lots for this purpose. In its 

early years, the Navy Yard received little 

federal funding and was not very active, but 

this would change with the War of 1812 and 

in decades to follow as the Navy upgraded 

the facilities and ordered numerous vessels 

from the yard. Among the more notable were: 

the 120-gun USS Pennsylvania, designed by 

Joshua Humphreys’ son Samuel and launched 

in 1837, it was the largest wooden warship 

ever built for the Navy; the USS Mississippi, 

launched in 1841, the navy’s first steamship 


48

and flagship for Commodore Matthew Perry’s 

historic 1852 voyage to Japan; and the USS 

Princeton, launched in 1843, the world’s first 

propeller-driven warship, whose engine was 

made at the iron foundry of Merrick & Sons, 

also in Southwark. 

Another important figure in Philadelphia 

maritime manufacturing in this period was 

the African American sailmaker James Forten 

(1766-1842). Born in Philadelphia to free 

black parents, Forten learned some sail 

making skills as a young boy tagging along 

with his father, who worked for Robert 

Bridges, a sailmaker on the Delaware River in 

Southwark. In his mid-teens, Forten served in 

the Revolutionary War on a privateer under 

Stephen Decatur, Senior, in the course of which 

service he was captured by the British and 

held as a prisoner of war until April 1783. 

Two years later Forten entered into an apprenticeship 

with Robert Bridges, his father’s former 

employer. Smart and very capable, Forten 

eventually worked his way up to foreman at 

Bridges’ firm. When Bridges retired in 1798 

Forten purchased the business from him. 

James Forten employed both white and 

black workers and his astute management of 

his business over forty-four years made him a 

wealthy man. A civil rights activist and major 

figure in the anti-slavery movement, Forten 

was profiled in an 1834 story in the Anti- 

Slavery Record, which described his business 

as follows: 

[H]is workmen, twenty or thirty in 

number, were industriously at work. All 

was order and harmony. [Forten] took 

great delight in pointing out…various 

improvements that he had introduced…and 

spoke very kindly of his workmen. Here was 

one who had been in his employ twenty 

years, who owned not a brick when he came, 

but now was the possessor of a good brick 

house; here was another who had been 

rescued from ruin. These were white men, 

but not so all. [A]bout one half of them 

were colored. [Forten] remarked…that both 

colors had thus been employed together for 

more…than 20 years, and always with the 

same peace and harmony…. “Here,” said he, 

“you see what may be done and ought to be 

done in our country at large.” 

Joshua Humphreys and James Forten 

represent the traditional wood- and sail-based 

Philadelphia shipbuilders of the late eighteenth 

and early nineteenth centuries. Many of these 

traditional builders went out of business as 

@ 

Top: Cramp Shipyard, nineteenthcentury 

view. Cramp was one of the few 

Philadelphia shipyards to successfully make 

the mid-nineteenth century transition from 

building traditional sailing vessels of wood 

and cloth to construction of newer steampowered 

vessels of iron and steel. 

PRINT COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


Above: James Forten’s sail loft, c. 1815, as 

conceived by a contemporary artist in 2013. 

Forten, shown in the inset, ran a successful 

sail making business with a racially 

integrated workforce from 1798 until his 

death in 1842. 

THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED FOR THE EXHIBIT TIDES OF 

FREEDOM: AFRICAN PRESENCE ON THE DELAWARE RIVER AT 

THE INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA. 

CHAPTER THREE 

49

@ 

In this 1840 advertisement, the Morris 

Iron Works notes that in addition to its 

foundry at Schuylkill Seventh and Market 

Streets (now Sixteenth and Market), 

it has “provided on the Delaware 

[River, in Port Richmond]…a commodious 

Shop and Wharf, with a Crane, expressly 

for the Construction and Repair of 

Steam-Boat Engines & Boilers.” 



Philadelphia’s shipbuilding industry declined 

in general in the early years of the nineteenth 

century and then, in later decades, as construction 

with iron, steel, and steam rendered 

their earlier methods obsolete. 

One company that successfully made the 

transition from traditional to modern construction 

methods was Cramp Shipyard. 

William Cramp was born in Kensington in 

1807 and served an apprenticeship with a 

local ship builder before opening his own 

shipyard in 1830. He secured contracts for 

both commercial and military vessels and by 

the late 1840s had moved to the large riverfront 

site in lower Kensington that would be 

the company’s home for a century. Here it 

would grow into one of the nation’s largest 

shipyards and Philadelphia’s biggest employers. 

Charles Cramp joined his father’s firm in 

the late 1840s and soon began to introduce 

new construction methods using iron, steel, 

and steam. As a boy, Charles had witnessed 

the city’s first iron-hulled vessel, produced 

in Kensington around 1838, being carted 

by boilermakers through the streets to the 

waterfront. Charles oversaw implementation 

of more modern ship building techniques 

at Cramp & Sons, even as his father continued 

to carve wooden models of ships to be 

built and personally select the trees to be cut 

for the various parts of vessels. 

THE IRON AGE 

Shipbuilders worked closely with boiler 

and engine makers at this time, as the latter 

often had more familiarity with the new materials 

and techniques than the shipbuilders. 

I. P. Morris and Company, one of Philadelphia’s 

largest iron foundries, was established in 1828 

and located at Sixteenth and Market Streets. 

In 1840 the company set up a shop on the 

Delaware River in Port Richmond “expressly 

for the construction and repair of steam-boat 

engines and boilers.” Cramp & Sons worked 

most closely with the Kensington firm of 

Neafie & Levy, which was founded in 1844 as 

Reaney, Neafie & Levy and specialized in 

iron boats, marine steam engines, and screw 

propellers. Also known as Penn Steam Engine 

and Boiler Works, Neafie & Levy later became 

a shipbuilding company itself, one of the first 

American firms to make both iron ships and 

the steam engines that ran them. They made 

the U.S. Navy’s first submarine, the Alligator, 

in 1862. Cramp & Sons partnered with Neafie 

& Levy on several projects, including building 

the Sampson, the nation’s first screwpropelled 

tugboat, in 1846. During the Civil 

War Cramp worked with Southwark iron 

founder Merrick & Sons on the famous wooden-hulled 

ironclad ship, the New Ironsides, 

which launched from Cramp’s Kensington 

yard in 1862. Eventually, Cramp & Sons 

began making its own engines, and in 1891 it 

acquired I. P. Morris & Company, but in the 


50

@ 

Left: Penn Steam Engine & Boiler Works 

advertisement, 1854. Established in 1844 in 

Kensington as Reaney, Neafie & Levy, the 

company specialized in iron boats and 

engines, and later steam fire engines. It 

remained in operation until 1907. 



early years it partnered with companies such 

as Neafie & Levy and Merrick & Sons on this 

aspect of shipbuilding. 

Philadelphia’s numerous iron foundries, 

machine shops, and boilermakers also supplied 

machinery for industries other than 

shipbuilding. In 1851 I. P. Morris & 

Company installed turbines at the Fairmount 

Waterworks, the first such large-scale turbine 

installation in America. Later, they installed 

turbines at Niagara Falls. Merrick & Sons’ 

Southwark Iron Foundry, established in 1836, 

made machinery for sugar refining and gas 

works, including equipment for the new 

Philadelphia Gas Works, which was also 

established in 1836. Joseph Harrison, after 

spectacular success building railroads in 

Russia in the 1840s, returned to Philadelphia 

and founded the Harrison Safety Boiler 

Works, which made a new, much safer type of 

boiler that was invented and patented by 

Harrison in 1859. A Harrison safety boiler 

was installed that year at William Sellers & 

Company, one of the city’s major machine 

tool builders. Firms such as Morris, Merrick, 

Harrison, and Sellers were ushering in the 

“Iron Age” in Philadelphia in the mid-nineteenth 

century, building all manner of heavy 

machinery and transforming the city into a 

gritty industrial landscape. The coming of the 

railroad around this same time brought an even 

more radical transformation of the landscape, 

obliterating many of the remaining vestiges 

of William Penn’s “greene country towne.” 

LOCOMOTIVES 

No industry embodied the age of iron and 

steel in Philadelphia more than that of the 

railroad. Together with the invention of the 

high-pressure steam engine and the introduction 

of anthracite coal, the railroad would 

revolutionize manufacturing in the city and 

elsewhere in the early to mid-nineteenth 

century. Functioning railroads had been 

introduced in England in the 1810s and 

Oliver Evans was promoting their use in 

America as early as 1813, when he wrote that 

“the time will come when people will travel 

in stages [on rails] moved by steam engines, 

from one city to another, almost as fast as 

birds fly, fifteen or twenty miles in an hour.” 

Philadelphia got its first operating railroad 

in June 1832 when the Philadelphia to 

Germantown portion of the new Philadelphia, 

Germantown, Norristown Railroad began 

operation. The rail cars were drawn by horses 

until November of that year, when Matthias 

Baldwin’s new locomotive engine, Old Ironsides, 

was put in use on the line. The United States 

Below: Notice in the November 24, 1832 

American Daily Advertiser announcing 

service on the new Philadelphia, 

Germantown, and Norristown Railroad. 

The notice reported that “The Locomotive 

Engine, (built by M. W. Baldwin, of this 

city) will depart daily, when the weather is 

fair, with a Train of Passenger Cars.” 

DAVID KENNEDY WATERCOLOR COLLECTION, 


CHAPTER THREE 

51

@ 

An 1832 illustration of the Philadelphia, 

Germantown, & Norristown Railroad at 

the Philadelphia station at Ninth and Green 

Streets. Powered by a Baldwin locomotive, 

this was the first operating railroad 




Gazette reported on November 24, 1832, that 

“The beautiful locomotive engine and tender, 

built by Mr. Baldwin, of this city…were for 

the first time placed on the road. The engine 

travelled about six miles, working with 

perfect accuracy and ease and with great 

velocity.” The engine was only used in fair 

weather at first, as it did not have enough 

traction to hold the rails in the rain. 

Matthias Baldwin (1795-1866) had come 

a long way since his 1811 apprenticeship 

to a Frankford jeweler. He had formed a 

partnership in 1825 with a Philadelphia 

machinist to make bookbinding tools and 

machinery as well as devices for other industries. 

An innovative craftsmen who was 

always tinkering, in 1828 he built a small 

five-horse power stationary steam engine that 

represented a significant improvement over 

other engines of that time. (The engine is 

now on display at the Smithsonian National 

Museum of American History.) Baldwin soon 

turned his focus to steam engine manufacture, 

particularly for railroads. He made 

ten new locomotive engines in the years 

immediately following the 1832 debut of 

Old Ironsides, each with an improvement of 

his design. In 1835 he founded the Baldwin 

Locomotive Works and within three years 

the company had built some forty-five percent 

of the domestically produced locomotive 

engines in use in the United States. Baldwin 

eventually became one of the largest locomotive 

manufacturers in the world, occupying 

a 200-acre complex at Broad and Spring 

Garden Streets and employing over 18,000 

workers, the largest private company by far 

in Philadelphia history. The firm produced 

over 1,500 locomotives during Matthias 

Baldwin’s lifetime, engines that powered 

trains on five different continents. 

Baldwin’s was actually one of three important 

locomotive works in early nineteenthcentury 

Philadelphia. All were founded 

within a few years of each other in the 1830s, 

were significant innovators in the industry, 

and were located near one another in what 

is now the Spring Garden neighborhood 

just north of Center City. Norris Locomotive 

Works, founded in 1832 as the American 

Steam Carriage Company, employed several 

hundred workers at its plant at Seventeenth 

and Hamilton Streets and was America’s 

largest locomotive works before being 

overtaken by Baldwin. In 1836 Norris’ 

famous locomotive, The George Washington, 

climbed the Belmont Inclined Plane of the 

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad with a 

full load, the first engine in the world to 

ascend a hill by its own power. Between 1832 

and 1866 Norris produced about 1,000 locomotives 

which were sold all over the world. 


52

Garrett & Eastwick Locomotive Works 

was founded in 1835 and focused specifically 

on the use of anthracite coal rather than the 

more commonly used wood as a fuel source. 

This attracted the interest of Josiah White and 

Erskine Hazard’s Lehigh Coal & Navigation 

Company, which reported in 1838 that 

“the experience of Garrett & Eastwick, of 

Philadelphia, in successfully using anthracite 

coal in their locomotive engines, has received 

additional confirmation during the past year, 

[several Pennsylvania railroad companies] 

have their locomotives in use all burning 

anthracite coal exclusively.” Garrett & 

Eastwick became Eastwick & Harrison in 

1839 after Garrett retired and Joseph 

Harrison, who had been working at the company 

since 1835 (and who would later found 

the aforementioned Harrison Safety Boiler 

Works), was made a partner. Eastwick & 

Harrison closed their Philadelphia operations 

in 1843 and moved to Russia to undertake a 

massive railroad project for the Czar. Joseph 

Harrison had invented an equalizing lever 

in 1837 that allowed a locomotive to be propelled 

by four wheels instead of two, a major 

mechanical improvement. Before leaving for 

Russia he sold the patent for the device to 

Matthias Baldwin, who then employed it on 

all his locomotives. 

THE RAILROAD LANDSCAPE 

The railroad fundamentally changed the 

Philadelphia manufacturing landscape in the 

mid-nineteenth century, altering everything 

from how raw materials and finished products 

were delivered to where companies were 

located. With the coming of the railroad, 

manufacturers no longer had to rely on slow, 

inconvenient modes of transportation such as 

canals or horse-drawn carriages to transport 

their goods, but could send them far and wide 

via the new mode of transportation. Heavy 

industries began to situate themselves along 

rail lines or have tracks brought to their 

factories in order to move raw materials and 

finished products in and out more efficiently. 

Industries no longer needed access to waterways 

for this purpose and could be located 

away from the rivers and creeks that had once 

been their lifeblood. 

The growing network of railroads crisscrossing 

the city also drastically changed the 

communal landscape of factories and their 

workers. Access between neighborhoods was 

often cut off and physical divisions created 

within communities, some of whom were 

relegated to “the wrong side of the tracks.” 

The overall pace of life quickened and the city 

became a noisy, more dangerous place with 

locomotives speeding about. At the same 

time, passenger rail lines allowed industrialists 

to live farther away from their businesses. 

Many began to commute to work from estates 

in the suburbs, particularly in the western 

suburbs along the “Main Line” of the 

Pennsylvania Railroad. The latter company 

became the behemoth of American industry. 

Based in Philadelphia (although its manufacturing 

was done elsewhere) from its formation 

in 1846 until it was broken up in the 1970s, 

the Pennsylvania Railroad was for a time the 

world’s largest publicly traded corporation, 

@ 

Above: Painting of the Baldwin factory and 

other industries at Broad and Willow Streets 

(near present day Broad and Spring Garden 

Streets), 1861. The Baldwin Locomotive 

Works would grow to be a sprawling 

200-acre complex at this site, eventually 

employing over 18,000 workers. 

DAVID KENNEDY WATERCOLOR COLLECTION, 


Below: Advertisement for William 

Norris Locomotive Works in McElroy’s 

Philadelphia City Directory, 1842. 

Founded in 1832, Norris was the largest 

locomotive works in the United States before 

being overtaken by its neighbor, Baldwin. 

CHAPTER THREE 

53

@ 

View showing P. & R. [Philadelphia & 

Reading] Railroad Tracks and present 

conditions upon Pennsylvania Ave. 

This 1893 Department of Public Works 

illustration shows how the railroad 

fundamentally altered large parts of the 

city landscape in the nineteenth century. 

A number of rail lines can be seen cutting 

through downtown Philadelphia at Broad 

Street near Callowhill Street and, in the 

inset at upper left, at Pennsylvania Avenue 

and Twentieth Street. Baldwin Locomotive 

Works is at center right. 

PHILADELPHIA WATER DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL 

COLLECTION/PHILLYH2O.ORG. 

with some 250,000 employees and a budget 

bigger than that of the U.S. government. 

The other Philadelphia-based railroad, the 

Reading, chartered in 1833 as the Philadelphia 

& Reading Railroad, was also a major presence 

in the city. Its former terminal and head house 

buildings on East Market Street in Center City 

are now popular Philadelphia landmarks. 

CHEMICALS AND 

PHARMACEUTICALS 

Philadelphia was also a national leader in 

the paint and chemical industry, which came 

to be centered mostly on the Schuylkill River. 

Wetherill & Brothers, founded in 1762, built 

a paint factory at Broad and Chestnut Streets 

in 1809, then one at Twelfth and Cherry 

Streets after the earlier one burned down, and 

finally a much larger facility in 1847 on the 

Schuylkill River near Thirtieth Street. John 

Harrison began making sulphuric acid in 

Northern Liberties in the 1790s and later 

moved to Kensington. In 1863 the company, 

run by his grandsons and known as Harrison 

Brothers, erected a large factory on the 

Schuylkill River in Grays Ferry, downstream 

from Wetherill’s. Both of these companies 

remained local, family-run chemical firms into 

the early twentieth century. 

The American pharmaceutical industry 

essentially began in Philadelphia in the early 

nineteenth century. Originally, local druggists 

ground and mixed their own medicines, 

occasionally branching into small-scale manufacturing. 

In 1812 Charles Hagner began 

large-scale grinding of medicinal materials 

into powder at his water-powered mill at the 

Falls of Schuylkill. His operation has been 

called the first drug mill in America. It all 

began when Hagner was engaged by a prominent 

local druggist to ground several tons of 

cream of tartar into powder, a job that would 

have taken months using the usual mortar and 

pestle method. Hagner did the work at his 

grinding mill in one night and delivered the 

completed order to the druggist the next day. 

Incredulous, and fearing his product must 

have been ruined, the druggist convened a 

committee of experts to examine the powder. 

They declared it perfectly fine, indeed some of 

the best ground cream of tartar they had ever 


54

seen. The episode brought Hagner considerable 

notoriety and thereafter he focused on the 

emerging drug milling business. In 1820 

Hagner moved to Manayunk and became one 

of the early leaders in the industrialization of 

that town, and in 1839 he moved to Northern 

Liberties where he established a large steampowered 

drug mill. 

Philadelphia also had two of the nation’s 

largest quinine manufacturing firms in this 

period: Powers & Weightman, founded in 

1818, with facilities at both Ninth and Parrish 

and Falls of Schuylkill, and Rosengarten & 

Sons, founded in 1822 and located in various 

sections of the city prior to building a major 

facility at Seventeenth and Fitzwater Streets in 

South Philadelphia. Both of these companies, 

calling themselves “manufacturing chemists,” 

became large and prosperous making a variety 

of medicines and chemicals. They would merge 

in 1905. 

By 1860 some thirty-five percent of the 

total value of the medicines, drugs, and 

extracts produced in the United States was 

made by forty Philadelphia firms. Two companies 

that would later become major drug 

manufacturers—Smith, Kline, & French and 

Wyeth Laboratories—started as pharmacies 

in downtown Philadelphia in the years prior 

to the Civil War. Smith, Kline, & French was 

established by John Smith on North Second 

Street in 1830, while Wyeth Laboratories was 

founded by brothers John and Frank Wyeth at 

1410 Walnut Street in 1860. In 1870 a Wyeth 

employee named Henry Bower invented a 

rotary compressed tablet machine that greatly 

facilitated mass production of medicine 

tablets and propelled the company into a 

major manufacturing role. Both companies 

still have a major presence in the Philadelphia 

area: Smith, Kline, & French is now part 

of the multinational pharmaceutical firm 

GlaxoSmithKline, whose U.S. headquarters 

is at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia, and 

Wyeth Laboratories is located just outside 

the city in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. 

BEER 

Beer making was yet another industry 

in which Philadelphia continued to excel. 

The U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

reported in 1793 that Philadelphia was 

shipping more beer than all other American 

seaports combined. Lager beer was especially 

popular with Philadelphia’s large and growing 

German population in the mid-nineteenth 

century. Bavarian immigrant John Wagner 

reportedly made the first lager beer in 

America in the 1840s in a small brewery 

on American Street near Poplar Street in 

Northern Liberties. The Engel & Wolf brewery, 

which started in Northern Liberties in 

the 1840s and moved in 1859 to a large 

new brewing complex on the Schuylkill River 

known as Fountain Green, was one of the 

@ 

Left: A c. 1855 view of Engel & Wolf’s 

Brewery & Vaults at Fountain Green on the 

Schuylkill River. One of the nation’s first 

large-scale brewers of lager, Engel & Wolf’s 

was one of the industries that was acquired 

and demolished by the Fairmount Park 

Commission in the 1870s in an effort to 

protect the city’s water supply. 



Right: Hagner’s Drug Mills in Northern 

Liberties, c. 1875. Hagner operated what 

is considered the first drug mill in the 

United States in the 1810s at the Falls of 

Schuylkill. He moved to Manayunk in 1820 

and then established this drug mill in 

Northern Liberties in 1839. 



CHAPTER THREE 

55

@ 

This 1857 bird’s-eye view of Philadelphia 

looks east, with the Schuylkill River in the 

foreground and the Delaware River in the 

distance. It shows the central portion of the 

city and areas immediately adjacent as 

densely developed, with fumes rising from 

the smokestacks of numerous industries. 

Areas on the edges of the city are still mostly 

undeveloped. The complex of buildings at 

lower left is the Philadelphia Water Works. 

LARGE GRAPHICS COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


nation’s first large-scale brewers of lager. 

(The Engel & Wolf brewery was one of the 

factories acquired and demolished by the 

Fairmount Park Commission in the 1870s 

to protect the city’s water supply.) While 

breweries were located all over the city, in 

the late 1840s many of them began to be 

concentrated in the area of North Philadelphia 

just west of Girard College. By 1866 there 

were fifteen (mostly German) breweries 

within a few blocks of each other in this 

neighborhood, which came to be known as 

“Brewerytown.” Brewerytown would remain 

an important Philadelphia beer making area 

into the twentieth century. 

REMAKING 

PHILADELPHIA 

The antebellum period and Civil War years 

saw the establishment of many of the companies 

that would become Philadelphia’s most 

celebrated manufacturers, firms that would 

take the lead in transforming the city into a 

manufacturing powerhouse: Cramp Shipyard 

(founded in 1830), Baldwin Locomotive 

(1835), Disston Saw Works (1840), and 

Bromley & Sons Carpet (1845), followed 

shortly after the War by Stetson Hat (1865), 

J. G. Brill Company (streetcars, 1868) and 

Midvale Steel (1868). Most of these firms 

started as small shops, founded by an 

enterprising individual (in several cases an 

immigrant), whose hard work and ingenuity 

led to great success. They would emerge from 

the thousands of small to mid-size industrial 

companies in nineteenth-century Philadelphia 

to become world leaders in their fields and 

iconic firms in the history of the city. 

The founding of these and other companies 

coincided with a fundamental shift in the 

Philadelphia economy in the early to midnineteenth 

century from one of commerce and 

finance to one of industry and manufacturing. 

Philadelphia had begun losing its position as 

America’s preeminent trading center in the early 

decades of the 1800s, giving way primarily to 

New York City, which had a superior port and 

benefited greatly from the opening of the Erie 

Canal in 1825, and to a lesser extent, Baltimore. 

The nation’s financial center shifted from 

Philadelphia to New York City in this period 

as well (“from Chestnut Street to Wall Street”). 

A decisive financial blow came in 1836 when 

the Philadelphia-based Second Bank of the 


56

United States, the nation’s de-facto central 

bank, was not re-chartered following an epic 

showdown between bank president Nicholas 

Biddle and U.S. President Andrew Jackson. 

With its mercantile and financial standing 

diminished, Philadelphia took a new direction, 

transforming itself over the course of the 

nineteenth century into a manufacturing giant, 

evolving from a city of merchants and financiers 

to one of manufacturers and industrialists. 

ARSENAL OF THE UNION 

In 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, 

Philadelphia had a population of 565,529 

and was the second largest city in the 

United States. The 1854 city/county consolidation 

had expanded the city’s geographic 

area dramatically, from two to 128 square 

miles. The downtown and areas immediately 

adjacent were densely populated and highly 

industrialized. The far reaches of the city, 

the former outlying townships and boroughs 

that became part of the city in 1854, were 

still mostly rural and agricultural, but had 

pockets of concentrated manufacturing 

activity in communities such as Manayunk, 

Germantown, Kensington, Frankford, and 

Bridesburg. The 1868 publication A History 

of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 

devotes over eighty pages to “Remarkable 

Factories of Philadelphia,” profiling some 

three dozen such establishments and noting 

that the city was home to 6,467 manufacturing 

firms that employed 107,391 workers. 

Philadelphia’s manufacturing prowess 

during the Civil War led to its reputation as 

the “Arsenal of the Union.” It was very much 

a divided city in the years leading up to the 

War, however, due in large measure to the 

close business relationships between its 

many textile manufacturers and the Southern 

cotton growers who provided them with 

raw materials and purchased their finished 

products. The severing of these relationships 

and the general disruptions of the War led to 

the collapse of several companies and economic 

crises in certain sectors of the city’s 

economy, but overall most manufacturers 

adapted and the city as a whole rallied to the 

Union cause. 

Philadelphia’s federal military facilities— 

the Schuylkill and Frankford Arsenals and 

the Navy Yard—kept thousands employed 

(the Navy Yard alone had 1,750 workers 

during the War), while many private firms 

won lucrative contracts to provide goods for 

the Union Army. Manayunk textile mills 

made woolen blankets, William Horstmann 

Company made flags and ribbons, and Jenks’ 

Bridesburg Manufacturing Company made tens 

of thousands of muskets. In South Philadelphia, 

Thomas Sparks made shot at his shot tower 

in Southwark. The Sparks Shot Tower, a 

150-foot edifice built in 1808, has been a 

South Philadelphia landmark for over 200 

years, a prominent and powerful reminder of 

Philadelphia’s storied manufacturing past. 

The wartime economy allowed a number 

of local firms to expand production capabilities 

significantly, positioning them for major 

growth in the post-war period. As the United 

States approached its 100th anniversary in 

1876, Philadelphia was about to enter its 

greatest period of industrial activity. 

@ 

Historical and modern views of Sparks Shot 

Tower, a South Philadelphia landmark since 

its construction in 1808 by Thomas Sparks 

and John Bishop. Bishop’s pacifist Quaker 

beliefs led him to leave the company when it 

began making ammunition for the War of 

1812. The Sparks family then ran the 

business until 1903. 

Left: Undated nineteenth-century image. 

SMALL GRAPHICS COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


Below: Photograph by Tim McCusker, 2015. 

CHAPTER THREE 

57

@ 

Right: Downtown street scene, Philadelphia, 

1897. Philadelphia was the nation’s third 

largest city at the turn of the twentieth 

century, with a population approaching 

1.3 million. Some 250,000 city workers 

were employed in manufacturing or 

mechanical pursuits at this time. 

STILL PICTURES RECORDS SECTION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES 

AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. 

Opposite, clockwise starting from the top: 

Philadelphia Public Ledger, 1916. 

This rooftop image of the Kensington mill 

district looks out over the neighborhood that 

was at the heart of Philadelphia’s textile 

industry when the city was the largest 

textile manufacturing center in the world. 

IMAGE RETRIEVED ONLINE, NO SOURCE OR SPECIFIC 

DATE CITED. 

Views of the plants of two of 

Philadelphia’s largest manufacturers in the 

late nineteenth/early twentieth century: 

CHAPTER 

FOUR 

The Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten 

chemical plant in East Falls. Powers & 

Weightman, even before its 1905 merger 

with Rosengarten, was named the largest 

chemical company in the world in the 

Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 

publication The City of Philadelphia as 

it Appears in the Year 1894. 



The John B. Stetson hat factory in 

Kensington. Stetson was named the 

world’s largest hat manufacturer in both 

The City of Philadelphia as it Appears 

in the Year 1894 and twenty years later 

in the February 1914 edition of 

Moody’s Magazine. 



FROM CENTENNIAL CITY TO 

WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD: 

THE LATE NINETEENTH AND 

EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES 

Philadelphia is “the greatest manufacturing city in the world,” declared English writer Arthur 

Shadwell in his two-volume 1906 study, Industrial Efficiencies: A Comparative Study of Industrial Life in 

England, Germany and America. “True, it does not compare with such monstrous aggregations as 

London and New York,” he noted, “but they are not manufacturing cities in the same sense. They are 

primarily something else, and the manufactures are mainly accidental or secondary…. Philadelphia 

is primarily a manufacturing place and the industries are carried on in very large establishments on 

a great scale.” Shadwell was particularly impressed with the diversity of the city’s manufacturing 

sector. “It would require a volume to give an account of all the manufactures in Philadelphia,” he 

wrote, “I am certain that no city in any country can show so great a variety of gross industries carried 

on upon so large a scale…. Philadelphia has the makings of ten ordinary manufacturing towns.” 


58

The turn of the twentieth century period 

when Shadwell did his study was indeed 

the heyday of manufacturing in Philadelphia, 

its Workshop of the World period. While no one 

or two companies predominated, several of 

the city’s industrial firms had become particularly 

large and influential. The Philadelphia 

Chamber of Commerce publication The City 

of Philadelphia as it Appears in the Year 1894 

included a section entitled “Largest in the 

World” that listed twelve Philadelphia companies 

that enjoyed that distinction. Ten 

were manufacturers: Baldwin (locomotives), 

Disston (saws), Bromley (carpets, 

lace), Keystone Watch Case (watch cases), 

Stetson (hats), Powers & Weightman 

(chemicals), George V. Cresson (power 

machinery), Abraham Cox Stove Company 

(stoves), McNeely & Company (leather), 

and Queen & Company (scientific instruments). 

The publication, which features 

company profiles and advertisements for 

dozens of other local manufacturers that, 

if not the world’s largest, were certainly 

major firms in their own right, gives 

a sense of the magnitude and diversity 

of Philadelphia’s manufacturing sector 

at this time—the wide range of industries, 

the size and scope of their operations, 

the incredible variety of products 

they produced. 

The 1894 Chamber of Commerce 

publication was not just self-serving 

boasting by an organization whose 

mission was to promote the city. The 

February 1914 edition of Moody’s 

Magazine, the national investor monthly, 

featured a fifty-six page section entitled 

“Modern Philadelphia: Things In Which 

Philadelphia Leads the World.” Along 

with glowing descriptions of the city’s 

financial institutions, department stores, 

and two giant railroads, it includes lengthy 

profiles of such manufacturers as Baldwin 

Locomotive Works, Cramp Shipyards, S. S. 

White Dental Manufacturing Company, 

Freihofer Baking Company, J. G. Brill 

Company (streetcars), John Lucas & Company 

(paints and varnishes), and John B. Stetson 

Company (hats). Two of these companies, 

Baldwin and Stetson, were identified as the 

largest in the world twenty years earlier in the 

1894 Chamber of Commerce publication; the 

others had come into their full prominence in 

the intervening years. Again, it is the diversity 

of the city’s manufacturing sector in this period 

that is striking. While other cities would 

come to be dominated by particular industries, 

Philadelphia’s strength was in the wide 

range of its manufacturers and products. 

“Detroit made cars; Philadelphia made everything 

else” is the (somewhat) facetious saying. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

59

@ 

Birdseye View of Fairmount Park, 

Philadelphia, with the Buildings of the 

Centennial Exposition, 1876. 

The 1876 Centennial was a huge success, 

attracting some ten million visitors to 

Philadelphia. This view looking eastward 

down the Schuylkill River shows the 

buildings of the Centennial on the right 

(behind the flag pole), along with the 

smokestacks of dozens of city industries 

across the river to the left. Note that by this 

time industries had largely been removed 

from the upper Schuylkill River area 

(center and lower portions of the image). 



THE 

CENTENNIAL 

Philadelphia manufacturing really came 

into world view when the city hosted the 1876 

International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures 

and Products of the Soil and Mine, commonly 

known as “The Centennial.” From May to 

November of 1876 Philadelphia welcomed 

the world to this huge celebration of the 

one hundredth anniversary of the nation’s 

founding. The Centennial was the first 

official World’s Fair in the United States 

and America’s first great opportunity to share 

its history and accomplishments on an 

international scale. Some ten million visitors 

from all corners of the globe were treated to 

a variety of exhibits and activities, including 

numerous displays of American technology 

and manufacturing. The world was actually in 

the midst of a severe depression at this time, 

following the financial Panic of 1873, but the 

Centennial was a great success nevertheless. 

Philadelphia manufacturers were front and 

center at the Centennial, both in its planning 

and in its displays of industry and technology. 

One of the prime movers behind the event 

was William Sellers (1824-1905), owner of 

one of Philadelphia’s largest machine tool 

works. William Sellers & Company operated 

from 1855 to 1947, most of that time at 

Sixteenth and Hamilton Streets, next to 

Baldwin Locomotive. A mechanical engineer 

and inventor who filed more than ninety 

patents, Sellers’ great contribution to industry 

was the standardization of the screw 

thread, which he proposed in an 1864 

paper before The Franklin Institute (of 

which he was president). Prior to this, 

dimensions of threads on screws produced 

in different shops had varied considerably, 

making interchanging of machine parts 

very problematic. The Sellers’ standard was 

soon adopted by prominent manufacturers, 

including Baldwin, and eventually became 

the national standard. 

Philadelphia lamp and gas fixture manufacturer 

Cornelius & Sons supplied much of 

the illumination for the Centennial and 

local pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires introduced 

his new soft drink, Hires Root Beer. 

City firms were also well represented among 

the winners of awards for products exhibited 


60

in various categories at the Centennial. 

William Sellers & Company received twentyone 

awards, the judges declaring that its 

“collection of machine tools was without 

parallel in the history of exhibitions.” Other 

local awardees included the Bergner & Engel 

brewery, which won medals for its draft and 

bottled beer; Lenning Chemical Company for 

“products exhibited coming from the distillation 

of wood, for metallic salts and…manufacture 

of sulphate of alumina and alum”; Wyeth 

Laboratories, for its compressed tablet machine 

for mass producing medicines; and Rowland 

Shovel Works for one of its shovels. Rowland 

had been making shovels on the Pennypack 

Creek near Holmesburg since the 1830s 

and was one of several manufacturing enterprises 

of the Rowland family, whose members 

had been operating factories in various 

locations in Northeast Philadelphia and 

adjacent Montgomery County since the late 

eighteenth century. 

@ 

Above: William Sellers & Company plant 

at Sixteenth and Hamilton Streets in Spring 

Garden, as it appeared c. 1875. Sellers was 

a mechanical engineer and inventor whose 

machine works was one of the largest in 

Philadelphia. He also played a major role 

in the Centennial. 



Below: Cornelius & Baker lamp and gas 

fixture factory at Fifth and Columbia 

Streets in North Philadelphia, 1856. 

A successor company, Cornelius & Sons, 

provided much of the illumination for the 

1876 Centennial. 



CHAPTER FOUR 

61

@ 

From toys to heavy weapons, 

Philadelphia manufacturers made an 

exceptionally wide range of products in the 

early twentieth century. 

Above: Women assembling dolls at 

the A. Schoenhut toy company in 1912. 

At its height, Schoenhut employed about 

400 workers at its Kensington factory. 

STILL PICTURE RECORDS SECTION, 

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. 

Below: Large guns made for the U.S. Navy 

by Midvale Steel Company in an undated 

early twentieth-century photograph. 

At its peak, Midvale employed about 

7,300 at its sprawling Nicetown plant. 


HISTORICAL AND INTERPRETIVE COLLECTIONS OF 

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, PHILADELPHIA. 

THE “ SECOND 

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” 

The late nineteenth/early twentieth-century 

period is sometimes referred to as the 

“Second Industrial Revolution,” an era characterized 

by huge bureaucratic corporations 

carrying out manufacturing on a massive 

scale. The first industrial revolution had 

been the early nineteenth-century transition 

from shop-based artisan work to mechanized 

factory production; the second was a major 

increase in the scale and scope of this activity, 

fueled by late nineteenth-century advances 

in technology, transportation, and communication. 

While manufacturing reached massive 

proportions in certain Philadelphia industries 

in this period, the city’s many smaller specialized 

manufacturers remained the backbone 

of its industrial sector. The 1890 

census showed that Philadelphia 

had 298 different lines of industrial 

businesses. 

Another unique characteristic 

of manufacturing in Philadelphia 

in this period was the number 

of firms that remained familyowned 

and -controlled rather 

than becoming publicly traded 

corporations. The Association 

of Centenary Firms and 

Corporations in the United States, 

founded in Philadelphia in 1889 to honor 

American companies at least 100 years old 

that were still controlled by their founding 

families, issued its second edition of member 

profiles in 1916. Of the fifty-seven nationwide 

companies profiled, fifteen were 

Philadelphia manufacturers, the most by far 

of any city. The oldest in the nation was the 

Philadelphia brewer and maltster Francis 

Perot’s Sons Malting Company, founded in 

1687. Other Philadelphia manufacturers 

that were profiled include paint and chemical 

companies, tanners and saddlers, iron 

founders, paper manufacturers, makers of 

tools, clocks and watches, tin plate, tobacco, 

and snuff. Two of these companies have 

already been mentioned in these pages: paint 

manufacturer Wetherill & Brother, founded 

in 1762, and auger and bit manufacturer 

Job T. Pugh, founded in 1774. 

WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD 

As Arthur Shadwell noted in 1906 in 

Industrial Efficiencies, it would take a whole 

book to list the many different manufacturers 

active in Philadelphia in the early years of 

the twentieth century. There were thousands 

of them. A partial list of the number of 

Philadelphia manufacturers active in various 

industries between 1909 and 1912 includes: 

545 iron foundries and machine shops, 

496 tobacco manufacturers, 456 men’s and 

351 women’s apparel makers, 174 medicine 

and druggist preparations manufacturers, 

160 cotton mills, 147 furniture manufacturers, 

129 makers of confectionery products, 

48 breweries, 40 silk factories, 32 soap 


62

makers, 20 stove manufacturers, 12 cordage 

(rope making) works, 8 paper manufacturers, 

8 rolling mills, 8 ink manufacturers, 4 glass 

works, and 4 sugar refineries. A good sense of 

the city’s range of industries at this time is 

evident in the following chart of Philadelphia 

industries by value of goods produced 

in 1909, taken from the Philadelphia 

Commercial Museum’s 1912 publication, 

Manufacturing in Philadelphia 1683-1912: 

@ 

Leading Industries of Philadelphia, 

Values in millions of dollars, 1909. 

This chart from the Philadelphia 

Commercial Museum’s 1912 publication, 

Manufacturing in Philadelphia 

1683-1912, shows the wide range of goods 

produced by Philadelphia manufacturers in 

the early twentieth century. Only the largest 

industries in terms of monetary value are 

listed and even the smallest of these, 

saw making, includes what was then the 

world’s largest saw manufacturer, 

Disston Saw Works. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

63

First 

• Hosiery and knit goods 

• Carpets & rugs other than rag 

• Hats, fur-felt 

• Locomotives 

• Dyeing & finishing textiles 

• Upholstering materials 

• Cars, street railway 

• Oilcloth & linoleum 

• Sporting & athletic goods 

• Sand & emery paper & cloth 

• Saws 

• Shoddy (recycled wool) 

• Surgical appliances & artificial limbs 

Second 

• Sugar refining, excluding beet sugar 

• Clothing, women’s 

• Millinery & lace goods 

• Fertilizers 

• Paper goods, not elsewhere specified 

• Umbrellas & canes 

• Mineral & soda waters 

• Petroleum refining 

Statistics tell the story. Out of Philadelphia’s 

population of 1,293,697 in 1900, 259,197 

workers ten years old or older who were 

gainfully employed were engaged in manufacturing 

and mechanical pursuits, some 

twenty-five percent of the population over 

the age of ten. The total value of goods 

manufactured in Philadelphia in 1909 was 

$746,076,000, exceeded only by that of 

New York and Chicago. The following list 

from Manufacturing in Philadelphia 1683-1912 

outlines the industries in which the city 

was first, second, third, and fourth in the 

United States in value of products in 1900: 

Third 

• Printing & publishing 

• Foundry & machine shop products 

• Bread & other bakery products 

• Chemicals 

• Paint & varnish 

• Leather goods 

• Boxes, fancy & paper 

• Marble & stone work 

Fourth 

• Clothing, men’s, including shirts 

• Cotton goods and cotton small wares 

• Patent medicines, drugs, etc. 

• Furniture & refrigerators 

• Copper, tin, & sheet-iron products 

• Soap 

• Confectionery 

• Electrical machinery, apparatus, etc. 

• Furnishing goods, men’s 

• Shipbuilding, including boatbuilding 

• Food preparations 

Philadelphia at this time truly was, as 

Shadwell noted, “primarily a manufacturing 

place.” As a counterpoint to its 100 pages 

of mind-numbing facts and statistics, 

Manufacturing in Philadelphia, 1683-1912, 

offers a wonderfully descriptive visual picture 

of the city’s industrial landscape in the 

early 1910s: 

From the tower of the Bromley Mill at 

Fourth and Lehigh Avenue there are more 

textile mills within the range of vision than 

can be found in any other city in the world. 

For miles in every direction is seen the 

smoke of thousands of mills and factories. 

To the northeast one continuous line of 

factories extends through Frankford to 

Tacony, six miles away. To the northwest 

through the smoke rising from the Midvale 

works at Nicetown the mills of Germantown 

are seen. To the west another line of mills 

stretches to the Falls of Schuylkill and 

Manayunk. To the southwest are Baldwin’s 

and the foundries and mills of that section. 

To the south are the hat and leather factories 

and to the southeast are Cramp’s Shipyard 

and the numberless industries clustered along 

the river. Beyond all these are the mills and 

factories of South and West Philadelphia, 

some of them eight miles away. 

TEXTILES 

The vantage point from which the above 

visual survey was taken, the tower of Joseph 

Bromley’s Quaker Lace Company mill at 

Fourth Street and Lehigh Avenue, was in 

Kensington, the heart of the city’s textile 

industry. Philadelphia was the greatest 

textile city in the world in this period 

and Kensington was its center of gravity. 

Other neighborhoods such as Germantown, 

Manayunk, and Frankford remained important 

textile centers, but by the late nineteenth 

century the largest concentration of the 

city’s textile firms was in Kensington. The 

neighborhood that had long been known 

for its individual handloom operators—“the 

paradise of the skilled workman” as one 

weaver called it—now became renowned for 

its textile mills and factories. Some thirty 

thousand workers were employed in 400 

textile firms in Kensington in 1910. The 

carpet industry was especially extensive; 

Kensington mills produced some threequarters 

of the ingrain carpets made in the 

United States in 1909. Likewise with tapestry 


64

and lace, in which Kensington manufacturers 

were responsible for almost ninety percent 

of the nation’s output, and with clothing, 

particularly hats, with the John B. Stetson 

Company the world’s leading maker of hats 

in this period. 

@ 

Above: Interior of the Hardwick & Magee 

Carpet Factory at Sixth Street and Lehigh 

Avenue in Kensington, 1925. Companies 

like Hardwick & Magee, Bromley, and 

others made Kensington one of the largest 

carpet manufacturing centers in the world 

in the early twentieth century. 



Left: This detail from Manufacturing in 

Philadelphia, 1683-1912 includes a chart 

showing how Philadelphia led the nation 

by far in the value of textile products 

manufactured in 1909. Accompanying the 

chart is a note that, “While some may 

question the right of Philadelphia to be 

called the largest manufacturing city in the 

world, none can successfully dispute the 

statement that it is the largest textile city 

in the world.” 

CHAPTER FOUR 

65

in the manufacture of locomotives, ships, 

streetcars, and saws. Other industries in 

which the city was a world leader in this 

era include leather, chemicals, petroleum 

refining, oilcloth and linoleum, umbrellas, 

sugar refining, confectionery products, farm 

and garden implements, sand and emery 

paper, and storage batteries. 

ICONIC PHILADELPHIA 

MANUFACTURERS 

@ 

A sweatshop, c. 1906. The river wards 

of South Philadelphia had many such 

sweatshops that employed the Jewish and 

eastern and southern European immigrants 

that came to Philadelphia in large numbers 

around the turn of the twentieth century. 

Photo published in An Illustrated 

Handbook of the Industrial Exhibit, 

Philadelphia, December 1906. 

PHILADELPHIA EPHEMERA COLLECTION, 


The tradition of “outwork” also continued 

in the Philadelphia textile industry in this 

period, even as factories proliferated. Much 

sewing was done in homes or small workshops 

by individuals working singly or in 

small groups, often laboring on a piecework 

basis under arrangements with textile merchants 

and factory men. South Philadelphia, 

particularly the area just south of Center 

City along the Delaware River wards, was an 

important center of this activity, with most 

of the work being done by the Jewish and 

eastern and southern European immigrants 

who were pouring into this section of the 

city at the turn of the century. This area was 

home to the infamous “sweatshops”—spaces 

where men, women, and children huddled 

together working long hours under onerous 

conditions, piecing together clothing and 

fabric products for very little compensation. 

OTHER 

INDUSTRIES 

The iron and steel industry was a close 

second to textiles in terms of size and scope 

of operations in Philadelphia in this period. 

The city’s massive locomotive works and 

shipyards, along with its many iron foundries 

and machine shops, employed many tens of 

thousands of workers. It was in one such local 

iron foundry that one of Philadelphia’s most 

prominent monuments was produced in the 

late nineteenth century: The William Penn 

statue on top of City Hall, the largest statue 

atop a building in the world, was built at 

the Tacony Iron Works and installed in 

1894. Philadelphia manufacturers were either 

the largest or among the largest in the world 

It is impossible in a brief history such as 

this to note every important Philadelphia 

manufacturer of the late nineteenth and early 

twentieth century; there are simply too many. 

But no history of Philadelphia manufacturing 

would be complete without highlighting, 

however briefly, the handful of firms that 

loomed especially large during the period 

of the city’s greatest industrial prominence: 

Cramp Shipyard, Baldwin Locomotive, 

Stetson Hat, Midvale Steel, Disston Saw, 

Bromley Carpet & Lace, Brill Streetcars, and 

Foerderer Leather. Other companies could 

certainly be added to this list (and new 

Philadelphia manufacturers would emerge as 

world leaders later in the twentieth century), 

but these eight firms stand out in 

Philadelphia lore as the city’s greatest, most 

iconic industrial institutions during the 

height of its manufacturing prowess. 

With one exception, each of these companies 

was founded in the early to midnineteenth 

century (the exception, Foerderer 

Leather, was established in 1892) by an 

enterprising individual, who, through hard 

work and creative entrepreneurship, not to 

mention fortunate timing, built it into one of 

the largest firms of its kind in the world. 

These companies made their products well 

and in quantities and at prices the market 

favored. They anchored their respective 

neighborhoods for decades and gave employment 

to generations of local residents. Many 

of the companies sponsored sports teams, 

orchestras, and other social activities for their 

workers, while their owners played key roles 

in Philadelphia business and civic affairs. 

(Some would argue that the owners were 

robber barons who made enormous profits 


66

through exploitation of their workers. This 

may have been true in some cases, but it is 

also true that owners such as Henry Disston 

and John Stetson genuinely cared about 

their workers and took a benevolent, if 

paternalistic, approach in providing for 

them.) Taken together, the stories of these 

companies trace the industrial growth of 

Philadelphia in its manufacturing heyday, 

the pivotal late-nineteenth/early-twentieth 

century Workshop of the World period. 

DISSTON, CRAMP, 

AND BALDWIN 

Brief profiles of Disston Saw, Cramp 

Shipyard, and Baldwin Locomotive have 

already been presented. Each had grown 

very large by the early twentieth century. 

Cramp, benefiting from government and 

private contracts and employing at times 

over 6,000 workers, had made some 530 ships 

by the mid-1920s, ranging from massive 

ocean liners and battleships to tugboats 

and barges. Baldwin’s workforce exceeded 

18,000 in the early twentieth century and 

it was producing over 2,500 locomotives a 

year (although it began moving out of 

Philadelphia at this time). Disston began 

making the first crucible steel saws in the 

United States in 1855 and in the 1870s 

the growing company began moving from 

Northern Liberties to a sprawling complex 

on the Delaware River in Tacony. By the early 

1910s Disston employed some 4,000 workers 

who were turning out nine million saws 

and 360,000 files annually. 

@ 

Above: Detail from Philadelphia and 

Notable Philadelphians by Moses King, 

1902, with profiles of three of the city’s leading 

industrialists: Matthias Baldwin, William 

Cramp, and Henry Disston (1819-1878). 

Below: Working on circular saw blades at 

Disston Saw Works, undated early twentieth 

century photo. 

DISSTON FACTORY PHOTO ALBUM, HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

OF TACONY. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

67

@ 

Above: Finishing soft hats at the Stetson Hat 

factory in Kensington, c. 1910. 



Below: Stetson employee Anne Alexander 

wears the company’s famous ten-gallon 

“Boss of the Plains” cowboy hat and shows 

off other model Stetson hats in 1940. Stetson 

made a variety of hats, but was especially 

famous for its signature cowboy hat. 

PHILADELPHIA RECORD PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 


STETSON 

HAT 

John B. Stetson (1830-1906) was born 

into a family of hatmakers in New Jersey. 

During a youthful sojourn in the American 

West, he noticed the poor quality of the 

coonskin caps and other headwear in use 

there and thought that a well-made felt hat 

might be better suited for the environment. 

Upon returning home, he rented a room 

and in 1865 started a small hat making operation 

in Philadelphia, focusing eventually on 

making fine-quality felt hats for the western 

market. The business prospered and in the 

early 1870s Stetson moved to Fourth Street 

and Montgomery Avenue in Kensington, 

where he built a factory that grew into a 

huge twenty-five building complex. Stetson 

employed as many as 5,400 workers at a 

time and became the largest hat maker in 

the world. 

Stetson made all kinds of hats—straw 

boaters, derbies, military headwear—but was 

particularly famous for the quintessential 

cowboy hat that John Stetson himself 

invented. Known as the “Boss of the Plains,” 

the hat was worn throughout the American 

West and seen in countless cowboy movies. 

Stetson was in business in Philadelphia 

for over ninety years before leaving the city 

in 1971. 

MIDVALE 

STEEL 

Midvale Steel was founded by William 

Butcher, an Englishman from Britain’s 

famed Sheffield steel district, who came to 

Philadelphia in the mid-1860s to set up a 

company to manufacture steel wheels and 

tracks for railroads. With support from local 

investors, he established the William Butcher 

Steel Works in 1867 in North Philadelphia’s 

Nicetown neighborhood. The company had 


68

@ 

Left: Yard locomotives at Midvale Steel, 

c. 1900. The locomotives were purchased 

from Baldwin. 




difficulties early on and in 1872 was acquired 

by William Sellers, who renamed it Midvale 

Steel (supposedly because it was situated 

midway between the Delaware and Schuylkill 

Rivers). Midvale went through a number of 

owners and company reorganizations over 

the years, but its Nicetown plant operated 

continuously until closing in 1976. At its 

height in the late 1910s Midvale employed 

over 7,300 workers. 

While Midvale made steel for many 

applications, military contracts were a big 

part of its business. The company made 

armaments for both the Army and the Navy 

for most of its history, with great peaks of 

activity during World Wars I and II, during 

which periods it was one of the nation’s 

largest military contractors. Midvale made 

some four million rifle barrels for the War 

Department during World War I, for example. 

Between the wars, Midvale developed 

a specialty in making body parts for the 

growing automobile industry. 

Midvale is also significant for two other 

reasons: employing African Americans and 

women in the late nineteenth/early twentieth 

century when few other major Philadelphia 

manufacturers were doing so and being 

the company where Frederick Winslow 

Taylor developed “scientific management” in 

the 1880s. Taylor was a Midvale employee 

who worked his way up through the ranks 

while focusing particularly on improving efficiency 

in manufacturing processes. His time 

and motion studies of worker tasks became 

well-known and his efficiency methods 

adopted by industries nationwide, much to 

the consternation of workers and their 

unions, who detested them. 

Below: African American workers at 

the Midvale plant, c. 1900. Midvale was 

one of the very few large Philadelphia 

manufacturing firms to employ blacks in the 

early twentieth century. 




CHAPTER FOUR 

69

@ 

Clockwise, starting from above: 

John Bromley (1800-1883), a Quaker 

weaver who emigrated from England in 

1840, became patriarch of a Philadelphia 

family textile dynasty that lasted almost 

150 years. 


BROMLEY CARPET & LACE 

John Bromley was born in England in 

1800 into a Quaker family of weavers. He 

immigrated to Philadelphia in 1840 and 

after a failed spinning mill venture began 

hand weaving ingrain carpets on a single loom 

in 1845. Thus began a family textile empire 

that would grow to encompass a number of 

factories and businesses, based mostly in 

Kensington, that made carpet, curtains, and 

lace for almost 150 years. John Bromley built 

his first carpet mill at Front, Jasper, and York 

Streets in 1860. This was followed in 1868 

by a carpet mill built across the street by 

his three eldest sons, who (in an amiable 

arrangement with their father) had formed 

their own company, Bromley Brothers. Then, 

in 1887 John Bromley & Sons (a separate 

business from Bromley Brothers) built a massive 

mill on Lehigh Avenue, just west of 

Kensington Avenue, for making curtains, lace, 

and carpet. In describing this building, The 

City of Philadelphia as it Appears in the Year 

1894 noted that “Few industrial processes 

among the thousands of factories in this busy 

city afford the favored visitor…so much to 

admire as those incident to the making of 

[Bromley’s] artistic chenille and lace curtains.” 

The Bromley carpet and lace factories were 

Views of John Bromley & Sons’ two carpet 

mills in Kensington. 

The original 1860 mill at Front and 

York Streets as it appeared c. 1875. 



The huge 1887 mill on Lehigh Avenue near 

Kensington Avenue as it appeared in 1979. 

PHILADELPHIA EVENING BULLETIN COLLECTION, 

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 

RESEARCH CENTER. 


70

among the largest in the world at this time, 

employing a total of 2,800 workers. 

In 1894 John Bromley’s son Joseph purchased 

a mill at Fourth Street and Lehigh 

Avenue that he enlarged and converted to 

lace making. This became the Quaker Lace 

Company, another longtime Kensington 

institution (and the mill whose tower served 

as the vantage point for the description of the 

Kensington manufacturing district quoted 

above). When Joseph Bromley’s grandson 

closed the Quaker Lace factory in 1992 it 

marked the end of 147 years of the Bromley 

family textile business in Philadelphia. 

BRILL 

STREETCARS 

local transportation companies. It built 1,500 

streetcars for the Philadelphia Rapid Transit 

Company over a two-year period beginning 

in 1911, at times delivering over 100 cars per 

month on the project. Another local order was 

for a fleet of Bullet cars in 1930 that remained 

in service on a Philadelphia-area high-speed 

line until 1990. Brill acquired other rail car 

manufacturers over the years and had a 

number of plants throughout the nation in 

addition to its Philadelphia headquarters. The 

latter facility switched in the 1940s from 

making steel-wheeled rail cars to production of 

rubber-tired buses, but this business declined 

in the 1950s and the plant closed in 1954. 

@ 

Above: Aerial view of the J. G. Brill 

Company at Sixty-second Street and 

Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia 

in 1927. Founded in 1868, the company 

operated here from 1890 to 1954, producing 

over 30,000 streetcars and other vehicles. 



Below: Rail cars being made at 

J. G. Brill Company for Philadelphia’s 

Market-Frankford elevated train 

(the “Frankford El”) in 1927. 



The J. G. Brill Company was founded by 

German immigrant Johann Georg Brill 

(1817-1888) and his son George as a horse 

car company in 1868. The firm was originally 

located at Thirty-first and Chestnut Streets 

in West Philadelphia, but as it transitioned 

into the manufacture of electric streetcars in 

the late nineteenth century it needed more 

space and in 1890 the company moved to 

a larger facility at Sixty-second Street and 

Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. 

Here, J. G. Brill developed into the world’s 

leading street and rail car manufacturer, 

employing as many as 3,000 workers who 

over the course of sixty-four years produced 

over 30,000 vehicles at the plant. 

J. G. Brill shipped its rail cars all over 

the world but was also a major provider for 

CHAPTER FOUR 

71

@ 

Above: Foerderer leather plant, located 

along the Pennsylvania Railroad near 

Frankford, as surveyed in 1895. At this 

time the company employed about 1,500 

workers who made Foerderer’s famous 

Vici Kid leather products. It later grew to 

some 5,000 employees. 



FOERDERER 

LEATHER 

Robert Foerderer (1860-1903) served an 

apprenticeship in the Philadelphia leather 

works of his father, a German immigrant from 

a long line of leather craftsmen, before opening 

his own shop. After much experimentation, 

Foerderer developed a new method for 

tanning kidskin leather and proudly named 

his product Vici Kid (“Vici” is Latin for “I 

conquered”). By 1890 Foerderer was operating 

a leather factory with 100 workers on 

Frankford Creek near the neighborhood of 

Frankford. In 1892 he opened a much larger 

Right and below: Workers at Foerderer 

Leather in 1920. At right is the un-hairing 

and trimming department; below is the 

lime house. 




72

factory nearby. This became the largest leather 

plant in the world, employing up to 5,000 

workers and processing over nine million skins 

a year. The company made shoes, gloves, and 

leather accessories from Foerderer’s famously 

soft and supple kid leather. Robert Foerderer 

died in 1903 at the age of forty-three, while in 

his first term as a U.S. Congressman. His son 

Percival took over management of the company 

and operated it for thirty-some years until 

closing it in 1937 during the Great Depression. 

THE 

WORKFORCE 

The lives of the foregoing Philadelphia 

captains of industry are enshrined in history, 

but what of the workers who labored in 

their factories and made their products, who 

were they? It is difficult to generalize about 

a workforce that at the turn of the twentieth 

century numbered over a quarter of a million 

workers employed in thousands of establishments 

across the city. However, some general 

characteristics of the Philadelphia manufacturing 

workforce in this period are 

discernible. The first is that it was mostly 

native-born as opposed to immigrant. While 

other cities attracted huge numbers of 

unskilled immigrant workers who took all 

manner of menial manufacturing jobs, such 

workers were a minority in Philadelphia. 

The city never received the massive numbers 

of immigrants that New York City did, but 

the main determining factor was the nature of 

Philadelphia’s manufacturing environment: 

the specialty companies that dominated the 

city’s industrial sector employed primarily 

highly-skilled workers, offering the kind of 

jobs that were more likely to be learned 

over generations and passed down through 

families than made available to unskilled 

new arrivals. Many of the latter could not 

find employment in Philadelphia and 

moved on to work in the coal mines, railroads, 

and steel mills of northeastern and 

western Pennsylvania. The Jewish and Italian 

immigrants who made up a large percentage 

of Philadelphia’s early twentieth-century new 

arrivals are an exception; many of them 

settled in the city and did textile outwork or 

labored in the sweatshops of Old City and 

the riverwards of South Philadelphia. 

@ 

Above: Disston workers, undated late 

nineteenth-century photo. Disston employed 

mostly English workers in this period, a 

reflection of both founder Henry Disston’s 

heritage and the strong tradition of English 

metal working. The company workforce 

became more diverse in the twentieth century. 

DISSTON COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF TACONY. 

Below: Female workers at Artcraft 

Silk Hosiery Company in the Juniata 

neighborhood near Frankford, 1930. 

Running textile machinery was a common 

job for women in this period. 



CHAPTER FOUR 

73

@ 

This page: Female workers at the 

Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1918. 

Wartime conditions created employment 

opportunities for women in jobs that had 

been traditionally held by men. 

PHILADELPHIA RECORD PHOTO COLLECTION, 


Certain Philadelphia companies were 

known for employing specific nationalities. 

Henry Disston preferred workers of English 

descent, for example, while it was mostly 

Polish workers who labored in the noxious 

tanning pits of Foerderer Leather. Breweries 

often employed Germans, while Irish 

Catholics constituted a major part of the 

workforce in the Kensington textile mills. 

Certain types of jobs were also traditionally 

reserved for women, particularly in the textile, 

garment, and hat making industries. “No 

female that can handle a needle need be idle 

[in Philadelphia],” a young immigrant Irish 

woman wrote from Philadelphia to friends 

back home in 1851, and this was still the 

case a half century later. Light industrial work 

such as assembling parts and tending textile 

machinery were also common jobs for women. 

Philadelphia’s manufacturing workforce 

was also overwhelmingly white in the early 

twentieth century. With some notable exceptions, 

African Americans were shut out of 

manufacturing jobs in Philadelphia in this 

period. Companies such as Baldwin, Cramp, 

Sellers, and Bromley’s Quaker Lace, with tens 

of thousands of workers between them, had 

virtually no black employees prior to the 

1930s. Others such as J. G. Brill, General 

Electric, and Smith, Kline, & French, had 

only a handful of black workers among 

their thousands of employees. Companies 

that did hire African Americans included 

Atlantic Refining, Franklin Sugar, Disston, 

and, most notably, Midvale Steel. Midvale 

began hiring blacks in the late 1890s through 

an initiative of Frederick Winslow Taylor and 

had several thousand African Americans on 

the payroll by 1917. 

Wartime conditions changed things significantly, 

as employers broadened their hiring 

practices to fill labor shortages caused by 

their mostly white male workers leaving 

by the thousands for military service. 

Philadelphia manufacturers hired increasing 

numbers of African Americans and women 

during World Wars I and II. In some cases, 

the new workers were let go when the 

original workers returned, but in other 

instances wartime opportunities did lead to 

longer term work for these often underemployed 

segments of the workforce. 

Children continued to make up a large 

part of the workforce into the early twentieth 

century, although efforts to abolish abusive 

child labor practices were gaining steam. 

One of the chief advocates on behalf of the 

young workers was the Irish immigrant labor 

activist Mary Harris Jones, better known 

as “Mother Jones.” In her autobiography 


74

she writes of the sad circumstances of child 

laborers in Philadelphia: 

In the spring of 1903 I went to Kensington 

…where seventy-five thousand textile workers 

were on strike. Of this number at least ten 

thousand were little children. The workers 

were striking for more pay and shorter hours. 

Every day little children came into Union 

Headquarters, some with their hands off, 

some with the thumb missing, some with 

their fingers off at the knuckle. They were 

stooped things, round shouldered and skinny. 

Many of them were not over ten years of 

age, the state law prohibited their working 

before they were twelve years of age. The law 

was poorly enforced and the mothers of 

these children often swore falsely as to their 

children’s age. In a single block in Kensington, 

fourteen women, mothers of twenty-two 

children all under twelve, explained it was 

a question of starvation or perjury. That the 

fathers had been killed or maimed at the 

mines. I asked the newspaper men why they 

didn’t publish the facts about child labor in 

Pennsylvania. They said they couldn’t because 

the mill owners had stock in the papers. 

THE LABOR MOVEMENT 

Mother Jones was also active in the Knights 

of Labor, the first national industrial union 

in the United States. The Knights began as a 

secret society of tailors in Philadelphia in 1869 

and by the 1880s had grown to a nationwide 

labor organization with over 750,000 members. 

The Knights had a strong presence in 

Philadelphia; among other local activities they 

organized a successful shoemakers strike and 

struck in sympathy with female carpet makers 

in 1884. However, while Philadelphia was the 

site of important developments in the labor 

movement earlier in the nineteenth century, 

and unions would later have a major impact 

on city industries beginning in the late 1930s, 

organized labor had a relatively low profile in 

Philadelphia in the early years of the twentieth 

century, particularly when compared to other 

large industrial cities such as Chicago and 

Pittsburgh. It is estimated that only about ten 

percent of the city’s industrial workers were 

represented by unions prior to the 1930s. 

Here again, it was largely a function of 

the nature of manufacturing work in the city 

at this time: Philadelphia’s highly-skilled, 

specialized workforce was, for the most part, 

well-paid and less inclined to join unions. 

Also, several of the city’s major industrialists, 

such as Henry Disston and John Stetson, 

offered generous benefits to their employees, 

no doubt out of concern for their workers’ 

welfare, but also with an eye to keeping 

unions out of their shops. 

Labor did try to organize in Philadelphia in 

the early twentieth century and some unions 

were successful in representing workers in certain 

industries. Some 2,000 Philadelphia custom 

upholstering and drapery weavers formed 

a union that was effective in advocating for 

their interests. On the other hand, the Metal 

Manufacturers Association of Philadelphia, 

a trade group established in 1904 by the 

city’s metal and machine industrialists, was 

successful in dismantling the local Iron 

Moulders’ Union, which at one point had 

represented over ninety percent of the workers 

in Philadelphia’s casting foundries. In the 

ebb and flow of power between labor and 

management in Philadelphia, management 

definitely held the upper hand in the early 

twentieth-century. It was not until the 1930s 

and 1940s that unions would begin to assume 

a more powerful role. 

@ 

Striking workers at J. G. Brill Company 

in Southwest Philadelphia, March 1941. 



CHAPTER FOUR 

75

@ 

Frankford Arsenal in Bridesburg, 1970s 

aerial view. Opened in 1816 on twenty 

acres, the Frankford Arsenal eventually 

expanded to almost 100 acres and at times 

employed as many as 22,000 workers. 

It closed in 1977. In this photo, the Arsenal 

is framed by Frankford Creek and the 

Delaware River on the right, Interstate 95 

on the left, and Bridge Street running 

from left to lower right in the foreground. 

Adjacent to the Arsenal are two chemical 

companies: Allied Chemical, whose 

smokestacks are visible at lower left, and 

Rohm & Haas, located across Frankford 

Creek on the right. 

HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD, 


NATIONAL COMPANIES 

AND FEDERAL FACILITIES 

In addition to homegrown firms, 

Philadelphia hosted the manufacturing 

operations of several national companies 

beginning in the early twentieth century. 

General Electric had a major presence in 

Philadelphia for almost a century, while its 

main competitor, Westinghouse, had plants 

just outside the city. GE built the Electric 

Switchgear Building on North Seventh Street 

in Callowhill in 1916 to make electrical 

transmission equipment. Then in the early 

1920s it built a huge plant at Sixty-eighth and 

Elmwood Streets in Southwest Philadelphia. 

At the latter facility GE employed up to 7,000 

workers who made high-voltage switching 

and circuit breaker devices from 1924 until 

the plant closed in 2002. 

The GE plants were part of an important 

new development in manufacturing in the 

early twentieth century: the shift from steam 

to electric power. Just as the introduction of 

the high-powered steam engine had revolutionized 

manufacturing in the early nineteenth 

century, so too would the availability a century 

later of electric power transmitted by wire from 

remote power stations. Many Philadelphia 

industries converted to electric power in this 

period, often using equipment manufactured 

in the city. 

In the paint business, the DuPont Company 

took over the Harrison Brothers factory on 

the Schuylkill River in Grays Ferry in 1917 

and operated a research and development 

plant on the site until closing it in 2009. The 

entire Schuylkill River area from University 

City south to where the Schuylkill empties 

into the Delaware River was home to a 

concentration of chemical firms and oil 

refineries through the twentieth century. 

Some of these industries continue to operate 

on the lower Schuylkill to this day. 

Philadelphia’s two arsenals, Frankford 

and Schuylkill, continued operating at their 

original locations into the late twentieth 

century, but the Navy Yard had outgrown its 

Southwark facility by the end of the Civil War. 

In 1868 the federal government purchased 

League Island from the City of Philadelphia, 

an 800-acre island at the confluence of the 


76

@ 

Clockwise, starting from the top: 

This c. 1905 photo shows one of the dry 

docks under construction at the Philadelphia 

Navy Yard at League Island at the southern 

edge of the city. The U.S. Navy moved to 

League Island in 1876 and built ships, 

aircraft, and other equipment there until it 

decommissioned the Navy Yard in 1996. 



Another Delaware River island at the 

southern tip of Philadelphia, Hog Island, also 

figured prominently during World War I. 

Hog Island was taken over by the federal 

government in 1917 for conversion to a 

military vessel assembly complex for the 

War. Construction of the facility began in 

December 1917 and was completed in spring 

1918, by which time Hog Island employed 

over 35,000 workers and was the largest 

shipyard in the world. Vessels were assembled 

rather than constructed at the facility; their 

components were manufactured elsewhere 

and put together at Hog Island. The huge 

facility was short-lived, however. World War I 

The Navy also operated an aircraft 

factory at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. 

Here male and female employees work on 

the undercarriage of an aircraft bomber 

in 1942. 



A National Guardsman stands on 

duty at the gate to the Schuylkill Arsenal 

in Grays Ferry in this undated early 

twentieth-century photo. Founded in 1799 

and renamed the Quartermaster Corps 

Philadelphia Depot in 1926, the Schuylkill 

Arsenal made military clothing and textiles 

for over 150 years before closing in 

the 1960s. 

PHILADELPHIA WAR PHOTOGRAPH COMMITTEE 

COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers at the southern 

tip of the city, for conversion to a new 

navy yard. By 1876 the move to the new 

facility was complete and the Southwark 

yard was closed. A series of dry docks were 

built beginning in 1891 at the new facility, 

which focused primarily on reconditioning or 

scrapping existing vessels until World War I, 

when it began an active program of building 

new ships. During the latter period, the 

Navy’s first and only propeller manufacturing 

facility was built at the Navy Yard. Ship 

building continues on the site, but League 

Island as a separate land mass has long since 

disappeared, the area having been filled in 

over time and connected to the mainland. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

77

@ 

Above: Early twentieth-century map of 

the various shipbuilding facilities on the 

Delaware River in the greater Philadelphia 

area. Within the city itself, the major 

facilities were Hog Island, the Navy Yard, 

and Cramp Shipyard. Also shown are 

shipbuilding centers above and below the 

city in Wilmington, Delaware; in Bristol 

and Chester, Pennsylvania; and across the 

river in Camden, New Jersey. 

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SHIPBUILDING COLLECTION, 


Below: This 1866 print shows the new 

Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company 

facility that was established that year on the 

Schuylkill River in Point Breeze. This was 

the beginning of an oil refining tradition on 

the lower Schuylkill River in Southwest 

Philadelphia that continues to this day. 



ended just a few months after its construction 

had been completed and the yard was closed 

in 1921, having built 122 ships in three years. 

Hog Island, like League Island, no longer 

exists. The entire area was filled in and is now 

occupied by Philadelphia International Airport. 

Its legacy lives on in another Philadelphia way, 

however: “hoggie,” the nickname for the lunch 

meat sandwich on an Italian roll that many 

Hog Island workers packed for lunch, is said 

to be the source for the name of the ubiquitous 

Philadelphia “hoagie” sandwich. 

OIL 

The area at the confluence of the Delaware 

and Schuylkill Rivers has also long been a 

center of oil refining. The Atlantic Refining 

Company was established in 1866 on the 

Schuylkill River in the Point Breeze section of 

Southwest Philadelphia. By 1882 it was one of 

the largest refineries in America, employing 

almost 3,000 workers and producing 100 

million barrels of refined oil a year. This was 

mostly kerosene lamp oil, as this era was prior 

to the advent of the automobile. The Atlantic 

refinery was acquired by John D. Rockefeller 

and was part of his Standard Oil empire from 

1874 until 1911, when it became independent 

again after Standard was broken up as a result 

of anti-trust legislation. Gulf Oil opened a 

refinery in 1920 on the Schuylkill River at 

Girard Point, just below Atlantic’s facility. 

By 1927 Gulf was refining 1.3 million gallons 

a day. Both companies would go through 

various ownership changes and mergers over 

the years, but their facilities have remained 

major producers of oil to this day. 


78

BEER AND TOBACCO 

Beer making continued to be an important 

part of Philadelphia manufacturing in the 

late nineteenth and early twentieth century. 

The journal Western Brewer reported in 1879 

that Philadelphia was home to nearly 100 

breweries. Many were small local brewers, 

but several were major producers. After Engel 

& Wolf’s Fountain Green brewery on the 

Schuylkill River was closed in 1870 as part of 

the effort to protect the city’s water supply, 

Charles Engel joined Charles Bergner in 

Brewerytown. By 1878 Bergner & Engel was 

the nation’s third largest brewer. The beer 

industry began consolidating around the 

turn of the twentieth century, resulting in 

fewer, larger breweries producing more beer. 

By 1909 there were forty-eight breweries in 

Philadelphia and beer making was the city’s 

fourteenth largest industry in terms of value 

of products. 

The two breweries that would dominate 

Philadelphia in the twentieth century, Schmidt’s 

and Ortlieb’s, came into prominence in the 

late nineteenth century. Both were founded by 

German immigrants, were located in Northern 

Liberties, and remained family-owned for 

several generations. Christian Schmidt took 

over management of an existing brewery at 

Second Street and Girard Avenue in 1860 and 

built it into a major producer. His sons later 

joined the firm, which as C. Schmidt & Sons 

became Philadelphia’s largest brewery. It 

remained a family-owned company until 

1976. Trupert Ortlieb began brewing in 

Philadelphia after his service in the Civil War. 

In 1879 he purchased an existing brewery 

at Third and Poplar Streets and renamed it 

Victory Brewery. It later became Henry F. 

Ortlieb Brewing Company after his sons and 

grandsons joined the firm. Like Schmidt’s, 

Ortlieb’s was a longtime Philadelphia favorite 

and remained family-owned until 1981. 

Although both companies became national 

brands, they proudly displayed their local 

roots, advertising themselves at various times 

as “Schmidt’s Of Philadelphia” and “Ortlieb’s, 

Philadelphia’s Famous Beer.” 

@ 

Top and bottom, left: Two views, some 

fifty years apart, of Schmidt’s beer delivery 

methods from its brewery at Second Street 

and Girard Avenue in Northern Liberties. 

Top: horse-drawn carriages in 1881; 

bottom, left: trucks in 1930. 

BOTH IMAGES FROM THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF 

PENNSYLVANIA: 1881 VIEW PUBLISHED IN 

THE WESTERN BREWER ILLUSTRATED, JANUARY 1881 

SUPPLEMENT; 1930 VIEW FROM C. SCHMIDT & SONS 

BREWERY PHOTOGRAPHS COLLECTION. 

Below: An Ortlieb’s beer coaster, 

date unknown, probably mid-twentieth 

century. For a time, Ortlieb’s billed itself 

as “Philadelphia’s Famous Beer,” while 

Schmidt’s was “Schmidt’s of Philadelphia.” 

IMAGE RETRIEVED ONLINE, 2015. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

79

@ 

Above: This c. 1870 advertisement promotes 

“Sweet Scented Smoking Tobacco. Also, All 

Kinds of Tobacco and Segars, manufactured 

and sold by Frishmuth, Bro. & Co.,” located 

on North Third Street near Race Street in 

Old City. Philadelphia had several hundred 

makers of tobacco products, mostly cigars, 

at the turn of the twentieth century. 



Below: Undated view, probably late 

nineteenth-century, of the loading docks of 

the Pennsylvania Sugar Refining Company 

on the Delaware River in Fishtown. Later 

named the Jack Frost refinery and popularly 

known as the “Sugar House,” the site is now 

home to Sugar House Casino. 

SOCIETY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 


Cigar making was another important 

industry in turn of the century Philadelphia. 

There were 496 manufacturers of tobacco 

products in the city in 1909, most of them 

cigar makers located in Southwark and 

Northern Liberties. Women made up the 

majority of their workforces: Philadelphia’s 

cigar factories employed 4,300 women in 1915, 

over double the number of men. Many African 

Americans and early Latino immigrants to the 

city worked in this industry also. Notable 

among Philadelphia cigar makers at this time 

was Bayuk Brothers, founded in 1896. In 1910 

Bayuk Brothers introduced the Philadelphia 

Hand Made Perfecto cigar, popularly known 

as the “Phillies” cigar, which became a longtime 

well-known national brand. 

SUGAR AND SWEETS 

Sugar refining began in Philadelphia in 

the late eighteenth century and by the midnineteenth 

century the city had a dozen 

refineries. Franklin Sugar Refining Company 

was established in 1864 on Vine Street, but 

later moved to Delaware Avenue and 

Bainbridge Street in South Philadelphia. It 

became the largest refinery in America at 

one point, processing ninety percent of the 

nation’s sugar. Like the beer industry, sugar 

refining consolidated at the turn of the 

twentieth century and by 1912 there were 

only four active refineries in the city. 

Philadelphia was the second largest sugar 

refining city in the nation at this time and 

sugar refining was the city’s fourth largest 

industry overall. In another parallel with the 

beer industry, two major refineries would 

survive industry contractions and continue 

operating into the late twentieth century: 

Jack Frost in Fishtown (known to locals at the 

“Sugar House”), which was founded in 1868 

and operated for most of its history as the 

Pennsylvania Sugar Company, and Amstar 

in South Philadelphia, successor to Franklin 

Sugar, which operated for a number of years 

as Domino Sugar. Amstar had grown out of 

a huge sugar refining conglomerate known as 

the Sugar Trust that was founded by a New 

York investor in the 1880s. The trust purchased 

Franklin Sugar and several other local 

refineries (but not Jack Frost) in the 1890s. 

Philadelphia’s sugar refineries supplied 

the city’s many confectioners. There were 117 

manufacturers of chocolates and candies in 

Philadelphia at the turn of the twentieth 

century. Stephen Whitman opened a confectionery 

shop in 1842 that eventually 

grew into Whitman’s Chocolates, pioneer of 

prepackaged candy and makers of the famous 

Whitman’s Sampler. The company remained 

in Philadelphia for over 150 years before 

closing its Northeast Philadelphia plant in 

1993 after having been purchased by Russell 

Stover Candies. Romanian immigrant David 

Goldenberg began his candy company in 

1890 and, among other products, created 

the popular Peanut Chews candy in 1917 as 

a World War I ration. Goldenberg Candy 

Company was acquired by a larger company 

in 2003 but is still making Peanut Chews 

at its Northeast Philadelphia factory. Other 

popular candies that were produced in 

Philadelphia in the early twentieth century 

include Good & Plenty, Raisinets, Goobers, 

and Sno-Caps, the latter three made by 

Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company, which 

operated in Frankford from 1911 to 1984. 

One candy maker who did not succeed 

in Philadelphia was Milton Hershey. Hershey 

opened a confectionery business at 935 Spring 

Garden Street in 1876, hoping to cash in on 

business from the Centennial. The company 

went bankrupt in 1882, however, and Hershey 

eventually moved to central Pennsylvania, 

where he founded his famous company town 

and hugely successful chocolate empire. 


80

MILK AND ICE CREAM 

Like any major city, Philadelphia had a 

number of dairies that processed and sold 

milk to local residents. The two best-known 

were Abbotts and Harbisons, both of which 

operated for over 100 years and were bought 

out by larger companies in the latter part 

of the twentieth century. Abbotts was in business 

from 1876 to 1984 in several locations 

before it consolidated operations in South 

Philadelphia in 1964. Harbison’s was in 

business from 1865 to the mid-1960s, most 

of that time in East Kensington. The rusting 

Harbisons milk bottle atop the company’s 

former Kensington factory still looms large 

over the neighborhood, a familiar sight to 

the thousands of daily riders on the Frankford 

El that runs close by the site. Like the 

Sparks Shot Tower in South Philadelphia, the 

Harbisons milk bottle serves as a prominent 

physical relic of an important period in 

Philadelphia manufacturing history. 

Philadelphia was known in particular for 

its ice cream makers. Breyer’s started with 

William Breyer making ice cream in 1866 and 

later opening a store in Kensington in 1882. 

After several moves the company built a large 

plant in 1924 at Forty-third and Woodland 

Avenue in West Philadelphia, where it employed 

some 500 workers by the early 1930s. Breyer’s 

changed hands several times, eventually being 

acquired by food giant Unilever, which closed 

the Philadelphia plant in 1995. 

Bassett Ice Cream, another Philadelphia 

favorite, has been making ice cream for over 

150 years and is still serving customers at 

its nineteenth-century counter in the city’s 

bustling Reading Terminal Market. Bassett is 

considered America’s oldest ice cream company. 

Lewis Bassett began making ice cream at 

his Salem, New Jersey, farm in 1861. When 

Reading Terminal Market opened in downtown 

Philadelphia in 1892 Bassett moved 

production to the basement of the building 

and opened a retail store in the market above. 

The company moved its production facilities 

out of Reading Terminal to the Fairmount 

neighborhood in 1973 and then out of 

Philadelphia to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 

in the 1980s, but it remains a Philadelphia 

family-run firm through five generations. 

RADIOS 

Philadelphia had two major radio manufacturers 

in the early twentieth century: Atwater 

Kent and Philco. (A third, RCA, had a plant 

just across the river in Camden, New Jersey.) 

Both benefited from radio’s enormous rise in 

popularity in the 1920s. Atwater Kent (1873- 

1949) began making small electrical devices as 

a young man in the 1890s. He founded a company 

in Philadelphia in 1902 to make electrical 

components for automobiles and in the early 

1920s began focusing on high-end radios. In 

1923 he built a large plant at Abbottsford and 

@ 

Above: Spreckles’ Sugar Refinery on the 

Delaware River at Reed Street in South 

Philadelphia. Spreckles was one of several 

large refineries that operated along the 

river in Philadelphia in the nineteenth and 

twentieth centuries. 


Bottom, left: The former Harbison Dairy 

plant in Kensington, with the iconic milk 

bottle-shaped water tower that has been a 

neighborhood landmark since its installation 

in the 1910s. 


Bottom, right: The Bassett Ice Cream 

counter in Reading Terminal Market, where 

the company has sold ice cream since 1893. 

For many years, Bassett made its ice cream 

in the basement of the building. 

PHOTO BY JARED KOFSKY/PLACENJ.COM, 2011, 

WIKIPEDIA COMMONS. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

81

including Ford Motor Company, beginning in 

the early 1960s and closed its Philadelphia 

operations in 1971. 

SPECIALTY 

COMPANIES 

@ 

Above: Inside the Atwater Kent radio 

factory in Nicetown, early twentieth 

century. Atwater Kent was the largest radio 

manufacturer in the world at this time. 



Bottom, left: Albert Schoenhut poses with 

his sons around 1901. Founded in 1872, 

the toy manufacturing company built a new 

five-story building (not shown) in 1907 in 

Kensington, where it employed some 400 

workers. The company went bankrupt 

during the Great Depression. 



Bottom, right: Loading dock of the S. S. 

White Dental Manufacturing Company in 

downtown Philadelphia, early twentieth 

century. S. S. White had several buildings 

in the downtown area, where it employed 

as many as 500 workers. Founded in 

Philadelphia in 1844, the company is still 

in business, now in New Jersey. 

S. S. WHITE DENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY 

COLLECTION, HAGLEY MUSEUM AND LIBRARY. 

Wissahickon Avenues in Nicetown, adding a 

second even larger building in 1928, by which 

time the company employed over 4,000 workers 

and was the largest radio manufacturer 

in the world. Business problems during the 

Depression led Kent to close the plant in 1936. 

Philco acquired the Atwater Kent facility in 

1937 and manufactured refrigerators there. 

However, Philco was best known at this time 

for its radios, which were made a few miles 

away at its large plant at C and Tioga Streets. 

Founded in 1892, the company was first 

known as Helios Electric Company and then 

Philadelphia Storage Battery Company for a 

number of years before becoming Philco in 

1919. Philco made batteries for radios and 

other applications before focusing on building 

radios in the late 1920s. Its “Baby Grand” 

radio model proved very popular and by the 

late 1930s Philco had assumed the mantle 

from Atwater Kent as the world’s largest radio 

manufacturer. Philco expanded into a wide 

range of consumer electronics and appliances 

in the post-World War II period. It was 

acquired by a series of larger companies, 

In addition to large manufacturers as 

outlined above, Philadelphia continued to be 

known for its many smaller specialty firms in 

the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. 

There were thousands of such firms in the 

city in this period, employing anywhere from 

a few dozen to several hundred workers who 

made high-quality specialized products. 

S. S. White Dental Manufacturing Company 

began with Samuel White making artificial 

teeth in 1844 and by the early twentieth century 

had grown into a multifaceted dental 

instruments company. It had several buildings 

in downtown Philadelphia where it employed 

as many as 500 workers. The company is 

still in business, now in New Jersey. The 

A. Schoenhut Company began with Albert 

Schoenhut making toy pianos in 1872. By the 

time the company occupied a new five-story 

building at Adams and Sepviva Streets in 

Kensington in 1907 it employed some 400 

workers who made all kinds of toys. The 

company went bankrupt in the mid-1930s 

during the Great Depression. 

Although certainly not small, another wellknown 

Philadelphia specialty firm was the 

A. J. Reach Company, founded in the 1880s by 

former professional baseball player Al Reach, 

one of the founders and the first president of 


82

the Philadelphia Phillies. Located on the 1700 

block of Tulip Street in Fishtown, A. J. Reach 

was one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of 

baseballs and sporting goods in the early twentieth 

century. Reach sold the company in 1934 

to the A. G. Spaulding sporting goods firm, 

which closed the Philadelphia plant soon after. 

SIGNS OF DECLINE 

Following a period of intense industrial 

activity through World War I, the beginnings 

of a decline in certain sectors of Philadelphia 

manufacturing could be seen starting in the 

1920s. Even before the onset of the Great 

Depression of the 1930s, several major 

Philadelphia industrial firms had either moved 

out of the city, scaled back operations, or 

gone out of business entirely. The reasons 

were many: a changing business climate with 

increased competition from other parts of 

the nation and world; a growing public 

preference for cheaper mass-produced goods 

rather than finely crafted items, which made it 

difficult for Philadelphia’s renowned specialty 

companies to compete; and longstanding 

labor issues that had grown increasingly divisive 

and costly. While many local companies 

were able to weather these challenges and 

survive into the post-World War II period, 

the beginning of the end of Philadelphia as 

Workshop of the World can be traced to the 1920s. 

The first major blow was the gradual departure, 

starting in 1906, of the city’s largest 

employer, Baldwin Locomotive, to bigger 

quarters in Eddystone, Delaware County, just 

south of the city. The relocation was completed 

by the late 1920s, but by the mid-1930s 

Baldwin was in bankruptcy due to changing 

market conditions and other problems, 

including its initial reluctance to transition 

from steam power to the new diesel locomotive 

technology. The Cramp family also struggled 

at this time with the introduction of new 

technologies into shipbuilding, such as electricity, 

radio communication, and refrigeration. 

Following Charles Cramp’s death in 1913 the 

family sold the business in 1915. The new 

owners soon suffered from the loss of the 

company’s lucrative U.S. Navy business after the 

end of World War I and closed the shipyard 

in 1927. On another front, Prohibition took 

effect in January 1920 and proved a crushing 

blow to Philadelphia’s numerous brewers, 

many of which simply went out of business 

(others survived by bootlegging or making 

“near beer,” a legally allowed brew with very 

low alcohol content). Of course, the Great 

Depression of the 1930s was devastating to 

Philadelphia industries across the board. Quite 

a number of manufacturing firms curtailed or 

ceased operations altogether as a result of the 

worldwide economic disruption at this time. 

WAR- TIME 

REVIVAL 

For those manufacturers that did survive, 

the ramping up of industrial production that 

accompanied the United States’ 1941 entry 

into World War II proved a great boon, 

especially to the companies that were able to 

adapt their processes for military purposes. 

Midvale made bombshell casings, Disston 

made armor plate, Stetson made parachutes, 

and a host of other local manufacturers 

profited from war-time contracts. The Navy 

Yard and Frankford and Schuylkill Arsenals 

were exceptionally busy producing vessels 

and materials for the war effort. The 

Frankford Arsenal employed a workforce of 

some 22,000 and the Navy Yard some 40,000. 

The latter built fifty-three new ships and 

repaired over 500 others during the War. One 

such vessel, the famed battleship New Jersey, 

was launched from the Navy Yard in 1942 and 

went on to become one of the most decorated 

ships in U.S. naval history. It is now a floating 

museum across the river from Philadelphia in 

Camden, New Jersey. Even Cramp’s shipyard, 

shuttered since 1927, re-opened in 1941 and 

built some forty military vessels before closing 

permanently immediately after the War. 

The boom years lasted into the early 1950s, 

after which the bottom began to fall out of 

Philadelphia manufacturing in a big way. 

@ 

The USS New Jersey docked on the 

Delaware River at Camden, New Jersey, 

where it serves as a floating museum. 

Launched from the Philadelphia Navy Yard 

in 1942, the New Jersey is one of the most 

decorated battleships in U.S. Naval history. 

It was decommissioned in 1991. 

PHOTO BY VLADSINGER, 2008, WIKIPEDIA COMMONS. 

CHAPTER FOUR 

83

CHAPTER 

FIVE 

FROM MANUFACTURING POWERHOUSE 

TO POST INDUSTRIAL CITY: 

THE MID-TWENTIETH 

TO EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 

@ 

Aerial view of Midvale Steel plant, 1927. 

Located in Nicetown since its founding in 

1867, there were unsuccessful efforts to 

revive the plant following its closing in 

1976. In the foreground is the tower of 

another major twentieth-century Nicetown 

manufacturer, the Budd Company. 

DALLIN AERIAL SURVEY COLLECTION, HAGLEY MUSEUM 

AND LIBRARY. 

On February 12, 1978, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an interview with Philadelphia City 

Representative and Director of Commerce Joseph LaSala. The interview was a follow-up to a 

talk LaSala had recently given to the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. In both forums LaSala 

urged city leaders not to invest in major efforts to save Philadelphia’s rapidly disappearing 

manufacturing jobs and to accept the fact that the city’s future lay in a service-based economy, not 

an industrial one. “We are wasting a lot of energy and dollars on something that won’t happen. 

The great days of industry are gone,” he said. At the time, government and business leaders were 

exploring possibilities for re-opening the Midvale Steel plant, which had recently closed, resulting 

in the loss of 1,300 jobs. “A great commercial center does not need a steel plant,” LaSala noted, 

“We must free ourselves…from the way we did things in the past. The ways of the past are not 

the ways of the future.” Philadelphia’s future, according to LaSala, lay in fields such as healthcare, 

science, medicine, insurance, and cultural activities. 

While some would disagree with LaSala on the role of manufacturing in Philadelphia, there is 

no denying that he was right on target about the transformation of the city’s economy. Philadelphia 

in the 1970s was in the midst of a sea change, a fundamental shift from an industrial to a service 

economy. Just as the city had evolved in the early nineteenth century from a city of merchants and 

financiers to one of industrialists and manufacturers, it was transforming itself once again a century 


84

and a half later from a city of manufacturers 

to one of service providers. Between 1953 and 

2014 Philadelphia went from 365,600 workers 

engaged in manufacturing, over 45 percent of 

its private sector workforce, to 23,000 workers 

in manufacturing, just over 4 percent of total 

private sector employment—a staggering 

reduction of over 90 percent. While it is 

understandable that city leaders of the 1970s, 

witnessing the loss of one major industry 

after another (100,000 manufacturing jobs 

were lost in the 1970s alone), would want to 

do everything possible to stem the tide, such 

efforts were bound to be futile. Larger economic 

and societal changes were underway at 

this time that would make the transformation 

of Philadelphia’s economy all but inevitable. 

The reasons were many. In general, manufacturing 

in post-World War II America was 

leaving the industrial cities of the Northeast 

and Midwest for the South or abroad, where 

labor and other costs were lower. Manufacturers 

that did stay local often moved to the suburbs 

where they could build new open-floor facilities 

that were better suited to modern industrial 

processes than the older multi-story factories 

of the city. The biggest factor for Philadelphia, 

however, was a fundamental change in consumer 

tastes and patterns of consumption in 

the post-World War II era that directly impacted 

the city’s signature manufacturers. Stetson 

declined when men stopped wearing hats, for 

example, while the city’s extensive tapestry rug 

industry suffered from the growing popularity 

of wall-to-wall carpeting. In particular, the 

emerging demand for cheaper, mass-produced 

standardized goods worked against the many 

Philadelphia specialty manufacturers that 

made high-quality products. Disston’s finely 

crafted saws could not compete in price with 

the cheaper mass-produced tools sold by Sears 

& Roebuck and other retailers, a scenario 

that played out across many Philadelphia 

industries in the late twentieth century. 

Labor issues were a major factor as well. 

Unions had become quite powerful in 

Philadelphia by the mid-twentieth century 

and confrontations with management were 

increasingly common. There were long, bitter 

strikes in the city’s manufacturing sector that 

proved costly to both workers and employers. 

Some companies opted to close or relocate 

rather than cede to union demands. At the 

same time, significant increases in automation 

and industrial efficiencies in the 

late twentieth century meant that it took far 

fewer workers to achieve the same levels of 

production as in earlier periods. Combined, 

these multiple forces would have a profound 

impact on American industry overall and 

on Philadelphia manufacturing in particular. 

A LONG, SLOW 

TRANSFORMATION 

As noted in the previous chapter, the first 

signs of decline in Philadelphia manufacturing 

began to appear in the 1920s and then 

intensified in the depression years of the 

1930s. World War II brought a revival in 

manufacturing, but it was temporary. One 

by one in the post-war period, Philadelphia’s 

great manufacturers fell silent. Some closed 

or moved out of the city soon after the War, 

others lasted into the 1970s and 1980s, and 

a few made it into the 1990s or early 2000s. 

But eventually, they all were gone (with 

the exception of Disston, which continued to 

@ 

Top, left: Demolition of the Stetson Hat 

factory at Fifth Street and Montgomery 

Avenue in Kensington in 1979. Stetson 

made hats at this location for almost 100 

years before it closed the factory in 1971 

and moved out of the city. The company is 

still in business, now in Texas. 

PHILADELPHIA EVENING BULLETIN COLLECTION, 

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 

RESEARCH CENTER. 

Top, right: Demolition of the Baldwin 

Locomotive plant at Broad and Spring 

Garden Streets, 1937. Baldwin was 

among the first of Philadelphia’s major 

manufacturers to leave the city, moving to 

nearby Eddystone, Delaware County, 

beginning in 1906. The move was complete 

by the late 1920s and the Philadelphia plant 

was demolished a decade later. 

PHILADELPHIA RECORD COLLECTION, 


CHAPTER FIVE 

85

@ 

Top, left: Assembly line of passenger rail 

cars at the Budd plant, c. 1940. Stainless 

steel rail cars was one of Budd’s specialties, 

along with steel bodies for automobiles, 

airplanes, and other vehicles. Budd operated 

in Philadelphia from 1912 to 2002. 

BUDD COMPANY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, 

HAGLEY MUSEUM AND LIBRARY. 

Top, right: Making a sheet metal car body 

at the Budd plant, c. 1940. 

PRINT AND PICTURE COLLECTION, FREE LIBRARY 


operate but with a drastically reduced workforce). 

By the turn of the twenty-first century 

Philadelphia’s economy had evolved into 

something very different from that which had 

sustained the city for the previous 150 years, 

an economy in which the manufacturing 

giants of the past would have very little role. 

Because Philadelphia manufacturing had 

always been so diverse, the decline was 

more gradual than sudden. Whereas oneindustry 

cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh 

experienced abrupt contractions whose effects 

were immediate and severe, the transformation 

in Philadelphia was spread out over many 

sectors and took decades to unfold. Nor was 

it a uniform process; even as certain industries 

went into precipitous decline, others 

continued to operate and some actually prospered. 

The companies that did remain viable 

into the late twentieth century were not the 

huge manufacturers of the nineteenth century, 

but younger firms, those that were founded or 

had come into prominence in the early 1900s. 

Several of these companies have been profiled 

previously; following are other major ones. 

EDWARD G. BUDD 

COMPANY 

Of the top twenty-five manufacturers in 

Philadelphia in the 1920s, only the Edward G. 

Budd Company was still a major producer in 

its field in the 1990s. Budd’s main product 

was stainless steel automobile bodies, along 

with bodies for rail and subway cars, 

airplanes, and other applications. The company 

was founded in 1912 when Edward 

Budd (1870-1946) left Hale & Kilburn, a 

Philadelphia maker of rail car components, 

and established a company to make all-steel 

automobile bodies. (Most early automobiles 

had wooden bodies.) Originally working in 

locations in Port Richmond, the company 

grew quickly and built a large plant on 

Hunting Park Avenue in Nicetown in 1915. 

That same year Budd made an all-steel auto 

body for a Dodge Brothers touring car which 

was very successful. This initiated a long-term 

partnership between the two firms, although 

Budd would eventually supply bodies for all 

of the major American auto makers. 

Budd’s Nicetown plant grew to be an 

immense facility that employed over 7,000 

workers. The company pioneered the use of 

stainless steel in passenger railcars and aircraft 

bodies in the 1930s, using a new “shotweld” 

fabricating process that it developed. Budd 

had plants throughout the world in addition 

to its flagship factory in Nicetown and 

from the 1940s to the 1980s operated a large 

facility in the Bustleton section of Northeast 

Philadelphia that mainly produced rail car 

bodies. In 1972 the company moved its 

corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to 

Michigan to be closer to the auto industry. In 

1978 it was acquired by a German company. 


86

After major cutbacks in the auto industry, 

Budd closed its Philadelphia plant in 2002 

and moved all of its operations to the 

Midwest. A very visible reminder of the 

company legacy that remains in Philadelphia 

is The Pioneer, the stainless steel seaplane 

Budd built in 1931 that is on permanent 

display outside The Franklin Institute. 

ROHM & HAAS 

The Rohm & Haas Company owes its 

history in Philadelphia directly to the city’s 

preeminence in the leather industry. Otto 

Rohm and Otto Haas founded a company in 

Germany in 1907 to manufacture and sell 

their new product for tanning leather, 

Oropon. Two years later, while Rohm stayed 

in Germany, Haas left to establish the 

company in America, settling in Philadelphia 

specifically because of the strength of the 

city’s leather industry. One of the company’s 

first big American clients was Foerderer 

Leather, then the largest leather works in 

the world. (Foerderer workers no doubt 

welcomed the switch to Oropon, which 

rendered obsolete the traditional tanning 

method of soaking skins in a liquid mixture 

of animal dung.) Rohm & Haas had a plant 

north of Philadelphia in Bristol, Bucks 

County, but in 1921 it acquired the Lenning 

Chemical Company in Bridesburg and established 

manufacturing operations there as 

well. In the 1930s Rohm & Haas introduced 

Plexiglass, which found early important use 

in cockpits for military aircraft during World 

War II and wide use in other applications 

thereafter. The company made many other 

types of products over the years and grew to 

be an international chemical giant. 

By 1999 Rohm & Haas was the largest 

specialty chemical company in the world. 

While its corporate headquarters remained 

in Philadelphia, over time it moved most 

of its manufacturing activities out of the 

city and in 2010 ceased all manufacturing 

within the city proper. In 2009 Rohm & Haas 

was acquired by Dow Chemical, which for 

a time maintained the company corporate 

headquarters in Philadelphia. 

ATLANTIC REFINING 

AND GULF OIL 

Philadelphia’s two major oil refiners, 

Atlantic and Gulf, both prospered through 

the late twentieth century as automobiles proliferated 

in America. Both also went through 

a series of ownership and name changes 

before being purchased by another local oil 

company, Sunoco, and then becoming part of 

the larger merger from which the city’s current 

major refiner, Philadelphia Energy Solutions 

(PES), was formed in 2012. PES’ two adjacent 

refineries on the Schuylkill River in Southwest 

Philadelphia, Point Breeze and Girard Point 

(the former Atlantic and Gulf facilities, 

respectively), employ some 1,400 workers 

@ 

The March-April 1958 edition of the 

Rohm & Haas employee magazine 

The Formula featured an article entitled 

“Operation Bridesburg” that gave a history 

and description of company operations at 

its Bridesburg plant. Rohm & Haas made 

chemicals in Bridesburg from the time it 

purchased the Lenning Chemical Company, 

the site’s original occupant, in 1920 until it 

ceased operations at the plant in 2010. 

IMAGES RETRIEVED ONLINE, 2015. 

CHAPTER FIVE 

87

Just as the era of large breweries was 

ending in Philadelphia, however, the craft 

brewing phenomenon was getting underway. 

Philadelphia’s first craft brewer, Dock Street 

Brewing Company (named in honor of the 

city’s earliest breweries along Dock Creek), 

was established in 1985. Others followed, 

including Sam Adams, Independence, and 

Yards Brewing Company, along with a number 

of brew pubs that made smaller amounts of 

beer that they sold on their premises. By 

the closing years of the twentieth century 

Philadelphia had become a vibrant center 

in the craft beer movement. It remains so in 

the 2010s. 

There was no equivalent to the craft beer 

movement in the sugar industry. With the 

closing of Philadelphia’s last two refineries, 

Jack Frost (formerly Pennsylvania Sugar 

Refining and popularly known as “the Sugar 

House”) in Fishtown in 1981 and Amstar 

(formerly Franklin Sugar and Domino Sugar) 

in South Philadelphia in 1982, sugar refining 

in the city came to an end. In a fitting piece of 

symbolism, the Sugar House property gave 

rise to Sugar House Casino in 2010—what had 

once been a major manufacturing site became 

home to the epitome of a service industry. 

@ 

Historic and modern aerial views of 

the Atlantic oil refinery in Southwest 

Philadelphia, both looking north with the 

Philadelphia skyline in the background. 

Top: View of the refinery, with the Schuylkill 

River in the foreground, c. 1926. 

AERO SERVICE CORPORATION COLLECTION, 


Above: View of the same refinery, owned by 

Philadelphia Energy Solutions, c. 2010s. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILADELPHIA ENERGY SOLUTIONS. 

and process some fourteen million gallons of 

crude oil daily in the mid-2010s, constituting 

the largest as well as the oldest continuously 

operating oil refining complex on the American 

east coast. 

BEER AND SUGAR 

By the latter part of the twentieth century, 

the beer and sugar industries in Philadelphia 

had each consolidated down to just two 

surviving firms: brewers Ortlieb’s and 

Schmidt’s and refiners Jack Frost and Amstar. 

All four remained large-scale manufacturers 

into the early 1980s but were gone by the 

end of the decade. Ortlieb’s went out of 

business when it was purchased by rival 

Schmidt’s in 1981. When Schmidt’s itself 

closed in 1987 it marked the first time in 

over three hundred years that Philadelphia 

did not have a major operating brewery. 

OTHER MAJOR 

FOOD PROCESSORS 

If large-scale food processing in Philadelphia 

ended in the sugar and beer industries in the 

1980s, it continued in the city’s other food 

sectors, anchored by several longtime local 

companies making snack cakes, lunch meats, 

and rolls. Tasty Baking Company was founded 

in 1914 by two new arrivals to Philadelphia, 

baker Philip Baur and egg salesman Herbert 

Morris, who had the novel idea of selling 

individually wrapped, fresh-baked snack 

cakes. They originally set up shop in 

Germantown, but early success led to the 

opening of a large plant in 1922 on Hunting 

Park Avenue in Nicetown, down the street 

from the Budd Company. Known to locals by 

the name of its signature product, Tastykake, 

the company’s baking facilities ran twentyfour 

hours a day, six days a week, producing 

snack cakes and pies that made their way 


88

into countless lunchboxes throughout the 

Philadelphia region and beyond. In 2010 

Tastykake moved to a new modern production 

facility at the Navy Yard, where it 

employs some 800 workers who continue to 

make the company’s well-known treats. In 

2011 Tastykake was acquired by Georgiabased 

food conglomerate Flowers Foods and 

its products are now distributed nationwide. 

The two critical components in Philadelphia’s 

quintessential cheesesteak and hoagie sandwiches 

are the meats and the roll. Among 

the city’s many makers of these products 

the best-known are deli meat manufacturer 

Dietz & Watson and baker Amoroso’s. Dietz 

& Watson was founded in Philadelphia in 

1939 by German immigrant Gottlieb Dietz, 

a sausage maker, who was in partnership 

briefly with a ham smoker named Walter 

Watson. Following Dietz’s death, his daughter 

Ruth Eni, known affectionately as “Momma 

Dietz,” took over the company and expanded 

it significantly. The company claims to be the 

second largest deli meat maker in the U.S. 

@ 

Above: Philadelphia Brewing Company 

worker removing cooked wort, a liquid 

extracted in the brewing process, 

from a tank at the company’s brewery 

on Amber Street in Kensington in 2012. 

The Philadelphia Brewing Company 

building, the only purpose-built brewery 

still in operation in Philadelphia, was home 

to the Weisbrod & Hess brewery from 1885 

to 1939 and later housed Yards Brewing 

Company in the early 2000s. When Yards 

moved to its current location on Delaware 

Avenue in Northern Liberties in 2007, 

the building became the home of the new 

Philadelphia Brewing Company. 

PHOTO BY THERESA STIGALE 

FOR HIDDEN CITY PHILADELPHIA. 

Philadelphia sugar houses, past and present. 

Left: Pennsylvania Sugar Refining/ 

Jack Frost, popularly known as 

“the Sugar House,” on the Delaware River 

in Fishtown, as seen in 1936. 

PHOTO FROM PHILADELPHIA RECORD PHOTOGRAPH 

COLLECTION, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Below: Sugar House Casino, Philadelphia’s 

first gambling house, which opened on the 

site in 2010. 


CHAPTER FIVE 

89

@ 

Above: Members of the Eni family, 

proprietors of the Dietz & Watson lunch 

meat company since its founding in 1939, 

pose inside a company food processing 

facility in 2014. Ruth “Momma Dietz” 

Eni is second from right. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL SPAIN-SMITH. 

Below: Tastykake’s new home at the 

Navy Yard. Founded in 1914, the Tasty 

Baking Company moved to the Navy Yard 

in 2010, after having been based in 

Nicetown since 1922. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF TASTY BAKING COMPANY. 

When Dietz & Watson’s original location 

downtown at Front and Vine Streets was 

needed in 1975 for the completion of 

Interstate 95, the company moved to its 

present location on the Delaware River in 

lower Northeast Philadelphia, just above the 

Frankford Arsenal. And when a large food 

processing plant it had in New Jersey was 

destroyed by fire in 2013, the family-owned 

and -operated company decided to expand its 

Northeast Philadelphia facility and consolidate 

a number of operations there. Construction on 

the new facility is due to be completed in 2015 

and Dietz & Watson is expected to employ 

some 850 workers at the site. 

Amoroso’s Baking Company was founded 

by Italian immigrant Vincenzo Amoroso 

and his two sons in Camden, New Jersey, 

in 1904 and moved to West Philadelphia 

in 1914. Its hearth-baked bread and rolls 

are now distributed nationwide. Still familyowned, 

Amoroso’s employs over 400 workers 

at its West Philadelphia and Vineland, New 

Jersey, facilities, but in 2015 the company 

was in the process of moving its production 

operations out of Philadelphia to New Jersey. 

Soft pretzels, scrapple, ice cream, and 

candy are other Philadelphia favorites that 

continue to be manufactured locally. One 

food product that is not made in Philadelphia, 

and never was, is Philadelphia Cream Cheese. 

Cream cheese was developed in New York in 

the late nineteenth century. One of the makers 

in that area decided to brand its product 

“Philadelphia” for marketing purposes, based 

on the Philadelphia region’s reputation for 

high-quality dairy products. Otherwise, the 

product has no connection to the city. 

TRANSPORTATION 

EQUIPMENT AND PARTS 

Philadelphia’s heavy industries in the early 

twenty-first century are focused primarily on 

the manufacture of transportation equipment 

and parts. The largest of these in terms of 

number of employees is auto parts re-manufacturer 

Cardone Industries, a family-owned 

company that was founded in 1970 and 

has some 6,000 employees throughout 

North America. Some 2,300 are employed at 

Cardone’s assembly plant and executive offices 

in Lawndale in lower Northeast Philadelphia. 

The most high-profile heavy industry in 

Philadelphia continues to be shipbuilding, 

although helicopter manufacturing is gaining 

prominence. After the U.S. Navy decommissioned 

the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia 

in 1996, the shipbuilding part of the site 

was taken over by the Norwegian company 

Kvaerner, which renovated the facility and 

began constructing large container ships 

in 2000, delivering its first vessel in 2003. 

Kvaerner was acquired by another Norwegian 

company, Aker, in 2005. Aker renamed the 

facility Philly Shipyard in 2015. It now employs 

some 1,150 workers who make large tanker 

and container vessels at the facility’s two huge 

dry docks. Twenty such vessels have been 

launched by the company since 2003, with 

orders outstanding for several more. 

Philadelphia has long been a center in the 

manufacture of helicopters, starting in the 

1940s with the pioneering work of Frank 

Piasecki, whose company was eventually 

acquired by Boeing. More recently, the Anglo- 

Italian company AgustaWestland opened 


90

hangar space in 1980 at Northeast Philadelphia 

Airport. It upgraded and expanded the facility 

over the years and eventually consolidated its 

American manufacturing operations there. 

AgustaWestland is now one of Philadelphia’s 

more high-profile manufacturers, employing 

some 600 workers who make several helicopter 

models. In 2015 the company began making 

a new civilian tiltrotor aircraft similar to 

the military’s Osprey, which is made by Boeing 

just outside Philadelphia. 

Another transportation equipment manufacturer 

active in Philadelphia is the South 

Korean rail car company Hyundai Rotem, 

which opened a facility in South Philadelphia 

in 2006, lured by a contract to build some 

120 vehicles for SEPTA, the city’s mass transit 

system. Hyundai Rotem has also built cars 

for other urban transit systems and employs 

about 150 workers. 

CHEMICALS AND 

PHARMACEUTICALS 

As it has since the late eighteenth century, 

Philadelphia continues to be an important 

chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing 

center, home to a multi-faceted sector that 

now encompasses oil refining, the production 

of industrial grade chemicals that are used in 

other manufacturing processes, and making 

flavors and additives for food processing. 

Philadelphia also hosts a wide range of 

chemical and pharmaceutical research and 

development activities and the corporate headquarters 

of several multinational chemical/ 

pharmaceutical firms. The greater Philadelphia 

area’s concentration of major drug companies 

and leading research hospitals and universities 

makes it one of the premier “Eds and Meds” 

regions in the world. 

There were about fifty chemical and 

pharmaceutical firms within the city itself 

in 2015, employing some 2,400 workers in 

various manufacturing capacities. These are 

in addition to the administrative personnel 

of the four major chemical/pharmaceutical 

firms whose corporate headquarters are in 

Philadelphia but whose manufacturing operations 

are elsewhere: GlaxoSmithKline, Dow, 

FMC, and Braskem. Of the latter companies, 

two have local roots: the British pharmaceutical 

firm GlaxoSmithKline, whose U.S. headquarters 

is at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, is successor 

to the Smith, Kline, & French company, and 

Dow Chemical, with offices on Independence 

Mall in Old City, is successor to Rohm & Haas. 

As noted previously, the American pharmaceutical 

industry began in Philadelphia in the 

1810s. Several of the city’s nineteenth-century 

drug makers grew to be quite large before 

merging with other firms and moving out of 

the city in the twentieth century. Two of 

Philadelphia’s early chemical and pharmaceutical 

giants, Powers & Weightman and 

Rosengarten, merged in 1905 and the consolidated 

company moved to New Jersey after 

being acquired by Merck in 1927. Wyeth 

Laboratories moved out of Philadelphia to 

various suburban locations before consolidating 

in nearby Collegeville, Pennsylvania, 

in 2003. McNeil Laboratories, which was 

started by Robert McNeil as a drug store in 

Kensington in 1879 and grew to be a major 

drug maker on the strength of its signature 

product, Tylenol, also moved to the 

Philadelphia suburbs in 1961, after being 

acquired by Johnson & Johnson. 

MANUFACTURING 

TASK FORCE 

In January 2013 Philadelphia Mayor 

Michael Nutter and City Councilman Bobby 

Henon created a new Manufacturing Task 

Force. Recognizing that manufacturing had 

great potential and was still a vital component 

of Philadelphia’s economic life even if it was 

@ 

Leaders of the Philadelphia Manufacturing 

Task Force pose with Mayor Michael A. 

Nutter and City Councilman Bobby 

Henon in front of a helicopter at the 

AgustaWestland plant in Northeast 

Philadelphia in 2013. Left to right, 

William Hunt, CEO, AgustaWestland 

Philadelphia Corporation; Daniel K. 

Fitzpatrick, President, Citizens Bank of 

PA/NJ/DE; Mayor Nutter; Councilman 

Henon; and Alan Greenberger, Deputy 

Mayor for Economic Development and 

Director of Commerce. 

PHOTO BY KATE PRIVITERA, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

CHAPTER FIVE 

91

@ 

Amuneal welder fabricating a piece, 2011. 

Located in Frankford since its founding in 

1965, Amuneal began as a metal shielding 

fabricator but in recent years has moved 

into design and fabrication of custom 

furniture, store fixtures, architectural 

elements, and public art. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMUNEAL.. 

not the main driver of the city economy it 

had once been, they charged the Task Force 

with studying the state of manufacturing in 

the Philadelphia area and recommending 

ways to better support and enhance the 

sector. In December 2013 the Task Force 

issued Manufacturing Growth Strategy for 

Philadelphia, a comprehensive report that 

analyzed regional manufacturing in great 

detail and outlined a number of strategies to 

foster its growth. 

Looking at both the City of Philadelphia 

specifically and the broader eleven-county 

metropolitan region (including the surrounding 

suburban counties in Pennsylvania, 

New Jersey, and Delaware), the report noted 

that the region’s manufacturers produced 

$105.6 billion in annual output and 

employed 163,000 workers. In Philadelphia 

specifically there were some 750 manufacturing 

firms employing 23,000 workers who 

made a total of $1.3 billion in wages. The 

average annual salary for a Philadelphia 

manufacturing worker was $58,977 and 

manufacturing was the fifth largest sector of 

the city economy in terms of wages, behind 

health and social services, government, 

professional services, and education. 

To coordinate implementation of the 

recommendations in the report a new 

Philadelphia Office of Manufacturing and 

Industry was created in early 2014. 

Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Economic 

Development and Director of Commerce 

Alan Greenberger, one of the co-chairs of 

the Manufacturing Task Force, notes that 

“manufacturing was an important part of 

Philadelphia’s history and will be an integral 

part of its future. A robust, diverse manufacturing 

sector provides living wage jobs 

and financial mobility for all Philadelphians, 

while inducing indirect economic activity 

from suppliers, wholesalers, service providers, 

and utilities. With the city’s strategic location, 

advanced infrastructure, clustering of international 

leaders in energy/chemicals, transportation 

equipment, life sciences, and food 

processing, and the emergence of a growing 

local Makers Movement, the prospects for 

building Philadelphia’s manufacturing economy 

are exciting.” 

NEW FACE OF 

PHILADELPHIA 

MANUFACTURING 

While the city works at the macro level 

to improve conditions for manufacturing, 

Philadelphia’s many small specialty manufacturers 

continue to be the real strength of its 

industrial economy. Some sixty percent of 

the approximately 1,100 manufacturers in the 

greater Philadelphia area in 2014 employed 

twenty or fewer workers. This is the new face 

of Philadelphia manufacturing in the early 

twenty-first century: small, flexible, technology-driven 

companies creating specialized 

products for niche markets, employing anywhere 

from a few to a few hundred workers. 

Amuneal, a magnetic shielding and custom 

design firm located in Frankford, was founded 

in 1965 by husband and wife Seymour and 

Harriet Kamens. The company fabricated metal 

shielding products for high tech industries 

such as electronics, healthcare, and aerospace. 

Under the Kamens’ son Adam, who became 

CEO in 2003, Amuneal began moving into 

custom design and fabrication of furniture, 

store fixtures, architectural elements, and 

public art. Amuneal is still one of the nation’s 

largest magnetic shield manufacturers, but more 

than half of the company’s business is now in 

design and fabrication projects for corporate 

clients and high-end retailers. A family-run 

firm, Amuneal’s more than 120 employees 

include artists, designers, and engineers, in 

addition to welders and metal workers. 

Several local companies have grown 

through adapting their products in response 

to environmental concerns. PTR Baler and 

Compactor Company, founded in 1907 as 

Philadelphia Tram Rail and located in Port 

Richmond, originally made overhead cranes 

and heavy equipment for moving materials in 

industrial settings. Later, it went into making 

compacting and recycling machinery. PTR 

is now the nation’s largest manufacturer of 

vertical balers and waste compactors for the 

retail industry, employing about 200 workers 

and offering a range of sophisticated compacting 

and recycling equipment that it sells 

worldwide. Northeast Building Products, one 

of Philadelphia’s fastest growing companies, 


92

is the nation’s largest manufacturer of energyefficient 

windows and doors. Founded in 

1975 by Irv and Elaine Levin and now run by 

their son Alan and his wife Fran, the company 

employs over 325 workers at its extensive 

complex of buildings in lower Northeast 

Philadelphia. Northeast Building Products 

produces over 200,000 windows annually and 

was mentioned by President Barack Obama in 

his 2010 State of the Union address. 

Not far from these firms is the Frank J. 

Butch Company, a small family-run machine 

shop that manufactures specialty hose fittings 

for refineries and chemical companies. 

Established in 1933, the company originally 

made parts for Baldwin Locomotive, the Budd 

Company, and others, one of hundreds of 

small shops throughout Philadelphia that 

supplied specialized parts to the city’s industrial 

giants. At its height in the mid to late 

1960s, Butch had some fifty employees, most 

of whom made gun cleaning rods for the military 

during the Vietnam War. The firm now 

employs ten workers and is run by Frank 

Butch III, the founder’s grandson. Frank is 

nearing retirement and wonders about the 

future of the company. His grown children 

have other professional careers and no interest 

in running a machine shop. Perhaps he 

will find a buyer for the enterprise or perhaps 

it will quietly close at some point, as have 

countless other small Philadelphia manufacturers 

over the years. 

PHILADELPHIA’ S 

MANUFACTURING 

LANDSCAPE IN THE EARLY 

TWENTY- FIRST CENTURY 

Amuneal, PTR, and the Butch company are 

clustered within a few miles of each other in 

an industrial area along the Delaware River in 

lower Northeast Philadelphia, one of several 

areas of concentrated industrial activity 

scattered throughout the city in the early 

twentieth-first century. The city’s two biggest 

manufacturing areas are now in the South/ 

Southwest and Far Northeast. The South/ 

Southwest area includes the Navy Yard, 

Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ oil refineries 

on the Schuylkill River, and an extended 

Industrial Districts 

and Real Estate 

industrial area north and west of Philadelphia 

International Airport. In the Far Northeast, 

the area immediately surrounding Northeast 

Philadelphia Airport is home to many manufacturers 

and there is a large industrial park 

on the northern edge of the city, east of 

Roosevelt Boulevard. 

Parts of the South/Southwest and Far 

Northeast industrial areas were created in the 

late twentieth century through targeted land 

use planning for industry. The prime mover 

in this effort was the Philadelphia Industrial 

Development Corporation (PIDC), the city’s 

public-private economic development organization. 

Founded in 1958 as a nonprofit 

partnership between the City of Philadelphia 

and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of 

Commerce, PIDC is a major player in 

Philadelphia’s industrial economy, offering 

financing, real estate development, and other 

services to spur investment, support business 

growth, and foster development. 

ENVIRONMENTAL 

IMPACT 

The impact of industrial development on 

the environment has been a concern for 

centuries, from the protests of local residents 

against the pollution of Dock Creek by 

@ 

This map from a 2010 PIDC planning 

report on industrial land use in Philadelphia 

shows the city comprised of fifteen industrial 

areas in the early twentieth century. The 

largest areas are in the Far Northeast and 

South/Southwest sections of the city, as well 

as along the Delaware River extending from 

the lower Northeast into Kensington. 

FROM AN INDUSTRIAL LAND & MARKET STRATEGY FOR THE 

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 2010, PHILADELPHIA 

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. 

CHAPTER FIVE 

93

tanneries and slaughterhouses in the 1730s 

to the Fairmount Park Commission demolishing 

factories along the Wissahickon Creek 

and Schuylkill River in the 1870s to protect 

the city’s water supply to the current work of 

a host of regional environmental groups. 

Striking the appropriate balance between the 

needs of industries that must impact natural 

resources to operate profitably and residents 

who want safe, healthy environments in 

which to live and work has often been difficult. 

Air and water pollution and ground 

contamination from industry have been 

ongoing problems in many parts of the 

city, particularly in communities such as 

in Southwest Philadelphia, Bridesburg, and 

Port Richmond, where oil refineries, chemical 

companies, and gas works have been concentrated 

over the years. 

The Schuylkill River presents a revealing 

case study of the impact of competing agendas 

on the landscape. The section of the river 

above Center City where industries were 

removed in the nineteenth century is one of 

Philadelphia’s most picturesque and popular 

recreation areas, while large parts of the lower 

Schuylkill in Southwest Philadelphia have 

long been an industrial no man’s land of 

chemical plants and oil refineries. Efforts to 

reclaim once heavily industrial areas along 

the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers for public 

enjoyment have intensified in recent years, 

with public and private groups working to 

create attractive riverfront trails along these 

waterways. Negotiating the often competing 

agendas of industry and the environment 

will continue to be a challenge, especially as 

Philadelphia seeks to become a major energy 

hub in the early twenty-first century. 

PHILADELPHIA 

AS ENERGY HUB 

A number of Philadelphia business leaders 

and government agencies are actively working 

to develop the city as an international energy 

hub. Spearheaded by Philip Rinaldi, CEO of 

Philadelphia Energy Solutions, which owns 

the city’s two oil refineries, these efforts seek 

to build on Philadelphia’s long history and 

established infrastructure for oil refining and 

chemical processing to have Pennsylvania’s 

large deposits of natural gas, as well as fuel 

sources from other areas, transported to the 

city for processing, use in local industry, or 

export. Just as in the nineteenth and early 

twentieth centuries, when huge quantities of 

coal were shipped to Philadelphia from north 

and west of the city to be exported or serve as 


94

fuel for local industries, current city leaders 

envision Philadelphia as a hub once again for 

the raw energy materials that power industry. 

If successful, these efforts have the potential 

to spur a major revival of manufacturing 

in Philadelphia and re-establish the city as 

an important industrial center. Manufacturers 

will gravitate to Philadelphia where energy 

sources are cheaper and more reliable, proponents 

of the plan argue, and industry will 

flourish in the city once again. There are 

many hurdles to overcome in bringing this 

vision to reality: infrastructure must be built 

or upgraded, safety and environmental concerns 

must be addressed, and zoning and 

other government regulations must be revisited. 

More fundamentally, Philadelphians must 

decide what they want their city to be—do 

they view heavy industry as an undesirable 

relic of the city’s past and prefer that the local 

economy remain primarily knowledge- and 

service-based, or do they support the vision 

of Philadelphia becoming a manufacturing 

powerhouse once again, with all of the 

benefits and downsides that such a scenario 

entails? Can the city be both? If so, how 

will the inevitable compromises be made, 

where will the balances be struck? 

The answers to these questions are unknown 

as of 2015. It will be up to future historians 

to determine whether the early twenty-first 

century was a transformative moment in 

Philadelphia history, perhaps on the order 

of the early nineteenth-century industrial revolution, 

or if the concept of the city as an 

energy hub turned out to be an unrealized 

dream, like the grand plans of William Penn’s 

Free Society of Traders in the 1680s or John 

Nicholson’s manufacturing city at the Falls 

of Schuylkill in the 1790s. 

practitioners who take an independent, handson 

approach to making things. Encompassing 

everything from traditional wood and metal 

working crafts to high-tech processes using 

computer-aided design and 3-D printers, 

these new makers have adopted a creative, 

small-scale artisan approach to manufacturing 

and selling tangible goods. 

In many ways the Maker Movement represents 

a return to the ways of the colonial 

craftsmen, the hands-on artisans of old who 

made and sold their products themselves. The 

big difference is technology. The new makers 

often employ sophisticated software and 

machines to create their products and the 

internet to market and sell them. For those 

with product ideas but lacking in technical 

expertise or access to tools or technology, 

co-working maker spaces have sprouted up 

across the city. The biggest is NextFab, 

a maker organization with facilities in South 

Philadelphia and Lower Kensington that offer 

an array of hardware and software tools as 

well as training classes in how to use them. 

Founded in 2009 at University City Science 

Center by engineer and entrepreneur Evan 

Malone, NextFab offers both a membershipbased 

arrangement in which members have 

access to its tools, training, and other services, 

and a contracting option in which NextFab 

works with clients on a contracted basis to 

design and fabricate products. 

@ 

Opposite, top: This aerial view of 

South Philadelphia looks southwest along 

Point Breeze Avenue, which runs diagonally 

through residential neighborhoods towards 

the oil refineries of Philadelphia Energy 

Solutions. The Platt Bridge over the 

Schuylkill River is visible in the background. 

Environmental issues have long been a 

concern in highly industrialized areas along 

waterways and abutting residential sections 


PHOTO BY BRADLEY MAULE, 2007. 

Opposite, bottom: This illustration from 

a 2014 Philadelphia Magazine article 

about efforts to make Philadelphia an 

international energy hub shows current 

and potential incoming energy sources to 

Philadelphia and their subsequent uses. 

The energy hub initiative faces considerable 

challenges, but if successful could spur a 

major revival of manufacturing in the city. 

PIPE DREAMS, PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE, 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014. 

Below: A welding class at NextFab, 2013. 

Founded in 2009 and with locations in 

South Philadelphia and Lower Kensington, 

NextFab is a major player in the 

Maker Movement in Philadelphia. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NEXTFAB. 

MAKER 

MOVEMENT 

At the other end of the spectrum from 

efforts in board rooms and government 

offices to establish Philadelphia as an energy 

hub, another significant, potentially transformative 

development is taking shape in local 

manufacturing: the Maker Movement. The 

Maker Movement is an umbrella term for a 

diverse group of modern-day do-it-yourself 

CHAPTER FIVE 

95

that Matthias Baldwin made a more efficient 

stationary steam engine and John Stetson 

came up with a new type of hat. Perhaps 

some young inventor is working at this very 

moment in a Philadelphia makers shop on an 

innovative new idea that will spawn a highly 

successful business, one that will perhaps 

rival Baldwin Locomotive or Stetson Hat in 

its impact. 

EPILOGUE/ PENN’ S 

VISION 

@ 

Above: “Where Art Meets Industry,” 

homepage of Globe Dye Works website, 

2015. The Globe Dye Works building is a 

former textile dying plant in East Frankford 

that was operated by the same local family 

from 1865 until it closed in 2005. 

It was purchased in 2007 and renovated 

by a group of Philadelphia craftsmen/ 

entrepreneurs who specialize in adaptive 

re-use of industrial buildings. The building 

now houses offices, artist studios, and small 

manufacturing shops. Such adaptive re-use 

is one of the hallmarks of the 

Maker Movement. 

Opposite, top: The William Penn statue, 

manufactured at the Tacony Iron Works, 

sits in the courtyard of Philadelphia City 

Hall in 1894, awaiting its placement atop 

the building. 

PHOTO POSTCARD, TACONY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Opposite, bottom: William Penn looks out 

over his City of Brotherly Love from atop 

City Hall. 

PHOTO BY LAUREN WORK, 2014. 

Other types of maker spaces can be found 

throughout Philadelphia. The Jewelry Trades 

Building at Eighth and Sansom Streets in 

the heart of the city’s famed Jewelers’ Row 

district houses the studios of over fifty jewelry 

artisans. The Globe Dye Works building in 

East Frankford, home for 140 years to a 

family-run textile dying business, now houses 

a number of small workshops, from boat 

builders to soap makers. The Globe Dye 

building also houses the offices of the 

Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia. While 

Alliance President Steve Jurash advocates 

more broadly for the region’s manufacturing 

sector, craftsmen and entrepreneurs elsewhere 

in the building work to develop their products 

and businesses. 

One such business is Hand in Hand, maker 

of soaps and bath and beauty products. The 

company was founded in 2011 by husband 

and wife Bill Glabb and Courtney Apple, 

who originally worked out of their home and 

now occupy a 6,000 square-foot space in the 

Globe Dye building. Hand in Hand has five 

full-time workers, augmented by occasional 

part timers as needed. Like many in the Maker 

Movement, it is a socially conscious company. 

The owners work to ensure that company 

products are safe and made through fair trade. 

They also donate a bar of soap and a month of 

clean water for each product that is purchased. 

Hand in Hand has worked with Martha Stewart 

and been featured in her magazine. 

These maker spaces are the modern versions 

of the workshops of old, where artisans 

made things and inventors tinkered with 

new ideas and products. It was in such spaces 

And so it goes in Philadelphia manufacturing 

in the early twenty-first century: older 

firms continue to make traditional products, 

using both old and new technologies, while 

young entrepreneurs develop innovative 

products and processes. Ancient traditions 

such as shipbuilding and beer making continue, 

in both modern and traditional ways. 

Small artisan manufacturers serve specialized, 

niche markets, staying close to their customers, 

much as their colonial predecessors 

did, while elsewhere in the city large-scale 

food processing continues and heavy industries 

make oil tankers, helicopters, and subway 

cars for national and international markets. 

Meanwhile, concerted efforts from both the 

top-down (the energy hub initiative) and 

bottom-up (the Maker Movement) have the 

potential to transform the city’s economy and 

revive its manufacturing sector. Manufacturing 

remains vital in Philadelphia in the early 

twenty-first century, with enormous potential 

for the future. How that potential is realized 

in the coming years remains to be seen. 

As this book was being completed in the 

summer of 2015, Dow Chemical announced 

that most of the workers at its headquarters 

on Independence Mall in Old City, the former 

Rohm & Haas building, were being moved 

out of the city to suburban locations, a move 

that seems to signal the beginning of the end 

of a major presence for Dow in Philadelphia. 

This presence dates back to Dow’s predecessor 

Rohm & Haas beginning in 1907 and before 

that to Rohm & Haas’ predecessor Lenning 

Chemical in 1819. Meanwhile, Lannett, a 

growing generic drug manufacturer that was 

founded in 1942 and has facilities throughout 

Northeast Philadelphia, is making plans to 


96

centralize operations in the buildings in the 

former IRS complex on Roosevelt Boulevard 

in Far Northeast Philadelphia that it purchased 

in 2014. Across the street from the 

Lannett/IRS complex, food conglomerate 

Mondelez International shut down its large 

food processing plant in July 2015, a plant 

that for generations made cookies for Nabisco 

and later Kraft Foods. At the same time, Dietz 

& Watson is finishing construction on its 

state-of-the-art food production facility a 

few miles away in Tacony, where it expects 

to employ some 850 workers. Manufacturing 

in Philadelphia remains a dynamic, changing 

environment, as it has since William Penn 

arrived in 1682 and began establishing 

manufacturing enterprises in his new colony. 

When the colossal statue of William Penn, 

fabricated at the Tacony Iron Works in 

Northeast Philadelphia, was placed atop 

Philadelphia City Hall in 1894, the city was 

at the height of its manufacturing power. 

Penn looked out over thousands of industrial 

enterprises—huge mill complexes, mid-size 

factories, small workshops—all brimming 

with activity. Smokestacks filled the sky 

with exhaust from an amazingly diverse 

range of manufacturing operations wherein 

hundreds of thousands of workers made an 

equally amazingly diverse range of products 

that found their way to all corners of the 

globe. Philadelphia truly was the Workshop of 

the World. 

Now, most of those mills and factories are 

silent and the vast majority of city residents 

are engaged in other types of work. Philadelphia 

is no longer the “greatest manufacturing city 

in the world.” But manufacturing continues 

in the city in a variety of settings, as it has for 

over 330 years. Industries large and small 

make products, develop new technologies and 

processes, explore new markets and ideas. 

William Penn watches it all from his perch 

atop City Hall. Looking out over the bustling 

city of industry and enterprise he founded in 

1682, could he ever have imagined the rich 

manufacturing history that would be forged 

in his City of Brotherly Love? 

CHAPTER FIVE 

97

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Websites and online digital image libraries were accessed throughout 2014-2015. 

WEBSITES 

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PEAESGuide/peaes.htm 

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ExplorePAhistory.com, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical 

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KennethWMilano.com, local historian Ken Milano’s website on 

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PhilaPlace, sponsored by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: 

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Phillyh2o, a website on Philadelphia waterways and systems created 

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PhillyHistory.org, sponsored by the Philadelphia City Archives: 

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Places In Time: Historical Documentation of Place in 

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To Commit Ourselves To Our Own Ingenuity, historian 

James J. Farley’s website on early Philadelphia shipbuilding: 

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Workshop of the World, sponsored by the Oliver Evans (Philadelphia) 

Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology: 

http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/ 

ONLINE DIGITAL IMAGE LIBRARIES 

Free Library of Philadelphia: 

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/diglib/ 

Hagley Museum & Library: 

http://digital.hagley.org/ 

Historical Society of Pennsylvania: 

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Library Company of Philadelphia: 

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Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/picturesTemple University: 

http://digital.library.temple.edu/ 

National Archives & Records Administration: 

http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/photography.html 

University of Pennsylvania: 

http://www.library.upenn.edu/digitalpenn/ 

Wikipedia Commons: 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category: 

ImagesBooks and Articles 

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98


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INDEX 

A 

Abbotts dairy, 81 

Abraham Cox Stove Company, 59 

Adams, John, 28 

African Americans, 24, 28, 31, 49, 69, 

74, 80 

AgustaWestland, 14-15, 90-91 

aircraft, 15, 77, 86-87, 91 

airports, 9, 14, 78, 91, 93 

Aker, 14-15, 90 

Alexander, Anne, 68 

Allied Chemical, 76 

Alligator, submarine, 50 

Amoroso, 14, 89-90 

Amstar sugar refinery, 80, 88 

Amuneal, 92-93 

anthracite. See coal 

Apple, Courtney, 96 

Army, U. S., 69 

arsenals, 32, 36, 40-41, 57, 76-77, 83, 

90, See also Schuylkill and Frankford 

arsenals 

Association of Centenary Firms and 

Corporations, 62 

Atlantic Refining, 74, 78, 87 

automobiles, 9, 14-15, 36-37, 59, 69, 

78, 81, 86-87, 90 

B 

bakers, 22, 24, 28, 59, 88-89 

Baldwin Locomotive, 9, 11, 14, 40, 

51-54, 56, 59-60, 64, 66-67, 69, 

74, 83, 85, 93, 96 

Baltimore, 56 

banks, 17, 32, 46, 56-57, 91 

Barbary Wars, 47-48 

Barnaby, Andrew, 27 

Barry, John, 48 

Bassett Ice Cream, 81 

Baur, Philip, 88 

Bayuk Brothers cigars, 80 

beer & breweries, 14-15, 21-22, 25, 

27-28, 55-56, 61-62, 74, 79-80, 83, 

88-89, 96 

Behrent, John, 29 

Bergner & Engel brewery, 61, 79 

Biddle, Nicholas, 57 

Bishop, John, 57 

Blabon, George W., 14 

black smiths, 22, 24, 26, 37 

Blue Anchor Tavern, 27 

Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate 

Company, 80 

Boeing, 90-91 

boiler makers, 50-51 

Bonnin & Morris, 28, 31 

boots, 10, 16 

Boston, 28 

Bourse Building, 18 

Bower, Henry, 55 

Bradford, Andrew, 26 

Branson, William, 27 

Braskem, 91 

brass & pewter, 22, 24, 31 

Brewerytown, 15, 56, 79 

Breyer’s ice cream, 81 

brick making, 21, 22, 28 

Bridesburg, 11, 39-41, 45, 57, 76, 87, 94 

Bridesburg Machine Works, 11, 41 

Bridesburg Manufacturing Company, 

40, 45, 57 

Bridges, Robert, 49 

Brill, J. G. Company, 13, 56, 59, 66, 

71, 74-75 

Bristol, PA, 78, 87 

Bromley carpet & lace, 56, 59, 64-66, 

70-71, 74 

Brown Instrument, 14 

Budd, Edward G. Company, 14, 84, 

86-88, 93 

Bustleton, 86 

Butch, Frank J. Company, 93 

Butcher, William, 68 

butchers, 22 

buttons, 34 

Byberry Township, 27 

C 

Camden, New Jersey, 78, 81, 83, 90 

Campbell textile mills, 43 

candle makers, 22, 24, 27 

candy, 14, 80, 90 

Cardone, 15, 90 

Carey, Matthew, 37 

Caribbean, 16, 23, 31 

carpet, 9-10, 27, 56, 64-66, 70, 75, 85 

Cedar Grove, 39, 41 

Centennial Exposition, 17, 58, 60-61, 80 

Center City, 52, 54, 66, 94 

chemicals, 10, 12, 30-31, 40-41, 43, 

46, 54-55, 58-59, 61-62, 66, 76, 

87, 91-94, 96 

Chester, PA, 78 

Chicago, 64, 75 

child workers, 17, 33, 39, 43-44, 66, 

74-75 

chocolate, 27, 39, 80 

cigars, 80 

City Hall, Philadelphia, 66, 96-97 

Civil War, 32, 42-43, 50, 55-57, 76, 79 

clocks & watches, 22, 62 

clothing, 8-9, 11, 16, 22, 31, 36, 65-66, 

77 

coal, 42, 46, 47, 51, 53, 73, 94 

Coats, John, 28 

Coats, Warwick shipyard, 26 

Cohocksink Creek, 26, 39 

Collegeville, Pennsylvania, 55, 91 

confectioners, 62, 66, 80 

Constitution, U.S., 17, 28, 31, 33, 34 

Constitutional Convention, 33, 36 

Continental Congress, 28, 30-31 

Cornelius & Baker, 61 

Cornelius & Sons lamp & gas fixtures, 

60-61 

cotton, 10, 11, 29, 33-35, 38-43, 45- 

46, 57, 62 

Coxe, Tench, 33-35, 38, 47 

Craige, Holmes, and Company, 39 

Cramp Shipyard, 11, 12, 14, 49-50, 

56, 59, 64, 66-67, 74, 78, 83 

Crescentville, 39 

Cresson, George V., power machinery, 59 

D 

dairies, 81 

Decatur, Stephen Junior, 47-48 

Decatur, Stephen Senior, 39, 48-49 

Declaration of Independence, 17, 28, 31 

Delaware River, 8, 11-12, 15, 20, 22- 

26, 31, 36, 39-41, 49-50, 56, 66-67, 

69, 76-78, 80-81, 83, 89-90, 93-94 

Delaware, state of, 12, 36, 92 

Dennis, Henry shipyard, 26 

Detroit, 9, 59, 86 

Dietz & Watson, 14-15, 89-90, 97 

Disston Saw, 11, 15, 56, 59, 63, 66-67, 

73-75, 83, 85 

distilleries, 26 

Dobson textile mills, 43 

Dock Creek, 21, 26-28, 88, 93 

Dock Street Brewing Company, 88 

Dodge Brothers, 86 

Domino Sugar, 80, 88 

Dow Chemical, 87, 91, 96 

DuPont, 10, 76 

Dutch, 20, 23 

dying (textile), 18-19, 31, 39-41, 96 

E 

East Falls, 34, 45, 58 

Eastwick & Harrison, 53 

Eddystone, PA, 83, 85 

electricity, 76 

INDEX 

101

Elfreth’s Alley, 24 

emery paper, 66 

energy hub, 94, 95, 96 

Engel & Wolf brewery, 55, 56, 79 

England, 8, 15-16, 20-21, 25-35, 37- 

39, 42, 45, 49, 51, 58, 68, 70, 73- 

74, 91 

Eni, Ruth, 89-90 

environmental issues, 12, 19, 26, 92-95 

Erie Canal, 56 

Europe, 8, 16, 20-21, 23, 28, 31, 33, 

66 

Evans, Oliver, 17, 36-37, 46, 51 

Eyre, Emanuel, 25, 31 

F 

Fairmount, 81 

Fairmount Park Commission, 41-42, 

55, 56, 94 

Fairmount Waterworks, 42, 51 

Falls of Schuylkill, 34, 41, 43, 45-46, 

54-55, 64, 95 

Federal Society of Journeymen 

Cordwainers, 44 

Fisher, William Logan, 42 

Fishtown, 80, 83, 88-89 

Fitch, John, 36 

flags, 31, 34, 57, 60 

Flowers Foods, 89 

FMC, 91 

Foerderer Leather, 66, 72-74, 87 

food products, 10-12, 14, 23, 88, 90-92, 

96-97 

Ford Motor Company, 82 

forges, 19, 27, 31, 46 

Forten, James, 31, 49 

foundries, 11, 29, 31, 34, 37, 49-51, 

62, 64, 66, 75 

Fountain Green, 55, 79 

Frampton, William, 22 

France, 34, 36-37, 47-48 

Francis Perot’s Sons Malting Company, 

22, 62 

Frankford, 18, 26, 38-41, 43, 45, 52, 

57, 64, 72-73, 76, 80, 92, 96 

Frankford Arsenal, 41, 57, 76, 83, 90 

Frankford Creek, 39-40, 72, 76 

Frankford El, 71, 81 

Franklin Institute, 13, 17, 37, 60, 62, 

69, 87 

Franklin Sugar, 74, 80, 88 

Franklin, Benjamin, 17, 25-26, 31 

Free Society of Traders, 21-22, 32, 95 

Freihofer Baking Company, 59 

Frishmuth, Bro. & Co, 80 

Fulton, Robert, 36 

furniture making, 19, 24, 28, 62, 92 

G 

Garrett & Eastwick, 53 

gas works, 51, 94 

General Electric, 74, 76 

George Washington, locomotive, 52 

Georgia, 43, 89 

Germans, 23-24, 29, 42, 45, 55-56, 

71-72, 79, 86, 89 

Germantown, 23, 25, 27, 38, 42, 51-52, 

57, 64, 88 

Germany, 58, 87 

Girard Point, 78, 87 

Girard, Stephen, 38 

Glabb, Bill, 96 

glass, 10, 21, 24, 34, 63 

GlaxoSmithKline, 55, 91 

Globe Dye Works, 18-19, 26, 96 

Globe Mill, 26, 38-39, 45 

Goldenberg Candy Company, 80 

Goodson, John, 22-23 

Governor’s Mill. See Globe Mill 

Grand Federal Procession, 1788, 34 

Grays Ferry, 10, 36, 54, 76-77 

Great Depression, 73, 82-83, 85 

Greenberger, Alan, 91-92 

grist milling, 19-21, 26 

Gulf Oil, 78, 87 

gun powder, 39 

H 

Hagner, Charles, 54-55 

Hale & Kilburn, 86 

Hall, John, 27 

Hamilton, Alexander, 33-35 

Hand in Hand, 96 

Harbison's dairy, 81 

Hardwick & Magee, 10, 65 

Harrison Brothers, 10, 54, 76 

Harrison Safety Boiler Works, 51, 53 

Harrison, Joseph, 51, 53 

hats, 8-9, 12, 22, 27, 42, 58-59, 64-65, 

68, 74, 85, 96 

Hazard, Erskine, 45-46, 53 

helicopters, 14, 90-91, 96 

Helios Electric Company, 82 

Henon, Bobby, 91 

Hershey, Milton, 80 

Hewson, John, 34 

Hires, Charles Elmer, 60 

Hodge, William, 28 

Hog Island, 9, 77-78 

Holmesburg, 45, 61 

Horstmann, William & Sons, 44-45, 57 

hosiery, 42 

Humphreys, Joshua, 31, 36, 47-49 

Humphreys, Samuel, 48 

Hyundai Rotem, 91 

Hunt, William, 91 

I 

ice cream, 14, 81, 90 

indentured servants, 24, 28, 33 

Independence brewery, 88 

Independence Hall, 18, 25, 28, 33 

Industrial Revolution, 9, 31, 33, 35-36, 

45, 62, 95 

ink manufacturers, 63 

Inquirer, Philadelphia, newspaper, 84 

instruments, surveying & scientific, 

10, 28-29, 59, 82 

Irish, 27-28, 45, 74 

iron, 9, 11, 27, 29, 31, 34, 37, 45-47, 

49-51, 62, 66, 75, 96-97 

Italians, 14, 73, 78, 90 

Jack Frost sugar refinery, 80, 88-89 

Jackson, Andrew, 57 

Jacquard loom, 44-45 

Japan, 49 

Jefferson, Thomas, 34-35 

Jenks, Alfred, 11, 40-41, 45, 57 

Jenks, Barton, 45 

jewelry making, 10, 40, 52, 96 

Jewelry Trades Building, 96 

Jews, 24, 66, 73 

John Lucas & Company paints & 

varnishes, 59 

Johnson & Johnson, 91 

Johnstown, PA, 81 

Jones, Mary Harris (Mother Jones), 

74-75 

Julian, James, 29 

Jurash, Steve, 96 

K 

Kamens, Seymour, Harriet, & Adam, 92 

Kensington, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31, 38, 45, 

50-51, 54, 57-58, 62, 64-65, 68, 70- 

71, 74-75, 81-82, 85, 89, 91, 93, 95 

Kent, Atwater, 14, 81-82 

Keystone Watch Case, 59 

Knights of Labor, 75 

Kraft Foods, 97 

Kvaerner, 90 

L 

labor & labor unions, 12, 19, 28, 35, 

43-45, 73-75, 83, 85 

lace, 45, 59, 65, 70-71 

lager, 55-56 

Lannett, 96-97 

LaSala, Joseph, 84 

Latinos, 80 

Lawndale, 15, 90 

League Island, 8, 76-78 

leather, 10, 21-22, 59, 64, 66, 72-73, 87 

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, 

46, 53 

Lehigh River, 46 

Lenni Lenape, 20 

Lenning chemical company, 40-41, 61, 

87, 96 

Levin, Irv, Elaine, Alan, & Fran, 93 

Lewis and Clark, 36 

Liberty Bell, 29 

Licht, Walter, 35 

linen, 23, 27, 29, 38 

Lippard, George, 44 

locomotives, 8-9, 11, 51-53, 59, 66-67, 

69, 83 

Logan, James, 26 

London, 16, 21-22, 25, 28-29, 58 

looms, 19, 34-35, 44-45, 64, 70 

lunch meats, 14, 88-89 

M 

machine tools, 52, 59, 61, 75, 93 

Madison, James, 35, 40 

Maker Movement, 16, 92, 95-96 

Malcolme, John, 28 

Malone, Evan, 95 

Manayunk, 18, 38, 42-43, 45, 55, 57, 64 

Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia, 

18, 96 

Manufacturing Task Force, 91-92 

Marine Corps, U.S., 31 

Mars Works. See Evans, Oliver 

Martin, Samuel, 39 

Masters, Thomas & Sybilla, 27, 39 

McKinley, William, 17 

McNeely & Company leather, 59 

McNeil Laboratories, 91 

Mechanics’ Union of Trade Associations, 

44 

medical instruments, 9, 11 

Merck, 91 

Merrick & Sons, 11, 49-51 

metal, 10-11, 15, 73, 75, 86, 92, 95 

Metal Manufacturers Association of 

Philadelphia, 75 

Michigan, 86 

Midvale, 13-14, 56, 62, 64, 66, 68-69, 

74, 83-84 

military equipment, 41 

milk, 81 

Miller Lock Company, 18 

Milton, Sarah, 24 

Mint, U.S., 28, 35-36 

Mondelez International, 97 

Montgomery County, PA, 61 

Moody’s Magazine, 58-59 

Morris, Anthony, 22 

Morris, Herbert, 88 

Morris, I. P., 11, 50-51 

Morris, Robert, 32, 35 

N 

Nabisco, 97 

National Export Exposition, 17, 18 

Navy Yard, 8-9, 14, 36, 47-48, 55, 57, 

74, 76-78, 83, 89-91, 93 

Navy, U.S., 8, 14, 31, 36, 47-48, 50, 

62, 69, 77, 83, 90 

Neafie & Levy, 50-51 

New England, 45 

New Ironsides, ship, 50 

New Jersey, 12, 34, 68, 78, 81-82, 90-92 

New York, 17, 36, 56, 58, 64, 73, 80, 90 

NextFab, 95 

Niagara Falls, 51 

Nicetown, 13-14, 18, 62, 64, 68-69, 

82, 84, 86, 88, 90 

Nicholson, John, 34-35, 95 

Non-Importation Agreement, 30 

Norris Locomotive, 52-53 

Norristown, 51-52 

North Philadelphia, 14-15, 56, 61, 68 

Northeast Building Products, 92-93 

Northeast Philadelphia, 14-15, 40-41, 

43, 61, 64, 80, 86, 90-91, 93, 

96-97 

Northern Liberties, 10, 15, 25-26, 

38-39, 45, 54, 55, 67, 79, 80, 89 

Northwest Philadelphia, 40 

Norwegians, 14, 90 

Nutter, Michael, 91 

O 

Obama, Barack, 93 

Offley, Daniel, 27 

oil & oil refineries, 27, 42, 76, 78, 

87-88, 91, 93-96 

oilcloth & linoleum, 14, 66 

Old City, 19, 21, 23-24, 26-27, 31, 73, 

80, 91, 96 

Old Ironsides, locomotive, 51-52 

Oropon, 87 

Ortlieb’s, 15, 79, 88 

Oruktor Amphibolos, 36-37 

outwork, 44-45, 66, 73 

Oxford Provident Building Association, 

45 

P 

paints & varnishes, 10, 30-31, 54, 59, 

62, 76 

paper & paper mills, 10, 23, 28, 38, 

40, 43-44, 60, 62-63, 66 

Paschal, Stephen, 27 

Pass, John, 29 

Penn Steam Engine and Boiler Works. 

See Neafie & Levy 

Penn, John, 29 

Penn, William, 17, 20-27, 29, 32, 38-39, 

51, 66, 95-97 

Pennsylvania Railroad, 53, 72 

Pennsylvania Society for the 

Encouragement of Manufactures, 

33-34 

Pennsylvania Sugar Refining Company, 

80, 88-89 

Pennypack Creek, 40-41, 43, 61 

Pennypack Print Works, 43 

Pennypot Tavern, 21, 25 


102

Penrose, Bartholomew & Thomas 

shipyard, 25-26, 47 

Perry, Matthew, 49 

petroleum, 10, 66 

pharmaceuticals, 10, 12, 42, 54-55, 

61, 91, 96 

Philadelphia Almshouse, 38 

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, 52 

Philadelphia Brewing Company, 89 

Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, 

58-59, 84, 93 

Philadelphia Commercial Museum, 10, 

17-18, 44, 63, 65, 71-73 

Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 90 

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), 

87-88, 93-95 

Philadelphia Gas Works, 51 

Philadelphia Industrial Development 

Corporation (PIDC), 93 

Philadelphia Office of Manufacturing 

and Industry, 92 

Philadelphia Phillies, 83 

Philadelphia Premium Society, 37-38 

Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, 

13, 71 

Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, 

82 

Philadelphia Tram Rail, 92 

Philco, 81-82 

Phillips, John, 28 

pianos, 29 

Piasecki, Frank, 90 

Pittsburgh, 9, 75, 86 

Point Breeze, 78, 87, 95 

Polish, 74 

Pollard, William, 34-35 

porcelain, 28, 31 

Port Richmond, 11, 40, 50, 86, 92, 94 

potters, 22, 40 

Powers & Weightman, 46, 55, 58-59, 91 

Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, 58 

print works, 34, 39-40, 42-43 

PTR Baler and Compactor Company, 

92, 93 

Pugh, Job T., 29, 62 

Q 

Quaker Lace Company, 64, 71, 74 

Quakers, 8, 21, 23, 27, 31, 44, 57, 70 

Queen & Company scientific instruments, 

59 

quinine, 55 

R 

radios, 14, 81-83 

rail cars, 9, 14, 51, 71, 86, 91 

railroads, 51-54, 59, 68, 73 

Reach, A. J., Company, 82-83 

Reading Railroad (Philadelphia & 

Reading Railroad), 54 

Reading Terminal Market, 81 

Reading, city of, 46 

Revolutionary War, 26-28, 30-32, 39, 

47-49 

Rhode Island, 45 

Rinaldi, Philip, 94 

Ripka, Joseph, 42-45 

Rittenhouse Town, 40 

Rittenhouse, David, 28, 35-36 

Rittenhouse, William, 23, 40 

Rockefeller, John D., 78 

Rohm & Haas, 40-41, 76, 87, 91, 96 

rolling mills, 63 

rolls (baking), 14, 88, 90 

rope making, 22, 25-28, 63 

Rosengarten & Sons, 55, 58, 91 

Ross, Betsy, 31 

Rowland family, 39, 61 

Rowland Shovel Works, 61 

Rowlandville, 39, 41 

Rush, Benjamin, 30 

Russell Stover Candies, 80 

Russia, 51, 53 

S 

S. S. White Dental Manufacturing 

Company, 59, 82 

sail making, 25-26, 28, 31, 49 

Sam Adams brewery, 88 

Sampson, tugboat, 50 

Sauquoit Silk Manufacturing Company, 

17 

saws, 9, 15, 42, 59, 63, 66-67, 85 

Schmidt’s, 15, 79, 88 

Schoenhut toy company, 62, 82 

Schofield textile mills, 43 

Schuylkill Arsenal, 36, 57, 76-77, 83 

Schuylkill Navigation Company, 42, 46 

Schuylkill River, 8, 10, 22-23, 36, 41-42, 

46, 54-56, 60, 69, 76-79, 87-88 

93-95 

Scots, 42 

Scranton, Philip, 19 

Sears & Roebuck, 85 

Sellers, William & Company, 51, 60-61, 

69 

SEPTA, 91 

Shadwell, Arthur, 8, 58-59, 62, 64 

Sheffield, England, 68 

ships & shipbuilding, 8-12, 14, 21-22, 

24-28, 31, 47, 48-51, 56, 64, 66-67, 

77-78, 83, 90, 96 

shoe makers, 22, 24, 44, 75 

shoes, 10, 73 

shovels, 61 

silk, 17, 33, 40, 44-45, 62, 73 

silver smiths, 24, 28 

Simpson, William print and dye works, 

41 

Slater, Samuel, 45 

slaughter houses, 21, 26 

slaves, 28 

Smith, Kline, & French, 55, 74, 91 

Smith, Mary, 24 

snack cakes, 14, 88 

soap makers, 22, 27, 62, 96 

Society for Establishing Useful 

Manufactures (SUM), 34 

Society for Industrial Archaeology, 19, 37 

Society Hill, 21, 26 

South Korea, 91 

South Philadelphia, 9, 14, 26, 47, 55, 57, 

64, 66, 73, 80-81, 88, 90-91, 93, 95 

Southwark, 11, 25-26, 28, 36, 47-51, 

57, 76-77, 80 

Southwest Philadelphia, 13, 71, 75-76, 

78, 87-88, 93-94 

Sparks Shot Tower, 57, 81 

Spaulding, A. G., Company, 83 

Spencer, Charles, 42 

sporting goods, 83 

Spreckles sugar refinery, 81 

Spring Garden, 9, 52-53, 61, 80, 85 

Standard Oil, 78 

State House. See Independence Hall 

steam & steam engines, 17, 19, 33-34, 

36-39, 46-47, 49-52, 55, 76, 83, 96 

steam boats, 36 

steel, 9, 11, 13-14, 27, 47, 49-51, 56, 

62, 66-69, 71, 73-74, 84, 86-87 

Stetson Hat, 11, 12, 56, 58-59, 65-68, 

75, 83, 85, 96 

Stewart, Martha, 96 

stove makers, 59, 63 

Stow, John, 29 

streetcars, 10-11, 13, 56, 59, 66, 71 

subway cars, 86, 96 

Sugar House refinery, 80, 88-89 

Sugar House Casino, 80, 88-89 

sugar refining, 51, 63, 66, 80, 88 

Sugar Trust, 80 

Sunoco, 87 

sweatshops, 66, 73 

Swedes, 20, 26 

Syng, Philip, 28 

T 

Tacony, 15, 64, 66-67, 73, 96-97 

Tacony Creek, 39, 41 

Tacony Iron Works, 66, 97 

tanneries, 21, 26, 27, 39, 62, 94 

Tasty Baking Company, 14, 15, 88-90 

Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 69, 74 

Texas, 85 

textiles, 8-11, 16, 18-19, 23, 27, 29-31, 

34, 38-40, 42-45, 57-58, 64-66, 70- 

71, 73-75, 77, 96 

tin, 22, 62 

tobacco, 62, 79-80 

tools, 8-9, 11, 27-29, 31, 51-52, 60, 

62, 85 

transportation equipment, 12, 90-92 

Tripoli, 47-48 

Tully, Christopher, 29 

turbines, 51 

Tuscarora Rice, 27, 39 

U 

umbrellas, 66 

Unilever, 81 

unions, see labor & labor unions 

United Company of Philadelphia for 

Promoting American Manufactures, 

30 

University City, 76 

University of Pennsylvania, 16, 17, 28, 

33 

USS Mississippi, 48 

USS New Jersey, 83 

USS Pennsylvania, 48 

USS Philadelphia, 47-48 

USS Princeton, 49 

USS United States, 47-48 

V 

Vietnam War, 93 

Vineland, New Jersey, 90 

W 

Wagner, John, 55 

Wakefield Mills, 42 

War of 1812, 37, 48, 57 

Washington, George, 36 

Washington, Martha, 34 

Watson, John Fanning, 27 

weavers, 22, 45, 70, 75 

Wedgewood company, 28 

Weisbrod & Hess brewery, 89 

West Philadelphia, 44, 64, 71, 81, 90 

West, James & Charles shipyard, 21, 25 

Westinghouse, 76 

Wetherill & Brothers, 30-31, 54, 62 

Wetherill, Samuel, 30-31 

Wharton shipyard, 26 

wheelwrights, 40 

Whitaker textile mill, 39, 41 

White Lead. See paints & varnishes 

White, Josiah, 45-46, 53 

Whitman’s Chocolates, 80 

Wilmington, Delaware, 78 

windows and doors, 93 

Wingohocking Creek, 42 

Wissahickon Creek, 40-42, 94 

women, 12, 24, 27-28, 30-31, 33, 39, 

62, 66, 69, 73-75, 77, 80 

wool, 10-11, 22, 27, 29, 30, 38-39, 

42-44, 46, 57 

World War I, 9, 69, 74, 77, 80, 83 

World War II, 69, 74, 82-83, 85, 87 

Wyeth Laboratories, 55, 61, 91 

Y 

Yards Brewing Company, 15, 88-89 

Yewdall & Jones woolen mill, 44 

INDEX 

103


104

PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 

Historic profiles of businesses and organizations 

that have contributed to the development of the 

manufacturing industry in Philadelphia. 

Kingsbury, Inc.............................................................................106 

DeVal Corporation .......................................................................110 

Abbey Color, Incorporated.............................................................114 

Philly Case.................................................................................117 

The Rowland Company .................................................................118 

Tioga Pipe..................................................................................121 

Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. and Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Co..122 

Humphrys CoverSports .................................................................125 

Weber Display & Packaging ..........................................................126 

Crowne Plaza Philadelphia–Bucks County........................................129 

Amoroso’s Baking Company ...........................................................130 

Dietz & Watson...........................................................................133 

Bachmann Industries, Inc..............................................................134 

Ehmke Manufacturing Company .....................................................136 

Wickwire Warehouse, Inc. .............................................................138 

Donovan Heat Treating Co., Inc. ....................................................140 

Industrial Spring Steel .................................................................142 

Stockwell Elastomerics, Inc. ..........................................................144 

Peacock Laboratories, Inc. 

OptiXtal, Inc.........................................................................146 

Jowitt & Rodgers Co. ...................................................................148 

Harry Miller Corp. ......................................................................150 

The Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia.....................................151 


105

KINGSBURY, INC. 

@ 

Above: By 1910, a young Albert Kingsbury 

was granted a U.S. patent for his fluid film 

bearing. Just two years later he founded 

Kingsbury Machine Works, known today as 

Kingsbury, Inc. 

Through vision, ingenuity, perseverance, 

and integrity, Kingsbury, Inc., has been providing 

customers with products and services 

designed and manufactured to the highest 

standards for more than a century. A privatelyheld, 

family-owned company, Dr. Albert 

Kingsbury founded Kingsbury Machine 

Works in 1912. His descendants continue 

to provide leadership to and foster a strong 

relationship with management and employees 

through their commitment and service. 

Growing up among the factories and 

manufacturing plants of Cuyahoga Falls, 

Ohio, allowed a young Kingsbury to realize 

growing industries needed leaders educated 

in the fields of sciences and liberal arts. 

To that end, he enrolled at Cornell University 

in the late 1800s where he became intrigued 

by the science of lubrication. 

Following graduation with a master’s degree 

in Mechanical Engineering and teaching 

mechanical engineering at New Hampshire 

College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, 

Kingsbury joined Westinghouse Electric and 

Westinghouse Machine Company before 

founding his own company. In 1903, at the 

age of forty, Kingsbury successfully tested his 

fluid film bearing for the first time. By carrying 

the load on a slim film of oil, Kingsbury’s 

invention would swiftly move the industry forward 

as it dramatically reduced the mechanical 

limits imposed by friction on rotating 

equipment. Filing in 1907, he was granted a 

U.S. patent for his fluid film bearing in 1910. 

With the turn of the century, hydroelectric 

plants were being constructed along local 

rivers to harness the water needed to 

generate power. Pennsylvania Water & 

Power Company’s Holtwood Station, on 

Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River, was one of 

the most sophisticated hydroelectric plants in 

operation. With more than forty-five tons of 

force from the passing water, the existing roller 

bearings were failing and required replacement 

every two months. They invited Kingsbury 

to install his fluid film bearing in one of its 

turbines as a test. An inspection of the bearing 

twenty-five years later showed limited wear. 


106

@ 

Left: An early Kingsbury advertisement 

touts the fact that the Niagara Falls Power 

Company in Niagara Falls, New York, 

was using Kingsbury bearings in its new 

hydroelectric units. 

News spread of the success of the fluid 

film bearing and customers, including General 

Electric, Allis-Chalmers, and the United States 

Navy, sought out Kingsbury for his expertise 

and wisdom. In 1911 the U. S. Navy Collier 

Neptune was the first naval ship to test a 

Kingsbury bearing and in 1917 the Navy 

began using the bearings on propeller shafts 

as well. By 1925 more than 700 Navy ships 

were using them. Kingsbury continued to 

explore ways to increase the load capacity of 

bearings and developed the equalizing thrust 

bearing. The utilization of a self-equalizing 

system resulted in uniformly distributing the 

load on the shoe (or operating) surface to 

reduce uneven wear. 

Headquartered in Philadelphia since its 

founding, Kingsbury, Inc. is recognized 

for developing the first hydraulic thrust 

bearing, first horizontal pivoted-shoe journal 

bearing, and first directed lubrication bearing. 

Kingsbury customers receive the highest 

level of engineering and technical expertise. 

In addition to solving customers’ most 

challenging applications and providing comprehensive 

aftermarket support, it remains 

on the cutting edge of research and development 

with its on-site laboratory. 

Customers, both existing and prospective, 

receive thorough technical reviews of their 

needs and are provided products to ensure 

optimal results. Service and support programs 

for the life of the bearing ensure 

peak performance. Designed for operational 

testing, the laboratory allows the fine tuning 

of its designs and verifies the performance 

of enhancements under a wide range of 

applications and conditions. 

Bottom, left: Following twenty-five years 

of continuous use in the Holtwood Station 

hydroelectric plant in Lancaster County, 

the Kingsbury fluid film bearing was 

inspected by Dr. Albert Kingsbury and 

Frederick A. Allner, who eventually became 

a Pennsylvania Water & Power Company 

vice president. The result revolutionized the 

industry as it presented only minimal wear 

compared to roller bearings that required 

replacement every other month. 

Bottom, right: A precision Kingsbury thrust 

bearing, polished and gleaming, has the 

presence of sculpture. A perfect geometric 

form, it can move 30,000 ton Navy ships 

faster with less fuel and allows huge 

turbines to spin and provide us the 

electricity on which we depend. 


107

@ 

Left: From those larger than the size of a 

car to one that would fit in the hand, 

Kingsbury, Inc., remains the leader in the 

bearing industry. 

With service and repair divisions on both 

coasts, in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and Yuba 

City, California, the company is equipped to 

diagnose, repair, and replace bearings quickly 

and efficiently. In addition, Kingsbury field 

service engineers are available to address the 

needs of customers worldwide. In 2014 the 

Yuba City location became home to a new 

manufacturing plant, making Kingsbury the 

premiere repair and service facility on the 

West Coast. 

on the reputation of Messinger in the ball, 

radial, and roller bearings industry. 

In 2012, Kingsbury opened a sales and 

technical office in Göttingen, Germany. Two 

years later an expansion provided for the 

company’s first offshore manufacturing facility. 

Well received by customers in Germany, 

Austria, and Switzerland, the venture has provided 

the opportunity for significant growth 

around the globe. 

Right: Built in the 1930s, Kingsbury 

bearings were installed during the 

construction phase of the Hoover Dam. 

A national landmark spanning the Colorado 

River between Arizona and Nevada, the 

dam is 726 feet high and 1,244 feet wide. 

Opposite, top: More than a century 

since its founding, the Kingsbury family 

remains actively involved in the day-to-day 

operations. Kingsbury family shareholders 

from left to right: Matthew M. Calderon 

(great-grandson), Richard B. Jolly 

(great-grandson), Alison B. Jolly 

(granddaughter), Reverend David 

Kingsbury Chase (grandson), 

Diana Calderon (granddaughter-in-law), 

Geoffrey K. “Geoff” deMers (grandson), 

Dawn K. Chase (great-granddaughter), 

Wayne J. Calderon (great-grandson), 

Alison M. Chase (granddaughter), 

Andrew K. Chase (great-grandson), 

Margaretta Jolly (great-granddaughter), 

Arthur M. Jolly (great-grandson), Evelyn K. 

“Eve” Clulow (great-granddaughter), and 

Erskine Brewster “Bruce” Calderon 

(great-grandson). 

Opposite, bottom: For Albert Kingsbury’s 

innovations and contributions, he has 

received many honors and awards, 

including The John Scott Medal from the 

City of Philadelphia, Elliott Cresson Medal 

from the Franklin Institute, and a building 

dedicated in his honor at the University of 

New Hampshire, formerly New Hampshire 

College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 

In addition to its core line of flooded 

hydrodynamic bearings, Kingsbury offers 

directed lubrication, fixed profile, rolling 

element and specialty bearings, and bearing 

systems. All are designed to enhance the 

performance of equipment in hydroelectric 

and power generation, oil and gas, marine, 

motor and pump, process machinery, 

rock crushing, mining, steel making, and 

defense, among countless other applications 

and industries. 

In 2004, Kingsbury expanded its offerings 

by acquiring Messinger Bearings Corporation, 

also founded in 1912. Messinger was a specialty 

manufacturer of large, heavy-load element 

bearings, including ball bearing, radial roller 

bearings, and thrust roller bearings. The 

acquisition allowed Kingsbury’s expansion 

into the pulp and paper, steel beverage, and 

heavy construction markets while building 

The advantages of a Kingsbury bearing have 

not changed. Incredibly durable, the bearings 

have an indefinite life because wedge-shaped 

oil films keep bearing surfaces apart. The oil 

films carry tremendous pressures, safely 

carrying loads exceeding 2 million pounds. 

Perfect lubrication allows for no limits on 

speed, ranging from 3 to 30,000 r.p.m. No 

metallic rubbing results in low friction with 

coefficients of .001 to .005 inches in most 

conditions. By keeping oil clean and cooled 

there is no need for repairs, resulting in low 

maintenance. And, the radial accessibility 

provides easy access for routine inspection. 

The stability and longevity of the Kingsbury 

products have allowed for careers spanning 

forty years with children and grandchildren 

of employees joining the Kingsbury family. 

The close-knit atmosphere fosters creativity 

and innovation, resulting in new products 

and technical advances. Company pride and 

loyalty are celebrated and protected by 

members of the Kingsbury team. Together they 

continue to provide customers with products 

and services designed and manufactured to 

the highest standards in the industry. 


108


109

DEVAL 

CORPORATION 

@ 

Above: Early DeVal (CARCO) after start up 

in late 1950s. 

Below: Early expansion at DeVal in the 

early 1960s. 

DeVal Corporation, a Philadelphia company, 

is a manufacturer responsible for the efficiency 

and reliability of vital armament weapons 

support equipment aboard U.S. Navy aircraft 

carriers and various land bases throughout 

the world. DeVal Corporation, a prime contractor 

for the Defense Department, manufactures 

and remanufactures certified weapons 

loading equipment for the Navy, Marine 

Corps and, to a lesser extent, the Air Force. 

In addition, various large defense companies 

such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman 

and AUSTAL Ship Building are also long 

term customers. 

DeVal Corporation produces weapons handling 

equipment such as transporters, loaders 

and adaptors used by the military to load 

bombs and missiles. The various products manufactured 

by DeVal ensure that weapons may be 

moved safely from the holding areas and the 

magazine area, and then transported to the 

aircraft and loaded onto the various aircraft. 

DeVal has grown from a small one-or-two 

man garage-type operation to today’s modern, 

sophisticated AS9100C certified manufacturing 

facility. The company was started December 8, 

1954, by Navy Veteran Charles A. ‘Chick’ Russo 

as a small, all-purpose machine shop. Russo 

died relatively young, but the business was 

carried on by two of his sons. Under their 

direction, the company began to expand. 

The company’s first growth came about 

when the company obtained substantial subcontracts 

from Yale & Towne for machined 

parts and forgings for their forklifts. In the 

1960s the firm began supplying parts to 

Chrysler Tank Division for machined parts 

involving weldments such as the Turret 

Platforms for tanks, which were formed 

and welded at DeVal, DeLaval Turbine 

(large machined rings), and Westinghouse 

Electric for centrifugal castings, to mention 

but a few. 

In the beginning, the company name was 

CARCO Industries, derived from the founder 

Charles A. Russo’s initials—CARCO. As the 

company continued to diversify, the name 

was changed April 12, 1962, to DeVal 


110

Aerodynamics. The name DeVal was a tribute 

to the Delaware Valley, the company’s home 

base. The company officially became DeVal 

Corporation in approximately 1965. 

As DeVal Corporation expanded its list of 

support equipment manufactured for the 

government, it was able to obtain a contract in 

1969 to provide support equipment to Israel 

for various adapters. DeVal received a visit 

from Moshe Dayan, Israel’s Minister of Foreign 

Affairs under Prime Minister Golda Meir. It 

was a very exciting event; unfortunately, Chick 

passed away in 1966 and was not present to 

experience the fruits of his labor. 

In the mid-1960s, Dominic Durinzi, Jr., 

and Ronald Penska began working at DeVal 

part-time while in high school and college. 

They joined the company full-time after 

graduation and, in 1989, they purchased the 

company from Frank Russo. 

Durinzi, a 1974 graduate of Penn State 

University, serves as company president. 

He joined the company full-time following 

college, starting as Director of Engineering. 

He was promoted to Director of Quality 

Control and Engineering in 1980 and became 

Director of Contracts and Marketing prior to 

the purchase of the company. 

Penska joined the company after earning 

his B.A. degree from West Chester University 

in 1970. After working several years in the 

Engineering Department, he became General 

Manager of the Purchasing Department in 

1981. Penska serves as Vice President of 

DeVal Corporation and oversees plant operations 

on a daily basis. 

In 1980, DeVal began remanufacturing 

Navy support equipment. This segment of 

the business continued to grow and a major 

breakthrough came in 1981 when DeVal 

secured a remanufacturing contract for all 

the weapons-related equipment aboard Navy 

aircraft carriers. “We remanufactured anything 

that involved armament, including all weapons 

supports systems. There were probably fifty 

different items,” comments Durinzi. 

@ 

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, 

seen here with an array of missiles, bomb 

ordnance and ammunition. It was used for 

many years by the United States Navy as 

an interceptor, air superiority, and multirole 

combat aircraft. 


111

@ 

Above: The DeVal shop assembly area. 

Below: The DeVal shop testing facilities. 

“At this point, the company really broke 

out,” Durinzi explains. “The business boomed 

during the ‘80s and we had 400 employees 

working out of a 150,000 square foot facility. 

Annual revenues reached $20 million plus. 

We were working around the clock on several 

projects to get the equipment out to sea in 

record times.” 

Defense contracts are closely tied to world 

events and as tensions eased in the early 

1990s, the number of military contracts began 

to decline, partly because the Navy began 

doing more remanufacturing in-house. 

To aid in the transition, DeVal started 

looking for some promising civilian markets 

so it could diversify its product line. 

This commercial business venture involved 

the remanufacturing of Department of 

Transportation (DOT) equipment for various 

states such as Delaware, New York, North 

Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Additionally, DeVal produced the first generation 

of LED smart signage and Kiosks. This 

business of smart signage was greatly affected 

due to the economical impact following the 

9/11 terrorist attacks, when advertising revenues 

dropped to low levels. This business 

product eventually dwindled to zero. The 

DOT remanufacturing programs also slowed 

down after several years, leaving the Defense 

Department as the only product line and 

customer, as it was in the past. 

Independent computer software has been 

developed so that DeVal may monitor and 

regulate internal performance, vendor performance, 

annual requirements and external 

field performances. 

DeVal’s extensive capabilities allow for 

multiple or diverse programs and projects 

that include cleaning and sandblasting; certified 

welding and sheet metal fabrication; 

machining, milling, drilling and heat treating; 

specialized tooling, die and fixture processing; 

hydraulic teardown and assembly and 

testing with a fully equipped hydraulic test 

station; electrical assembly and troubleshooting; 

a self-contained polyurethane paint line; 

computer assisted stock inventory control; 

certified weight testing; assembly, finalization, 


112

packaging and shipping; and nondestructive 

testing, including ferrous and non-ferrous 

Magnaflux and Penetrant inspection. 

DeVal Corporation is a certified small 

business entity and third party certified to 

the strict quality program of ISO 9001/2008 

and AS9100C. 

Deval’s customer service-oriented team, 

along with its engineering design and reverse 

engineering capabilities, have made DeVal 

stand out in the fleet as the optimum source 

of support. From its very beginnings, DeVal 

has had a consistent workforce core that 

includes several employees with more than 

thirty-five years’ service. Current employment 

totals fifty-five. DeVal has always been a 

Union Shop. Bob Goepel, one of the firm’s 

original employees, retired last year at the age 

of eighty-three. 

DeVal Corporation currently operates from 

a 40,000 square foot facility that includes 

three buildings and storage yard at 7341 Tulip 

Street in Philadelphia. Equipment in the 

facility includes everything from vintage, 

1940s era tool making equipment to the 

very latest, state-of-the-art robotic welders 

and computer controlled machining centers. 

At this point the company can see involvement 

into the future with continuous U.S. 

defense work due to the unstable world 

conditions. Also, DeVal will do more business 

with foreign military customers such as 

Kuwait, for which DeVal recently completed 

a contract for SATS Weapons Loaders. 

In addition to the U.S. Department of 

Defense, domestic customers such as 

Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed 

Martin, Boeing, Austral and Raytheon will still 

be intensely supported by DeVal Corporation. 

DeVal Corporation is sixty-two years old 

and still maintains old-time customer support 

and dedication, but it utilizes modern 

communication methods and the advanced 

computer controlled machining, welding and 

quality assurance methods of the modern 

world to fulfill the defense customers’ needs. 

@ 

Above: Current view of the exterior of the 

DeVal Corporation’s building. 

Below: The DeVal Corporation’s shop at the 

finalization area. 


113

ABBEY COLOR, 

INCORPORATED 

@ 

Above: Abbey Color’s main manufacturing 

facility in Philadelphia, built c. 1900. 

Below: Logwood trees prior to conversion 

into Liquid Logwood at the AbbyMex 

manufacturing operation in Mexico. 

Abbey Color, Incorporated, one of the 

world’s premier dye manufacturers, is a 

global supplier to some of the world’s largest 

corporations and major industries. The 

firm’s industrial dyes, dye precursors and 

colorants have a wide range of applications, 

from pharmaceutical healing practices to 

industrial/commercial and military use. 

Abbey Color, known originally as Abbey 

Color & Chemical Co., was founded in 1968 

by William H. Schoellhorn and Andrew J. 

Dahlke. The men were both veterans of 

the dyestuff business: Schoellhorn as a sales 

executive with Tenneco and other firms, and 

Dahlke with J. S. Young Co. of Baltimore. 

In the mid-1960s, the major dyestuff 

manufacturers made a strategic decision to 

ship only truckload quantities of products to 

their customers. This meant that shipments of 

less than truckload quantities would be done 

through a distributor network. Recognizing 

a business opportunity, Schoellhorn left his 

job and became a distributor of drum-size 

shipments. Working from his kitchen table, 

Schoellhorn developed enough business to 

justify moving to a facility on Margaret Street 


The move to Margaret Street provided 

space for the company to repackage dyes into 

less than drum-size quantities. The facility 

also provided room for Abbey Color to start 

manufacturing dyes rather than just re-selling 

dyes made by other companies. 

Today, Abbey Color is a manufacturer of 

dyestuffs, epoxy resin repair kits, small 

packaging components and leak detection 

units. Abbey Color is a niche manufacturer 

in the majority of its markets. However, in 

the manufacture and sales of Fluorescein, 

Uranine, Hematoxylin and Hematine, the 

company holds a significant market share. 

As an interesting historical fact, while on 

Margaret Street the burglary of a drum of dye 

helped change the direction of the company. 

The dye, Uranine, is a non-hazardous fluorescing 

dye used for water tracing. When 

some of the stolen dye leaked, it caused the 

nearby stream to turn bright green. Although 

the resulting attention from authorities was 

not pleasant, it did prompt the founders to 

realize the potential market for a product that 

would establish the background of their 

manufacturing operations. This, in turn, led 

to a search for a more appropriately suited 

manufacturing site. 

In 1978 that search culminated in the 

purchase of a four-story building at 400 East 

Tioga Street, a structure built by Baxter, Kelly 

& Faust around the turn of the twentieth 

century. This move allowed Abbey Color to 

expand its manufacturing capabilities, including 

the production of the water-tracing dye 

Uranine. In a more recent move to allow for 

future expansion, the company purchased an 

additional 33,000 square feet of production 

space adjacent to the Tioga Street property. 


114

Another step in product advancement 

came about through Dahlke’s experience 

with the extraction of dye from wood, 

accomplished by chipping trees and extracting 

the dye content called Logwood Extract. 

This led Abbey to assist in the construction 

of a dye extraction plant in Mexico in 1980. 

In later years this extraction plant was added 

to the group of Abbey companies. 

In 1991 the assets of Abbey Color & 

Chemical Co., Inc. were purchased by Robert 

S. Pettus and Roger S. Nielsen. With this 

purchase, the name was changed to Abbey 

Color Incorporated. The Nielsen family also 

owns and is involved in the operations of 

Abbey Green, Inc., a construction and demolition 

waste recycler in Winston-Salem, North 

Carolina, and AbbyMex, the aforementioned 

dye stuff manufacturer located in Mexico. 

The history behind AbbyMex began with 

the need to secure the long-term supply of the 

extract for the production of Hematoxylin and 

Hematine. To do so, the new owners began to 

pursue a deeper business relationship with 

this supplier. A key step in the process was 

to establish a cross-cultural communication 

based relationship, taking the norms and 

values of the Mexican business culture into 

account. Once this was accomplished, the 

bond between Nielsen and the owner of 

the Mexican plant continued to strengthen. 

Over the past two decades the relationship 

between the two companies has become formalized, 

creating AbbyMex, and ensuring the 

longevity of the product for the marketplace. 

Over time, the dye stuff market changed 

as major dye users began to move outside the 

United States, and Abbey Color managers 

knew they needed to differentiate their products 

from the influx of dye-stuff products 

coming into the U.S. from off-shore producers. 

This was done by establishing industry 

standards for all of Abbey Color’s dyes, based 

on scientific measurements and quality manufacturing 

processes that produced a consistent 

product for each lot. This differentiation 

lasted only a short period of time, however, 

as other dye stuff providers followed suit. 

In 1998, Abbey Color purchased the 

assets of two companies in West Chester, 

Pennsylvania. West Chester Chemical was a 

producer of leak detection fluids and epoxy 

resin repair kits for the gas distribution 

markets. Bonded Products was the firm’s 

manufacturing and marketing arm to the 

U.S. defense industry. These businesses 

were merged into Abbey Products, a DBA of 

Abbey Color. 

Abbey Color Incorporated has 27 employees 

in Philadelphia, 25 in North Carolina and 

15 in Mexico. The company’s stated purpose 

is to provide jobs for those needing a second 

chance. Thus, Abbey Color provides competitive 

wages and benefits, a safe working environment 

and the promise that no employee 

will be laid off. Employees may, of course, be 

fired for legitimate reasons, but the owners 

feel that a layoff is the failure of leadership 

in managing the company properly. Abbey 

Color is committed to ensuring that employees 

will not suffer because of leadership 

incompetence. Ten percent of the company’s 

annual profit is returned to the employees in 

the form of an annual bonus. 

An additional ten percent of the company’s 

annual profit is earmarked for charity and 

the contributions are administered with input 

from employees. Needs are reviewed each 

year, and local projects are updated. Among 

the projects supported by Abbey Color are 

local church mission trips, youth organizations 

designated for after-school programs 

and individual relief organizations serving 

the immediate Philadelphia community. 

@ 

Peter Hughes (VP/GM) conducts a 

quarterly process review with employees. 


115

second generation of the Nielsen family. The 

first generation is represented by Joyce and 

Roger Nielsen. Second generation family 

members involved in the business are Brian 

James Nielsen, Kristen Lee Nielsen Donnelly, 

and Sarah Elizabeth Nielsen. 

The plan is for each generation to provide 

the opportunity for spouses to work in 

the business, if they desire. However, the 

company will be strategically directed by 

the family through the leadership of the 

family council. Outside professionals will 

be encouraged to provide leadership in the 

businesses through direct employment and 

as advisors to the family council. 

@ 

Above: Part of the second Nielsen 

generation at Abbey, Brian and Sarah 

discuss improvements to the current 

inventory system. 

Right: Abbey Color’s Fluorescein in its final 

stages of production. 

Below: Brian Nielsen leads a meeting with 

the quality control department. 

Pettus and Nielsen grew the company 

four-fold from 1991 to 2003. In late 2002, 

Pettus was diagnosed with inoperable cancer 

and sold his shares of the business to Nielsen. 

This began the evolution of Abbey Color into 

a family business operated jointly by family 

and professional advisors. 

Abbey Color has enjoyed a 1.7-fold 

increase in revenue during the past ten years 

and annual revenue now totals $8-10 million 

from the Philadelphia location, generated 

from more than one thousand customers. 

Abbey Color’s ten-year plan calls for 

transitioning ownership and operating 

responsibility of all the companies to the 

Building on the company’s mission statement—Impact 

Lives…Create Wealth—additional 

investment is currently underway in the 

Philadelphia and Mexico operations. These 

investments will allow for additional growth 

in the facility and additional employment 



116

PHILLY CASE 

From the basement of a south Philadelphia 

row house to revenues exceeding $3 

million, Philly Case is nothing less than a 

Cinderella story. 

At the age of thirteen, Philly Case founder 

Vince “Vinny” Barbati lost his father and 

dropped out of school to support his family. 

The following years were spent as a longshoreman 

and working in a north Philadelphia trunk 

shop alongside his uncle, Anthony Altieri. 

Following the relocation of the trunk 

shop, and with the closest competitor in 

New York City, Barbati believed securing the 

local market was worth the gamble. With no 

existing customers and no machinery, he 

and his wife, Mary Ann, combined a loan 

against the equity of their home and Vince’s 

pension fund to open Philly Case in 1989 in 

a basement in south Philadelphia. More than 

twenty-five years later revenues exceed $3 

million annually and the company occupies 

more than 30,000 square feet of space. 

Philly Case is one of the only case makers 

in the country to offer a complete range of 

custom ATA, roto-molded, and lightweight 

poly cases. The customer base is as diverse 

as their needs. The Philadelphia Orchestra 

depends on them to create lightweight, manageable 

cases to transport their fine and fragile 

instruments. Their hometown Philadelphia 

Eagles’ players and coaching staff, along with 

numerous other NFL teams, count on them 

for the safe transportation of everything from 

shoes and helmets to medical supplies and 

coaches’ belongings. Nationally known in the 

trade show industry, Unisys Corporation 

relies on them to ensure their refrigeratorsized 

computers arrive safely at locations 

throughout the United States and abroad. 

According to 

Barbati, “We make 

‘em all. In fact, if 

you go to the shore 

this summer, take a 

look at the vintage 

shoulder-slung 

boxes the ice cream 

peddlers use. We 

make those, too!” 

Over the years 

Barbati has moved 

from the shop floor 

to the executive 

office. In searching 

for resources to aide 

in the transition, 

he joined Vistage International, a peer-to-peer 

membership organization for owners and 

executives of small- to mid-size businesses. 

The relationship has helped him successfully 

lead the company into the twenty-first century. 

In addition to more than eighty-five years 

of family experience, Philly Case’s craftsmen 

bring hundreds of years of cumulative experience 

and are the best in the business. Their 

craftsmanship and fabrication is recognized as 

second to none and their customer service is 

unmatched. Through it all, it is important to 

the Barbatis that the company remain a family 

business—the “Philly Case Family” that is. 

@ 

Above: Vinny and Maryann Barbati. 


117

THE ROWLAND 

COMPANY 

@ 

Above: Maxwell Rowland pictured sometime 

in the 1800s. 

Below: The Annex at Rowland 

Shovel Works. 

With a long and distinguished history 

that pre-dates the American Revolution by 

forty-four years, The Rowland Company is 

the oldest continually operated company in 

Pennsylvania and one of the oldest in the 

United States. After nearly three centuries, The 

Rowland Company continues as a prosperous 

and successful business, now specializing in 

the distribution and fabrication/assembly of 

industrial power transmission products. 

The Rowland Company was founded in 

1732 by Benjamin Rowland, a descendant of 

John Rowland who arrived in America with 

William Penn in 1682. In the beginning, the 

company manufactured shovels and other 

basic items needed by those carving a new 

nation from the wilderness. In addition to 

shovels, the company produced saws, axes, 

rakes, picks, and springs for wagon wheels. 

The Rowland family was involved in a 

number of related businesses in the Delaware 

Valley and all were situated along creeks— 

mainly the Pennypack—because the streams 

powered giant water wheels that drove the 

machines used in the manufacturing process. 

Rowland’s sons continued the operation 

founded by their father, renaming it The 

William and Harvey Rowland Company. A 

section of Philadelphia once known as 

Rowlandville was located in the vicinity of 

Tacony Creek, near Wyoming Avenue. The 

community was named for the Rowland Shovel 

factory. Even though most of the buildings 

associated with the company have been 

destroyed, the Shovel Shop at 300 Ashbourne 

Road remains. The large number of people 

employed by T. Rowland & Sons precipitated 

the development of Milltown, which later 

became known as Cheltenham Village. 

The business was known by a number of 

names as it transitioned among various 

family members. Among these were William 

Rowland & Co., Rowland Saw Works, William 

& Harvey Rowland Company, Thomas 

Rowland & Sons Shovel Works, and Maxwell 

Rowland & Company. 

The company that was founded in the 

rugged pioneer days before the Revolution 

survived and grew by adapting to new technology 

and products. A major factor in the 

company’s development was the production 

of tools used by Union forces during the Civil 

War. A long, rectangular shovel exhibited at 

the Great Centennial in 1876 in Fairmount 

Park was awarded first prize. A fire in 1884 

nearly ended the life of the company, but the 

plant was rebuilt. 

As the company evolved into modern 

times, it became heavily involved in the 

distribution of automotive and truck parts, 

with branch locations in Atlanta, Georgia, 

and Jacksonville, Florida. 

In the early 1950s, the Rowland family 

sold all locations to outside interests, except 

the Philadelphia operation. It continued to 

distribute automotive parts and heavy duty 

items such as power take-offs and drive shafts 

for the truck market. The company continued 

in this line of distribution until 1962 when it 

was purchased by Gulf & Western Industries. 

At the same time as The Rowland acquisition, 

Gulf & Western also purchased a 

Philadelphia company by the name of Gaul, 

Derr and Shearer, another automotive parts 

supplier. This company, which was owned by 

David Yost, was merged with Rowland’s business 

and moved out to King of Prussia under 

the name American Parts System. Over the next 

five years the auto parts business was made 

the focus for Gulf & Western, and they wanted 

out of the heavy duty truck parts business. 

In 1967, Yost, who was then an executive 

with Gulf & Western, decided to buy the old 

Rowland heavy duty truck parts operation, 

and moved The Rowland Company into a 

new era. 


118

Under Yost’s direction, The Rowland 

Company began selling power take-off and 

driveline parts to the heavy duty trucking 

market. Additional complementary product 

lines, such as truck lighting, exhaust, and 

couplings were introduced as well. 

During the 1970s, additional sales personnel 

were brought in to explore selling some of 

the trucking products into other markets. 

The Rowland Company became a secondgeneration 

company under the Yost family in 

1972 when Steven Yost, David’s son, joined 

the family business. 

Steven succeeded his father as company 

president in 1983, and by the end of the 

1980s, The Rowland Company had grown 

into two main business interests—engine parts 

and PTO’s/drivelines for industrial markets. 

The Rowland Company facilities were 

destroyed by fire in 1989, leaving nothing 

but embers. This tragedy would lead the 

company to its current location on North 

Twentieth Street in Philadelphia to begin the 

struggle to get back on its feet. 

After the fire, a decision was made to focus 

solely on the industrial markets. The engine 

parts business was sold off due to low profit 

margins and high inventory values. The industrial 

market was better suited due to the ‘value 

added’ the company could provide, which 

included engineering and design services. 

As the need for mechanical power transmission 

diminished in the 1990s, the company 

expanded to new products such as crane 

electrification, air starters and other related 

products. The company also provided 

machine shop services such as relining brake 

pads and shoes, rings and bands, and clutch 

plates; providing bonding and riveting of 

linings; fabrication of metal components; 

fabrication/repair of drive shafts; brake, 

clutch, and coupling repair; and fabrication/ 

assembly of push-pull cables. 

During the 2000s, The Rowland Company 

continued its expansion of new product lines 

and industries. Partnering with world-leading 

manufacturers to bring its customers the 

highest quality innovations in crane controls 

and electrification components, it also applied 

for and received its first patent in the stage 

rigging industry in 2011. The safety brake 

is designed specifically for use in raising and 

lowering of theater curtains and orchestra 

pits. Its design also has wide spread adaptability 

to other industries such as power 

generation, crane elevators and mining. 

Today, The Rowland Company continues to 

specialize in the distribution and fabrication/ 

assembly of industrial power transmission 

products. This involves application engineering, 

distribution and/or modification of 

products to meet a customer’s specific 

needs. The Rowland Company prides itself as 

“The Problem Solver” in any type of situation 

that involves the transmission of power from 

a driven force to a driving force. Products 

typically used in these power transmission 

applications include brakes, clutches, couplings, 

drive shafts, friction materials and 

other related items. 

The customer base for The Rowland 

Company is both national and international, 

with a focus on the east coast of the United 

States. The company has shipped product to 

all seven continents, including Antarctica. 

Their expansive customer base includes steel, 

metalworking, marine (tugs and large ships), 

transit, paper, mining (oil, gas, gold, copper), 

cranes (overhead/port), entertainment (amusement 

park rides, stages), and the military. 

@ 

Above: Over forty flags line The Rowland 

Company’s warehouse representing the 

numerous countries they do business with. 

Below: David Yost made sure the Rowland 

family name lived on. 


119

@ 

Above: A few of the brake, clutch, and crane 

products that The Rowland Company 

currently offers. 

Below: The Rowland Company Sales 

Engineer, Donald Morrissey, stands in front 

of a Ball Mill during a project in Columbia, 

South America. 

Since the beginning the Yost family has 

always played a role in company management. 

Helen Yost—David’s daughter and Steve’s 

sister—joined the company in 1992 to help 

market the firm to different industries and 

other like-minded companies throughout the 

U.S. She was named president in 2007. 

A third generation joined the company 

in 2001 when Barton Yost—Steve’s son— 

joined the company. With a 

background and degree in 

engineering, he added support 

for a growing customer 

base. Adam Yost—Steve’s son 

and Bart’s brother—entered 

the company in 2006. His 

background and degree 

in business management 

provides support for the 

administrative/finance side 

of The Rowland Company. 

In 2014, Barton succeeded 

Helen as company president 

with Adam serving as 

vice president. 

The Rowland Company 

operates from a 50,000 

square foot facility at 4900 

North Twentieth Street in the Germantown 

section of Philadelphia. Annual revenues 

range between $5 and $10 million and the 

company has fourteen full-time employees. 

In the early history of the company, the 

Rowland family was very involved in civic 

and community activities, including the 

building and support of new schools and 

churches. This tradition continues under 

the leadership of the Yost family. 

The company supports Philadelphia 

high schools by contributing funds 

for their robotics programs. Support of 

these robotic programs help young 

men and women explore their 

engineering capabilities and allows 

them to participate in activities that 

otherwise would not have proper 

funding. They are also heavily involved 

with the PTDA Foundation, which 

supports education and jobs in the 

field of industrial distribution. 

In 2013, The Rowland Company was 

named to the Pennsylvania Governor’s 

Advisory Council for Manufacturing. 

Although the oldest continually 

operating company in Philadelphia 

and one of the oldest in the nation, 

The Rowland Company enjoys young, 

energetic leadership and continues to 

develop new products and services for 

its ever growing market. 


120

The story of Tioga Pipe is a classic post 

World War II story of hustle, risk, entrepreneurship, 

and success that started during the 

golden years of Philadelphia’s industrial growth. 

Before World War II, Morton Keiser, the 

founder of Tioga Pipe Supply Co., Inc. 

(“Tioga”), who was born in Philadelphia in 

1918, worked in a local steel pipe yard as 

a foreman. He served in the Fighting 69th 

Infantry Division in the European Theatre and 

upon his return was offered his former job. 

Mort, as everyone called him, declined the 

offer because he saw opportunities to strike 

out on his own and be his own boss. After 

making deals and “warehousing” material 

out of his car for a long stretch of time, he 

used his savings to purchase a permanent 

warehouse located at the corner of Tulip 

and Tioga Streets in Philadelphia. Tioga is 

named after the Tioga Indians who were 

the first inhabitants of the area. According 

to unconfirmed legend, “Tioga” roughly 

translates into the words “fair traders.” 

Tioga was formally incorporated in 1946 and 

during this post-war time period Philadelphia, 

as well as the country’s growing industrial 

complex, had an appetite for steel products. 

Throughout the decades, Tioga’s commitment 

to customers has helped it grow from 

its humble beginnings into one of the top 

suppliers of critical materials in the world. 

As the company and the second generation, 

and more recently the third 

generation, joined the workforce to run 

the company, Tioga grew and found 

many new industrial markets both 

domestically and internationally. In 

addition to geographic expansion, 

Tioga incorporated more value-added 

services and diverse product lines. 

Some of the new offerings and services 

included nickel alloys, specialized 

heavy wall products, military specifications, 

chrome moly, stainless, nuclear, 

navy nuclear, end preparation, inventory 

management offerings, in house 

destructive/non-destructive/hydro testing 

and project management. 

The Tioga Pipe story is chock full 

of great anecdotes and memories of a 

family business, amazing coworkers, 

integrity, successes, customers, vendors, and 

growth. The common core throughout the 

years has been the spirit of Mort—the 

founder and patriarch of the company who 

had a stellar work ethic, was very charitable 

in his own quiet way and had a reputation 

as one of the all-time most recognized names 

in the industry. Although Mort passed away 

in 2007, his impact lives on. 

Mort was the recipient of many awards 

throughout his career and one in particular 

was his induction into the Hall of Fame of 

the NASPD (National Association of Steel Pipe 

Distributors) posthumously in 2013. 

@ 

TIOGA PIPE 

Above: Morton Keiser, the founder of 

Tioga Pipe Supply Co., Inc. 

Below: The original Tioga Pipe Supply Co., 

Inc. located at the corner of Tulip and Tioga 

Streets in Philadelphia. 


121

ORIGINAL 

PHILLY 

CHEESESTEAK 

CO. AND 

PHILADELPHIA 

PRE-COOKED 

STEAK CO. 

@ 

Above: Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. 

co-founder Nicholas Karamatsoukas and 

James Trivelis, the company’s first 

general manager. 

Below: Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. 

co-founder George Kontodemos. 

In 1981, nearly fifty years following the 

creation of the “cheesesteak” sandwich, Greek 

immigrants Nicholas Karamatsoukas and 

George Kontodemos founded the Roxborough 

Meat Company. Known today as the Original 

Philly Cheesesteak Co., the business was born 

out of the founders’ innovative idea to 

manufacturer and sell portion controlled Philly 

Steaks to local restaurateurs. 

Up until then, local steak shops and 

restaurants were producing each and every 

cheesesteak manually—procuring, prepping 

and slicing steaks in-house on a daily basis. 

The lack of consistency in the cut and quality, 

combined with the time and labor involved in 

preparing the meat, were costing the operators 

both time and money. The popularity of the 

Cheesesteak was growing rapidly and an ever 

increasing number of restaurants were adding 

the tasty sandwich to their menus throughout 

the city but the inefficiency in preparation 

remained. The partners at the Original Philly 

Cheesesteak Co. had the solution. 

Both in their thirties, Karamatsoukas, 

the former owner of a luncheonette, and 

Kontodemos, an independent restaurateur, 

engineered and perfected the manufacturing 

processes and began producing and supplying 

local restaurants with thinly-sliced, preportioned 

steaks from what was originally 

a garage in Roxborough, just nine miles 

northwest of Center City Philadelphia. 

Roxborough was, and remains today, 

steeped with a sense of community and 

entrepreneurship and the partners’ fledgling 

business was thriving as operators quickly 

realized the time and cost savings gained by 

giving up their manual methods and trying 

the Philly Steak innovation. It was not long 

before the operation grew too large for the 

confines of the little garage and a larger space 

was needed to allow the partners to meet the 

demands of their customers. 

The Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. moved 

into a larger building on West Bristol Street, near 

Fourth Street in Philadelphia’s Hunting Park 


122

neighborhood. The increased production capacity 

that the larger building afforded allowed the 

business to continue its sales expansion. During 

the early years, the company would deliver its 

Philly Steaks directly to operators using a small 

fleet of trucks. The deliveries, however, could 

not keep pace with demand and local, independent 

distributors started buying product 

from the company for resale to their customers. 

Once again, the founders were faced with a 

capacity problem. They not only needed more 

manufacturing and storage space, they needed 

a facility that could accommodate the larger 

and more frequent number of trucks coming to 

pick-up orders. 

In 1986, Karamatsoukas and Kontodemos 

moved the company to a much larger facility 

a mile away, on the corner of North Howard 

and West Venango Street. The property had 

all of the prerequisites to enable growth for 

years to come and grow it did. Around that 

time period, Karamatsoukas and Kontodemos 

hired James Trivelis as the company’s first 

general manager. Trivelis, who would go on 

to become president of the Original Philly 

Cheesesteak Co., was a rising star in the 

corporate world and used this experience to 

implement a rapid growth strategy, which set 

the stage for the company to go from a local 

presence, to a regional player and finally to a 

national force in the Philly Steak category. 

Meanwhile, in nearby Aston, Pennsylvania, 

entrepreneur Stavros “Steve” Kalisperis 

operated Mama Maria’s Stromboli, a USDAinspected 

food processing plant. A Greek 

immigrant, Kalisperis opened Mama Maria’s 

after having spent many years operating a 

successful pizza restaurant renowned for its 

excellent stromboli. Seeking to capitalize on 

this specialty, Kalisperis started the company 

to manufacture frozen strombolis for retail 

sale in grocery stores throughout the area. 

But as fate would have it, Kalisperis’ Italian- 

American product would be usurped by a 

Greek American relationship. 

Kalisperis and Karamatsoukas were 

acquainted at church and developed a friendship 

through the many social activities of the 

Greek American community in the area. The 

Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. continued to 

grow and Karamatsoukas, an engineer by degree 

and innovator by nature, wanted to explore the 

possibility of adding fully-cooked Philly Steaks 

to his company’s burgeoning product line. 

He asked Kalisperis if he could use Mama 

Maria’s restaurant-style ovens to test his idea 

and prepare fully-cooked, Philly Steak samples 

Kalisperis was happy to oblige. The test was 

a success and the friendly gesture soon developed 

into a partnership between Kalisperis 

and Karamatsoukas—Philadelphia Pre-Cooked 

Steak Co. was founded by the two in 1991. 

@ 

Authentic Original Philly Cheesesteak. 


123

@ 

Above: Original Philly product assortment. 

Below: Stavros “Steve” Kalisperis, cofounder 

of Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak 

Co. in front of the company’s first oven. 

Over the next two decades, both companies 

would grow their businesses and, in turn, 

help turbo-charge the global popularity of 

the cheesesteak sandwich as well. In 1994 

the Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. moved its 

headquarters and manufacturing facility to 

the current location on East Hunting Park 

Avenue. Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Co. 

would soon follow suit, moving from Aston 

to Venango Street and finally, to its current 

location on North American Street. 

Today, located a couple of blocks away 

from each other in Philadelphia’s Juniata 

neighborhood, the Original Philly Steak Co. 

and Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Co. 

operate two plants totaling well over 120,000 

square feet combined. The companies have 

earned the reputation as industry leaders 

and innovators; and the world’s largest 

manufacturers focused exclusively on Philly 

Steak products. From natural, unseasoned 

beef steaks to marinated chicken slices; 

from fully cooked beef steak slices with 

caramelized onions to cheesesteak egg 

rolls, the companies have well over 200 

product offerings. In fact, they craft enough 

raw and fully-cooked Philly Steak each day 

to make a cheesesteak large enough to stretch 

from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to 

Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. and 

Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak products are 

carried by all major food distributors and are 

available directly to the consumer at select 

wholesale clubs. Where are the products served? 

Everywhere—from neighborhood sub shops, 

delis, pizzerias, and bars to national restaurant 

chains, convenience stores, sports and 

entertainment venues, healthcare, education, 

corporate, military, and cafeteria operations. 

A quality driven approach extends beyond 

products and customer service at the companies, 

it is also the approach applied to the 

relationship with their 200 plus employees 

and the local community at large. Many of 

their employees have been with the companies 

since the day they opened their doors. 

The Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. and 

Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Co. are 

staunch supporters of their church communities, 

along with local nonprofit, academic and 

charitable philanthropic groups. Over the 

years the companies have raised hundreds 

of thousands of dollars for and volunteered 

their time to organizations including: 

ConKerr Cancer, an organization dedicated 

to helping children with cancer during treatment; 

Ronald McDonald House Charities; 

St. Christopher’s Children’s Foundation; and 

Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank 

and hunger relief organization. 

Experience, innovation and state-of-the-art 

facilities coupled with the passion, dedication 

and family run-business values, instilled by 

the companies’ founders, will help ensure 

the Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. and 

Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Co.’s continued 

success into the future. 


124

Humphrys is one of the oldest manufacturing 

companies in the United States, 

continuously operating in Philadelphia since 

1874 when two Humphrys brothers began 

following their dreams. David Humphrys 

opened D. C. Humphrys in 1874 selling 

flags and banners. Robert Humphrys opened 

R. A. Humphrys in 1882 to sell wagon 

covers, horse covers, and tarpaulins. Nate 

Nissenbaum, who founded his own tarp 

and drop cloth company in 1929, eventually 

purchased and combined both Humphrys’ 

companies in the mid-1900s. Through steady 

growth and acquisition, including CoverSports 

in the late 1990s and Globe Canvas Products 

in 2013, Humphrys CoverSports has thrived. 

More than 140 years later, the company is 

a national leader in its product categories. 

Operating today from a 160,000 square 

foot facility in Southwest Philadelphia with 

over 100 employees, Nate’s son, Ronald, is 

the CEO. Fred Hoge is president of the 

Humphrys CoverSports division, while Kevin 

Kelly is president of the Globe Canvas division. 

In the spirit of true family businesses, 

Ronald’s son Zak is senior vice president and 

his daughters Shana Brenner and Jamie 

Nissenbaum also are in managerial roles. 

While horse and wagon covers were in 

demand in nineteenth century Philadelphia, 

today the CoverSports division ships protective 

coverings for sports fields ranging 

from the Little League to the Major 

League. Products include FieldSaver ® tarps, 

GymGuard ® gym floor covers, FenceMate ® 

windscreens, and sports banners for all types 

of venues. In addition the company sells 

EnviroSafe ® —a unique line of gymnastic 

mats and wall padding with a foam-like core 

made from recycled soda bottles. 

The Humphrys division sells industrial 

type protective covers that include tarps for 

trucking, construction, industrial covers, and 

large geomembranes up to 200,000 square 

feet in one piece. Humphrys also produces 

military truck tarps and nuclear containment 

bags and tubing made to precise U.S. 

Government specifications. 

Globe Canvas Products, founded in 1974, 

is the leading Mid Atlantic wholesale awning 

manufacturer of commercial and residential 

stationary and retractable fabric awnings. 

Ronald states “while our product lines 

have changed since 1874, what has not 

changed is our constant commitment to 

serving our customers with prompt deliveries, 

quality products, and value. This is what 

has kept us the manufacturing leader in 

the markets we have sold for over 140 years. 

If we take care of our customer’s needs 

by being their best possible supplier of the 

products we offer, then lots of positive 

things will follow. We look forward to being 

a leading Philadelphia manufacturer in our 

3rd century of operation.” 

@ 

HUMPHRYS 

COVERSPORTS 

Above: An old R. A. Humphrys’ 

advertisement as it appeared in an early 

R. L. Polk & Company business directory. 

Below: Humphrys CoverSports’ FieldSaver ® 

Full Infield Tarp protects the field for 

Philadelphia’s hometown team, the Phillies. 


125

@ 

WEBER 

DISPLAY & 

PACKAGING 

Above: James R. Doherty, Jr., purchased the 

company in July 1991, saving jobs and 

cementing Weber’s long-term place in 

the community. 

Top, right: Upon its founding, Weber 

Display & Packaging was located at 

Fifth and Locust Streets in 

downtown Philadelphia. 

Below: In 1893, David Weber commissioned 

C. F. Langston of Philadelphia to design and 

manufacture the world’s first singlefacer—a 

specialty machine still used in the 

production of modern corrugated. 

Since 1893, the David Weber Company, 

doing business as Weber Display & 

Packaging, has been a respected leader in 

designing and manufacturing corrugated 

boxes and corrugated/non-corrugated point 

of purchase displays. The company’s founder, 

David Weber, was an early innovator in the 

packaging industry and patented many of the 

methods and devices that modern packaging 

manufacturers still utilize today. 

In the early days, Weber shared a building 

in downtown Philadelphia at Fifth and 

Locust Streets with machinist C. F. Langston. 

In 1895, Weber commissioned Langston 

to make the world’s first singlefacer—a 

machine that is still used today in the 

manufacturing of modern corrugated. In 

1925 the plant was relocated to its current 

facility at 3500 Richmond Street in the Port 

Richmond section of Philadelphia. Like many 

manufacturers in the city at that time, the 

company received its raw materials by rail, 

the remains of which are still visible within 

the facility today. 

By the 1960s, the Chesapeake Corporation, 

a Fortune 500 company, had purchased the 

company from Weber. With a humble 

beginning on July 31, 1991, fifty-four 

year old James R. Doherty, Jr., fulfilled his 

dream of becoming the owner of his own 

corrugated manufacturing firm when he 

purchased the plant from Chesapeake. 

Doherty, a Philadelphia native, began his 

career in the corrugated business as a 

salesman for the West Virginia Pulp & Paper 

Company. Showing relentless determination 

and great business acumen, he was quickly 

promoted and became the sales manager for 

that company’s Gloucester City plant. During 

the 1970s, he opened his first business, 

Premier Packaging in Cherry Hill, New 

Jersey, specializing in packaging for the 

pharmaceutical industry. 

Because many of the products sold 

by Premier Packaging were produced by 

Chesapeake’s Weber facility, a close relationship 

between the two companies grew. 

Strengthening that relationship was Doherty’s 

younger brother, Robert Doherty, first a 

salesman and later the sales manager for 

Chesapeake’s Philadelphia plant. In December 

1990, Chesapeake made public its plans to 

close the Philadelphia plant. 

Doherty had foreseen the devastating 

effects the closure would have on the local 

neighborhood and employees of the plant 

with whom he had worked closely during 

his career. Opportunity and a personal 

connection to the employees was the catalyst 

for Doherty’s offer to purchase the business. 

Chesapeake accepted the offer, and the David 

Weber Co., doing business as Weber Display 

& Packaging, again had new life as a pillar of 

the Port Richmond community. 

Weber Display & Packaging realized change 

was necessary to ensure the survival of the business 

during its first year. In 1992, Doherty 

recruited his son, James R. Doherty, III, and his 

son-in-law, James Zambon, to join the team as 

salesman and accounting manager, respectively. 


126

The Doherty brothers realized, to stay 

competitive and ensure the company’s 

survival, they could no longer rely on 

traditional brown box packaging sales alone. 

Weber Display & Packaging needed to make 

the jump to high-graphic products, which 

required advanced equipment for specialty 

packaging and displays. Within the first 

twelve months of opening, Doherty made the 

decision to make another sizeable investment 

in the business with the purchase of a pair of 

state-of-the-art Langston rotary die-cutters 

that shared five high-quality print stations. 

The investment in personnel and new 

technology paid off when, only a year 

after Doherty’s purchase, Weber Display 

& Packaging was named Philadelphia’s 

Chamber of Commerce “Manufacturer of 

the Year.” Despite a difficult economy, the 

following years brought new capital investments 

to the business. Within ten years, 

Weber had replaced all of its old machinery 

with state-of-the-art equipment, requiring 

an investment of over $20 million. Weber’s 

resulting success in the marketplace attracted 

new, high-caliber salespeople. 

At the turn of the millennium, Weber 

Display & Packaging had established itself 

as one of the few independent companies 

able to reinvest in the business and maintain 

the ability to be flexible while serving its 

customers in ways competitors could not. 

This attracted great people in all departments 

that fueled even further growth, allowing 

the company to continually enhance its 

products and services to meet the demands 

of today’s marketplace. 

A new focus on permanent displays, 

mixed with continued innovation and focus 

on its corrugated products, has allowed 

the company to bring its expertise and 

experience in packaging and retail marketing 

to a new customer base. Weber continues to 

proudly serve local, regional, and national 

customers, including other notable 

Philadelphia-based businesses such as 

Cardone Industries, Dietz & Watson, 

National Chemical, Southwark Metal, and 

Unique Industries. 

In 2004 the Doherty and Zambon families 

saw an opportunity to grow their existing 

warehousing and fulfillment services. They 

incorporated PakSafe Industries, LLC, and 

in 2006, purchased a 30,000 square foot 

building at 2905 East Ontario Street, located 

just around the corner from the Weber facility. 

@ 

Above: Weber offers innovative 

solutions and turnkey operations with 

uncompromising quality and service to their 

valued clients. 

Below: By 1925, Weber had outgrown its 

original location in downtown Philadelphia 

and built a new facility in the Port 

Richmond section of the city. 


127

@ 

The company continues to enhance its 

current product line, meeting the demands 

of today’s marketplace. 

James, Sr., also began one of the most 

difficult processes for an entrepreneur—the 

transition of leadership. The first generation 

Doherty became CEO and named his son, 

James R. Doherty, III, president of Weber 

Display & Packaging, supported by vice 

presidents Robert Doherty and James 

Zambon. With the addition of Robert’s son, 

Kevin, and Zambon’s son, J. Ryan, Weber 

Display & Packaging is now a third generation 

family-owned business. 

Weber Display & Packaging is a dedicated 

community partner, supporting the Richmond 

Corridor Association, Marine Corp’s Toys for 

Tots, Boy Scouts of America’s Scouting for 

Food, and Philabundance, among countless 

other charities. Annually, employees forego 

a traditional Christmas gift exchange and 

instead donate to a rotating group of 

charities. Employees and their families also 

benefit from the James R. Doherty, Jr. 

Memorial Education Award to continue 

their education. 

On August 14, 2013, James R. Doherty, Jr., 

passed away at seventy-six, leaving behind a 

legacy of hard work, dedication, corporate 

and personal integrity, professional prowess, 

and a labor of love for the business—values 

that second and third generation family 

management and Weber employees maintain 

today. Weber Display & Packaging continues 

this tradition of excellence, from its humble 

and historical beginnings to a family of more 

than 150 employees. 


128

Centrally located off the Pennsylvania 

Turnpike and just thirty minutes from the 

Philadelphia International Airport, the luxurious 

Crowne Plaza Philadelphia–Bucks County 

is ideal for those traveling on business, 

families on vacation, and dream weddings. 

Within five miles of the hotel, corporate 

travelers have access to a number of major 

companies and national headquarters, 

including General Electric, Nabisco, Pepsi, 

and Agusta Aerospace. High-tech business 

amenities and executive caliber service make 

the Crowne Plaza the preferred choice for 

those traveling on business. 

From theme parks and mansion tours to 

historical sites and museums, Bucks County 

is a vibrant destination surrounded by its 

beautiful natural landscape. All the sights 

and sounds of Greater Philadelphia are 

located within minutes of the hotel. On-site 

transportation also is available to guests. 

Celebrate your Pennsylvania dream wedding 

at the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia–Bucks 

County. Professional wedding planners help 

coordinate all the elements for the perfect 

Pennsylvania wedding reception or commitment 

ceremony. From selecting a wedding 

venue and catering menus to wedding party 

accommodations and activities for 

guests staying in the hotel, the talented 

Crowne Plaza team will ensure 

your wedding is unforgettable for 

you, your families, and your guests. 

With exceptional attention to detail, 

wedding parties can relax and enjoy a 

picture-perfect Philadelphia wedding. 

The Crowne Plaza Philadelphia 

boasts 5,500 square feet of versatile 

meeting, conference, and event space. 

The Yardley Ballroom, the Newtown Room, 

and the New Hope Room, each with their 

unique exquisite design, can accommodate 

the grandest to the most intimate of weddings 

and receptions. With its central location, 

on-site catering, and access to state-of-the-art 

technology, the venues at Crowne Plaza 

Philadelphia transform easily to host corporate 

conferences and business seminars. 

For those staying on-site, rooms feature 

traditional Pennsylvania dark wood and 

classic furnishings. All rooms feature a 

separate well-lit work/sitting area, highspeed 

Internet, premium cable, microwaves, 

refrigerators, cordless phones with voice 

mail, and spacious bathrooms. Luxury suites 

include a separate bedroom with a king 

bed and a parlor. Guests have access to a 

fully-equipped fitness center, indoor pool, 

concierge services, shuttle transportation, 

complimentary parking, and free Wi-Fi. 

Guests have their choice of full-service 

dining in the Global Bistro or a more casual 

experience in Brady’s—An American Pub. 

The Crowne Plaza Philadelphia–Bucks 

County is the perfect location for your 

next business trip, family vacation, or 

dream wedding. 

CROWNE PLAZA 

PHILADELPHIA– 

BUCKS COUNTY 


129

AMOROSO’S 

BAKING COMPANY 

In 1904, Vincenzo Amoroso and his two 

sons, Salvatore and Joseph, crossed the 

Atlantic from Italy to America in search of 

the American Dream. Vincenzo brought with 

him only a handful of modest possessions 

and his family’s recipe for making authentic 

Italian bread. He opened a small bakery, 

complete with a brick oven, at 320 Stevens 

Street in Camden, New Jersey. By 1914, 

Amoroso’s had outgrown its humble beginnings 

and made a bold move across the river 

to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their new 

storefront at 6505 Haverford Avenue soon 

became a neighborhood favorite. 

Despite the effects of the Great Depression, 

Amoroso’s Baking Company continued to 

grow by making home deliveries of their 

hearth-baked bread and rolls to families 

in the West Philadelphia neighborhoods. 

They made deliveries twice a day—once in 

the morning for breakfast and lunch and 

then again in the late afternoon for dinner. 

Hearth-baked means the bread and rolls are 

never baked in a pan. As a result each piece 

is unique, with no two being the same. 

By the early 1930s, Salvatore had taken 

over the family business and with the help 

of his four sons, Daniel, Vincent, Leonard, 

and Salvatore, Jr., the business continued to 

grow. The boys would work in the bakery 

before and after school. 

Following World War II, America began 

to witness the effects of suburban sprawl. 

The sprawl resulted in the birth and growth 

of the local supermarket era and the end 

of home deliveries. Amoroso’s first sold its 

products on consignment to the Great 

Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, commonly 

known as A&P, in the Overbrook Park 

section of West Philadelphia. To land the 

account, Leonard Amoroso, Sr., asked the 

store manager if he could leave the bread 

for one day, promising to pick any unsold 

bread and rolls. They soon became a favorite 

throughout the Delaware Valley and A&P 

placed orders for all their stores in Amoroso’s 

service area. With the success at A&P, other 

supermarket retailers began selling the 

Amoroso’s brand in their stores. 

It was during the 1950s that advertising 

spread beyond word of mouth. For the 

first time in its history, Amoroso’s began 

purchasing advertising space. Throughout 

Philadelphia, signs promoting Amoroso’s 

products were painted on the sides of 

buildings. As the highway system developed, 

signage went from the sides of city buildings 

to stand-alone billboards along the 

city’s highways. 

The company expanded its route distribution 

system to include neighboring counties, 

in addition to distributing to stores in New 


130

Jersey and Delaware. Outgrowing the bakery 

once again, in 1960 the family moved 

Amoroso’s to 845 South Fifty-Fifth Street in 

Southwest Philadelphia. The company remains 

on Fifty-fifth Street today and has successfully 

managed five expansions to the plant. 

In response to demands for its products 

outside of Delaware Valley, Amoroso’s established 

its Frozen Foods Division in the 1970s, 

the result of a partnership. Today, through 

an established national distribution supply 

chain, the company’s frozen Thaw and Serve 

and Par-Baked product lines are available 

worldwide. Amoroso’s complete line of frozen 

Hearth-Baked Italian Bread and Rolls are 

available in fifty states and five countries 

including Bermuda, Canada, the Dominican 

Republic, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 

The frozen Thaw and Serve and Par- 

Baked product lines are produced in a 

175,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility 

in Vineland, New Jersey. The quality of 

Amoroso’s frozen products is so high that 

Philadelphia expatriates recognize their 

unique taste and texture. The 1970s also saw 

the popularity of the convenience stores, 

including 7-11 and Wawa, providing new 

outlets for Amoroso’s. 

A member of the Independent Bakers 

Association and the American Bakers 

Association, Amoroso’s has become a neighbor, 

in the truest sense of the word, 

a respected member of the community. 

In Southwest Philadelphia for more than 

eighty years, Amoroso’s has invested in 

the local community and through their philanthropies 

have supported many worthy 

causes and charities including Easter Seals, 

United Cerebral Palsy, the Ronald McDonald 

House, Mission Kids, Academy of Music, 

and the National Adoption Center, among 

countless others. 

Through five expansions and with more 

than 800 employees, Amoroso’s continues 

to rely on its closely-guarded family recipe. 

Using only the finest ingredients, Amoroso’s 

Hearth-Baked Bread and Rolls are baked 

from scratch twenty-four hours a day, seven 

days a week. With the resources, capacity, 

and dedicated employees to supply both 

small and large businesses with fresh and 

frozen bread and rolls, Amoroso’s still provides 

that personal touch of custom products 

for its customers. Products are delivered fresh 

every day in the greater Philadelphia area 

or flash-frozen for immediate shipping. 


131

The result is a superior product with a light, 

crisp crunch on the outside and a soft, yet 

firm, bite on the inside. 

New Jersey. The 390,000 square foot plant, 

located at the heart of many South Jersey 

and Philadelphia arteries, will open with 

five major bakery lines, including three lines 

for rolls and breads, a sliced bread line, and 

a bagel line. 

In 2015 the result of a merge with the 

Mulloy Family and Ginsburg Bakery in 

Atlantic City, New Jersey, Amoroso will begin 

the transition of production to Bellmawr, 

Amoroso’s Baking Company remains dedicated 

to consistently producing the highest 

quality products in the most efficient manner, 

with world-class customer service. Amoroso’s 

is why Philly sandwiches are world famous. 


132

Philadelphia is famous for its 

appreciation of good food; and, for 

more than seventy-five years, the 

meats and cheeses produced by 

Dietz & Watson have been a cut 

above all the rest. Founder Gottlieb 

Dietz insisted on producing the 

most flavorful, highest-quality deli 

meats, using only fresh, all-natural 

ingredients. Now operated by the 

third and fourth generation of the 

Dietz family, the company is still 

guided by the high standards set by 

the company founder. 

Today, Dietz & Watson is one of 

the largest family owned preparers 

of premium deli meats and artisan 

cheeses in the nation, offering more 

than 500 products found at the finest supermarkets 

and delis across the nation. 

The family behind Dietz & Watson is 

infused with the same substance-over-style 

ethic as its hometown of Philadelphia. The 

company was founded in 1939 by Gottlieb 

Dietz, a sausage maker who emigrated from 

Germany to the United States in the early 

1920s looking for a better future. 

What started as a small neighborhood 

sausage making shop now manufactures 

more than 450 items in its Philadelphia headquarters, 

employing more than 1,000 people. 

Dietz died in 1964, leaving control of 

the company to his daughters, Lore Dietz- 

Giacchino and Ruth Dietz-Eni. Ruth, who 

is known affectionately as “Momma Dietz,” 

began working for the company during 

summers when she was fourteen, and is now 

ninety years old. Momma Dietz has served as 

the face of Dietz & Watson for many years 

now, traveling throughout the nation to 

visit grocery customers. She is still active and 

serves as company chairman. 

“I learned a lot from my father, but one 

thing always stood out,” says Momma Dietz. 

“He always said, ‘If it’s not good enough for 

my family, it’s not good enough for yours.’ 

So we have always run the business with an 

eye toward the customer.” 

Dietz & Watson was a pioneer in the 

healthy deli meat market, as well as requiring 

humane farming practices by its suppliers. 

In 1979 the company was the first to produce 

sodium-free turkey and reduced sodium ham 

when it launched its Gourmet Lite line. “If it 

didn’t taste great, we probably would never 

have made our healthier lifestyle line,” comments 

Louis Eni, CEO and grandson of the 

founder. “When my grandfather talked about 

quality, the key was in the ingredients. To this 

day, none of our products uses fillers, MSG, 

or artificial flavors, and the meats are handtrimmed, 

hand-prepared, and hand-seasoned.” 

Dietz & Watson feels it is important to 

be a good and responsible neighbor and 

supports such local causes as police and 

firefighter organizations and the Battleship 

New Jersey Museum. The company and its 

employees also support such causes as the 

Susan G. Komen Foundation and Crohn’s & 

Colitis Foundation. Dietz & Watson is also 

proud to support our brave servicemen and 

women through the USO and Hometown 

Heroes program. 

DIETZ & 

WATSON 


133

BACHMANN 

INDUSTRIES, INC. 

@ 

Right: Cover of Bachmann’s 

1955 Plasticville ® U.S.A. catalog. 

Below: Back of Bachmann’s Solarex ® 

Sunglasses 1965 catalog. 

Opposite, top: Bachmann’s Birds of the 

World collection from their Paint by 

Number 1965 brochure. 

Opposite, bottom: Bachmann is the only 

model train company to offer HO, N, O, 

On30 and G scale lines. 

Bachmann Industries began in Philadelphia 

in 1833 as a manufacturer of Spanish combs 

for ladies of the Southern 

aristocracy. One hundred 

eighty-two years later, the 

company is the world’s 

largest supplier of model 

railroad equipment. 

The firm has survived 

and grown over the decades 

by adapting to changing 

times and reconfiguring its 

product lines in response to 

popular demand. 

The company was founded 

by Henry Carlisle who 

fashioned horn, ivory and 

tortoise shell into the 

beautiful Spanish combs so 

desired by elegant Southern 

ladies. Following the Civil 

War, the company diversified 

into other hair ornaments 

as well as umbrella 

handles. In 1899, Carlisle 

merged with a competing 

company operated by master carver Henry G. 

Bachmann and his son, Walter J. Bachmann. 

In 1912 the company adapted to changing 

times and began using a new material called 

celluloid to manufacture eyeglass frames. 

After Henry Bachmann’s death in 1914, the 

company changed its name to Bachmann 

Brothers. In 1929, Bachmann Brothers moved 

to more spacious headquarters at 1400 East 

Erie Avenue in Philadelphia, where it remains 

today. The company continued to specialize in 

injection molding and was the first American 

company to manufacture sunglasses. 

During World War II, the company manufactured 

products to support the war effort, 

including sunglasses for the U.S. Army and 

U.S. Army Air Force, along with protective 

eye devices and submarine battery caps. 

During this era, the company came under the 

control of J. C. and B. H. Crowther, nephews 

of the Bachmanns. 

In the post-war years, the company’s 

product line included Birds of the World 

model kits, shooting glasses, and ski goggles. 

Its popular Solarex ® sunglasses were worn 

worldwide. Bachmann used its expertise in 


134

injection molded plastic to enter the model 

train field with Plasticville ® , U.S.A. These 

easy-to-assemble, snap-together kits of village 

buildings proved to be an immense hit and 

soon became must-have accessories for 

electric trains. Plasticville ® U.S.A. is still one 

of Bachmann’s favorite product lines and 

now includes ‘pre-built’ buildings. 

Bachmann continued its diversification 

with many new ventures during the 1960s 

and 1970s. These new products included such 

items as slot cars, toy airplanes, plastic animal 

sets, robots and cassette cases. As model railroading 

became more popular, the company 

supplied everything from trains to scenery to 

entire villages, eventually turning to Kader 

Industrial, Ltd. for manufacturing support. 

Kader, founded in Hong Kong in 1948, 

was established to produce models and toys 

for export. Starting in 1969, Kader made 

the first model trains for Bachmann and 

the two companies worked hand-in-hand to 

create quality model railroading products 

for the discerning hobbyist. Kader has grown 

to become the world’s largest manufacturer— 

by volume—of model railroads. 

Bachmann Industries continues to lead the 

way with innovative products for model railroading. 

Bachmann introduced its premium 

Spectrum ® line in 1988, emphasizing highly 

detailed, faithfully reproduced locomotives. 

In 1990, Bachmann created the Big Haulers ® 

line of large scale trains and train sets. 

The company was delighted to become the 

distributor of Thomas & Friends in the 

United States in 2002, and now delivers the 

beloved series to aspiring young engineers 

throughout the world. The company has also 

introduced Chuggington ® and Ringling Bros. 

and Barnum & Bailey products. 

Bachmann acquired Williams Electric Trains 

in 2007 to expand its offerings of O gauge 

three-rail trains. Bachmann is the only model 

train company to offer HO, N, O, On30 and 

G scale lines. 

Now in its third century, Bachmann 

Industries continues to adhere to its founder’s 

vision of providing fine craftsmanship at 

affordable prices, while striving to bring 

its customers the variety of choices and innovation 

guaranteed by the Bachmann name. 


135

EHMKE 

MANUFACTURING 

COMPANY 

@ 

Above: Howard Jonathan Ehmke. 

Top: Howard Ehmke, lower left, founded 

Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company 

following a record-setting win in Game 1 of 

the 1929 World Series. The first product 

manufactured was a tarp for Philadelphia’s 

Shibe Park. 

Right: Left to right, Ehmke Manufacturing 

Company Chief Executive Officer Robert L. 

“Bob” Rosania and Chief Operating Officer 

S. Clifford Stokes have ensured the future of 

the diversified textile company through their 

commitment and innovation. 

Opposite, top: In 2015, Ehmke 

Manufacturing Company employed more 

than 140 men and women, with sales 

exceeding $12 million. 

Opposite, middle: Ehmke Manufacturing 

Company has been awarded some of 

the government’s largest contracts to 

manufacture products for the military 

such as High Ground Tactical Gear Items. 

Opposite, bottom: The insulation blankets 

inside of a CH-46 U.S. Department of 

State Helicopter. 

In 1929, Howard Jonathan 

Ehmke won Game 1 of the 

World Series for the Philadelphia 

Athletics over the Chicago Cubs 

with thirteen strikeouts—a record 

that lasted twenty-five years. That 

same year, he founded Howard 

Ehmke Manufacturing Company 

to manufacture athletic field 

covers for athletic stadiums. 

Ehmke, born and raised in 

Silver Creek, New York, had 

arrived in Philadelphia to play for 

legendary manager Connie Mack of the 

Philadelphia Athletics. And, immediately following 

that historic Game 1, he decided to 

make Philadelphia his home. Known for its 

highly-skilled textile workers and fabric 

industry, it was the perfect location to begin 

production of covers to protect athletic fields. 

From his experience on the mound, 

Ehmke knew the deteriorating conditions rain 

had on the infield. During inclement weather 

most fields were left uncovered, while smaller 

tarps pieced together loosely covered others. 

He began developing a process to create 

oversized, one-piece covers. 

The result came in the form of a trench— 

a thirty-six inch trench the width of the 

building in the floor of the warehouse. In the 

bottom of the trench Ehmke placed a single, 

railroad rail and mounted a sewing machine 

with a fitted wheel to it. The sewing machine, 

mounted even with the floor, would be 

ridden along the track to bind the edges of 

the fabric. This allowed the huge textiles to 

be sewn without having to pull the cumbersome 

fabric up onto a sewing machine table. 

The company’s first infield tarp was manufactured 

for Shibe Park in north Philadelphia 

at Twenty-First Street and Lehigh Avenue, 

located directly across the street from the 

Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company. Later 

renamed Connie Mack Stadium, during its 

existence from 1909 to 1970 the park was 

home to the Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia 

Phillies, and the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. 

Visiting teams took notice of the infield 

coverings and business grew. By the 1940s, 

Howard Ehmke Manufacturing Company 

athletic coverings were being used in college 

and professional baseball and football stadiums 

throughout the United States. In addition, 

the company had ventured into producing 

canopies and awnings. During the Great 

Depression, while other companies were 

folding, Ehmke persevered by staying true 

to his core business and not employing more 

than a few people. 

Following a brief illness, Ehmke died in 

early 1959. Within a month, the company was 

sold to Louis S. Verna and Walter E. Rowe. 

Verna and Rowe were forced to reduce the 

workforce and decreased their own salaries to 

free up capital. 

New industries were added to the customer 

base and the 1960s welcomed updated 

equipment and a larger plant at Wister and 

Barfield Avenues. The company was incorporated 

as Ehmke Manufacturing Company, Inc. 

The awning and canopy share of the business 


136

had expanded from smaller pieces for railway 

cars and walkways to oversize canopies 

and awnings for horse racing tracks, hotels, 

country clubs, and retail stores. Verna’s son, 

Louis F. Verna, became the third shareholder, 

joining the company soon after graduation 

from Philadelphia College of Textiles, known 

today as Philadelphia University. 

By 1972, Ehmke had celebrated its first 

year with sales exceeding $1 million. The 

following decade, Rowe earned Ehmke its 

first government contract when the U.S.P.S. 

began using his clamp design to replace the 

unreliable rope-and-hem system to securely 

close mail bags. 

In 1989, Rowe officially retired from the 

company and the elder Verna realized it was 

time to let his son assume the presidency. 

With his son, they began looking for new 

business partners to purchase the elder 

Verna’s shares and breathe new life into the 

company. They found the perfect fit in Cliff 

Stokes and Bob Rosania. 

Stokes and Rosania had known each other 

since their days at Penn Charter and had 

remained close friends. Stokes joined Ehmke 

right out of college. The chance to work for a 

smaller company and the opportunity of stock 

ownership interested him. That opportunity 

was realized in 1990 when the elder Verna 

sold his interest in Ehmke. Two years later, 

Rosania joined Ehmke and the leadership of 

the company was secure. 

The strong partnership resulted in the perfect 

formula for success. Under the leadership 

of Stokes and Rosania, the company grew 

exponentially, commencing with Ehmke’s first 

large U.S. Military contract—producing 55,000 

medical kit cases for the U.S. Army. A contract 

with Boeing resulted in the manufacturing of 

thermal acoustic blankets and nose covers for 

the Chinook and other helicopters used by 

the military. 

Verna retired in 2001, selling his interests 

to Stokes and Rosania. Since that time, 

Ehmke’s growth within the industry has been 

remarkable and today is recognized as one 

of the industry’s most innovative companies. 

Ehmke is a diverse, cutting-edge company 

implementing LEAN Manufacturing processes 

producing world class quality products for its 

customers. The company and its leadership 

remain rooted in the dream and commitment 

of its founder. 


137

WICKWIRE 

WAREHOUSE, INC. 

@ 

Above: Wickwire Brothers, Cortland, 

New York. 

Below: Ed and Claire Foy. 

In the manufacturing and wire forming 

industry, nothing is more basic than steel 

wire. Wickwire Warehouse, Inc. of Philadelphia 

has earned a reputation as one of the top 

wire sources in the nation. Wickwire is a 

distributor of all sizes and shapes of carbon 

steel wire and rods, including galvanized, 

annealed, and stainless steel wire products. 

The Wickwire family of companies also 

includes an industrial packaging division, 

which distributes baling wire, steel strapping 

and other industrial packaging products 

as well as a roll forming division. Wickwire 

products are used for display racks, refrigeration 

racks, and many other purposes. 

“We’re not the biggest, we’re the best,” comments 

Edward J. Foy, president of Wickwire. 

The Wickwire steel mill was started in 1873 

in Cortland, New York, and incorporated in 

1892. Around 1910 the Wickwire brothers 

opened distribution warehouses throughout 

the country. The company was liquidated 

by the Wickwire family in 1969 and the Foy 

family purchased the Philadelphia operation 

in 1970. During the years the Wickwire 

family owned the mill, the company was a 

manufacturer of steel wire, nails, and wire 

mesh products. After the closure of the 

mill, the Philadelphia warehouse became a 

distributor for Bethlehem Steel for many years 

until Bethlehem went out of business. The 

Foys originally headquartered the company 

at Second and Willow Streets in the Northern 

Liberties section of Philadelphia. The company 

remained at that location until forced to 

move because of the construction of I-95. 

The next stop was a thirty year stint in the 

Fishtown area, along the Delaware River. 

In 1995, Foy purchased the company from 

his parents, Ed and Claire Foy, and he still 

operates the company today. 

In a move to diversify the company’s 

operations, Foy purchased United Rollform 

in 2000 and Parade Strapping and Baling in 

2007. Both companies were integrated into 

the 75,000 square foot warehouse purchased 

by Foy in 2005. 

Today, the current warehouse is located 

at 3300 Tulip Street in Philadelphia’s Port 

Richmond area. 

For over forty-five years, Wickwire has 

been exceeding the needs of its customers. 

With its extensive inventory, Wickwire 

provides its customers with one of the 

largest selections of steel wire products in 

the nation. The products distributed by 

Wickwire are manufactured by many of the 

top mills in the world. 

Wickwire Warehouse is the preferred 

distributor for manufacturers of such 

products as display racks, lamp shades, wire 

forms, brushes, hangers, baskets, fences, 

mats, luggage, conveyor dryer ovens, florist 

supplies, concrete forms and other products. 

“Many mills that produce steel wire cannot 

meet the delivery demands or small size 

requirements that our customers require,” 

Foy explains. “That is why our service 

provides quick turnaround time, which gets 

the product to our customer faster than 

ever before. Even though we make sure to 

ship our products out quickly, we are still 

able to exceed our customers’ requirements 

for quality products. 

“It may seem hard, but it’s not. We love 

what we do. And, if you love something, the 

work comes easy.” 

The employees of Wickwire are proud of 

the fact that the company has maintained 

the highest standards of excellence for many 

decades. In fact, the average employee’s 

tenure is eighteen years. The expertise developed 

over the years by our loyal employees 

has enabled the company to become one 

of the leading distributors in the nation. 

Customers rely on Wickwire because the 

company has stayed at the top of the industry 


138

for many years and they 

know the firm’s products and 

services are superb. 

Wickwire’s services include 

assisting customers with 

technical expertise and serving 

as a source of supply 

for the difficult or small 

size requirements the mills 

are unable to supply. Many 

of our clients are amazed by 

our staffs’ ability to source 

even the most difficult 

requirements. Wickwire can 

handle even the most complex 

demands a customer 

might have. 

“Customers always ask us 

how we are able to provide 

such fast and efficient service, and still meet 

the high standards set by our industry,” says 

Foy. “Well, we are able to do so because 

we employ skilled, experienced operators 

who are dedicated to getting the job done 

right and on time. Customers have spread the 

word about our unmatched reliability, quality 

control and excellent customer service.” 

Wickwire has tripled its sales revenue over 

the past ten years and now records sales 

between $5 and $10 million annually. 

Wickwire is a member of the Wire 

Fabricators Association (WFA), the Port 

Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise 

(PRIDE), the Manufacturers Alliance of 

Philadelphia (MAP) and the Urban Initiative. 

Wickwire Warehouse has been successful 

because it adheres closely to the principles 

spelled out in the company mission statement: 

Our mission at Wickwire Warehouse is to 

help our customers excel in their marketplace 

by providing them exceptional customer 

service and superior products. We will be the 

number one supplier of steel and recycling 

wire to those customers who prize speed of 

delivery and superior customer service. 

For the future, Wickwire Warehouse plans 

to grow the business geographically and to 

expand its sales team to further penetrate the 

recycling industry and the OEM market. 

@ 

Top: The current location of Wickwire 

Warehouse, Inc. 

Above: The Wickwire team. 


139

DONOVAN HEAT 

TREATING CO., 

INC. 

@ 

Below: Thomas J. Donovan with the 

Reynolds family. 

Bottom, left: Thomas J. Donovan. 

Bottom, right: Forty foot Reading Furnace 

taken at our open house in November 2013. 

Donovan Heat Treating Co., Inc. (DHT) is 

a commercial batch heat treating facility 

owned and operated since 2005 by President/ 

CEO Metallurgist Jeffrey D. Uhlenburg. Metal 

heat treating is a 4,000 year old science that 

provides steel with the strength required for 

bridges and infrastructure, makes springs 

springy, and enables the manufacturing of 

many of the products we all use every day. 

And, while the industry may be old, material 

science, manufacturing processes and business 

practices are always evolving. Maintaining 

quality, service and relationships in the ever 

changing steel industry as well as the local 

and global economic climate is what makes 

Donovan’s unique and has enabled this 

company to thrive for over seventy years. 

Donovan Heat Treating adds value to the 

metals manufacturing process by imparting 

large steel plate, piping, and related products 

provided by customers with the properties 

(i.e. hardness, strength, flexibility, etc.) 

required by that customer for the desired 

grade of steel, typically within very specific 

tolerances. Donovan’s services include heat 

treating, abrasive blasting, quenching (air, 

water, and oil) and collaborating with 

customers to refine heat treating methods 

and procedures at the very start of the metals 

manufacturing process. 

“The Donovan Company” as it was previously 

known, was founded in 1943 by 

Thomas J. Donovan, Jr., who had been a 

salesman for a steel warehouse firm. 

Donovan, Jr., began his business in a single 

row house at 1615 North Second Street, 

utilizing fourteen by eighteen inch diameter 

salt pots to treat tool steels. Two years later, 

a new building was built, doubling the shop 

size to nearly 5,000 square feet. At that time, 

a ten foot long car bottom furnace—under a 

two ton crane—was installed. The business 

grew steadily, assisting the war effort 

throughout the late 1940s. Donovan, Jr., died 

in 1965 and, having no heirs, his will left 

the business to a number of key employees. 

Lillian Siegfried, who had been Donovan’s 

secretary, was the major stockholder, and 

when she decided to retire she put an ad 

in the newspaper offering the company for 

sale. Donald Uhlenburg responded to the ad 

and, with the aid of an SBA loan, purchased 

the company in 1972. By 1976, Donald 

sought to expand and acquired the company’s 

current location at 7399 

Tulip Street from Theodore 

and Joan Wilhelm through 

a lease purchase agreement. 

As part of the expansion 

and relocation, Donald 

added atmosphere heat 

treating equipment and 

moved the salt pots so the 

company could continue to 

be one of the most reliable 

and efficient heat treaters 

in the area. In 1980, DHT 

added a second atmosphere 


140

furnace as well as a custom flame hardening 

line. The company currently has four heat 

treating furnaces, including a recently modernized 

forty-one foot Reading Box Car 

furnace, and offers abrasive blasting. 

infrastructure, military/government equipment 

and can provide timely emergency repair 

services to industrial manufacturers in 

neighboring Mid-Atlantic States. 

DHT prides itself on service to its customers, 

and its commitment to the City of 

Philadelphia. In October of 1988, a six-alarm 

fire resulted in a 100 percent loss. Donald, 

company owner and DHT president at the 

time, decided to rebuild at the Tulip Street 

location in Philadelphia. The rebuilding 

effort required close collaboration between 

DHT management, employees, customers 

and financers, including loan assistance from 

the Philadelphia Development Corporation 

(PIDC) and the City of Philadelphia. 

Conveniently located just off I-95 and 

I-73 in the Mayfair section of northeast 

Philadelphia, DHT facilitates large-scale 

industrial production for clients throughout 

the United States and for international customers 

who transport metals along the I-95 

corridor through the Ports of Philadelphia, 

Baltimore and New York. Approximately 

ninety-nine percent of the company’s work 

originates from outside the City of Philadelphia. 

Key industries served by DHT include steel 

mills and warehouses, foundry and forge 

shops, metal fabricators, aerospace manufacturers, 

energy and other industries. DHT 

facilitates the production of metals for 

airplanes, oil and fracking, bridges and 

Jeffrey is actively engaged in the twentyfour 

hour, five day/week operations of the 

facility. He also spends his time building customer 

relationships; promoting Philadelphia’s 

manufacturing community and leading discussions 

on energy policy and other issues 

critical to the heat treating industry. Jeffrey 

served as president of the Metal Treating 

Institute (MTI) from 2008 to 2009 and is 

actively involved in the National Association 

of Manufacturers (NAM), where he served on 

the board of directors from 2012-2014 representing 

the challenges faced by small and 

medium size manufacturers and working to 

maintain a thriving manufacturing sector in 

the United States. 

DHT has been a member of MTI 

since 1973 and is committed to being a 

commercial heat treater of the highest quality 

and providing excellence in service. The 

company values honesty, integrity and 

loyalty as key elements to building and 

maintaining relationships with its customers 

and employees. 

@ 

Above: Left to right, Jeffrey D. Uhlenburg, 

president, receiving the MTI’s “Industry 

Award of Merit” from James Roberts, 

MTI president. 


141

INDUSTRIAL 

SPRING STEEL 

John J. Maguire, Sr., immigrated to the 

United States from Leitrim, Ireland, in the 

early 1900s. Upon arrival he lived with 

cousins on Rockland Street in Philadelphia. 

After graduating from Germantown High 

School, which closed in 2013 after ninetynine 

years of educating local Philadelphia 

students, Maguire’s life in steel began. 

worked around the clock to support the 

war effort by producing armor plate, guns, 

and field artillery pieces. Maguire next took 

a sales position with the Edgar T. Ward 

Steel Company at Cedar and Westmoreland 

Streets in Philadelphia. It was here that 

Maguire met and married Margaret Gaughan 

in 1939. 

He was one of 2,200 male employees 

during the first four decades of the twentieth 

century who forged steel at the Midvale- 

Heppenstall steel plant in Nicetown. During 

World War II, the workforce ballooned to 

more than 8,000, including women, who 

Maguire advanced his career in the steel 

business when he was offered, and accepted, 

an outside sales position with the Hill- 

Chase Steel Company. Shortly after, on 

July 1, 1936, Maguire and three partners 

founded Steel Distributors, Inc. at Tioga 


142

and Salmon Streets. The company would 

later relocate to Cedar and Westmoreland 

Streets in 1952 when Maguire purchased 

the former Edgar T. Ward Steel Company 

building. By this time, Maguire and Margaret 

were the parents of a son, John, Jr. 

It was during this time that Philadelphia 

Eagles quarterback Robert Lee “Bobby” 

Thomason was hired as a salesman for 

Steel Distributors, Inc. The six foot, one inch 

Thomason was a three-time Pro-Bowler 

who, in 1953, became the first Philadelphia 

Eagles quarterback to pass for more than 

400 yards during a game. It was not uncommon 

for kids from the neighborhood 

to knock on the door of the plant and ask if 

Bobby could come out and throw the football 

with them. He was always more than willing 

to oblige. Thomason’s teammates Jack Hinkle 

and Ben Kish worked for competitors in the 

Philadelphia area. 

In 1961, John, Jr., graduated from 

Villanova University and its School of 

Business. Following in his father’s footsteps, 

he entered the steel industry as an inside 

salesman at Steel Distributors, Inc. He later 

moved to outside sales. During the Vietnam 

War the federal government purchased 

aluminum from Steel Distributors, Inc. 

that was given to the Vietnamese to build 

houses in exchange for information to aid 

the United States during the war. A costly 

war spanning nearly twenty years, the 

Vietnam War between North Vietnam and 

South Vietnam took the lives of more than 

50,000 American members of the military 

as the United States was an ally of 

South Vietnam. 

In 1976 the company was sold to Creusot- 

Loire and merged with the Horace T. Potts 

Company. Creusot-Loire was France’s largest 

privately owned engineering conglomerate, 

created by the merger of three steel and 

engineering groups. The merge resulted in 

the relocation to the Potts Company location 

at D Street and Erie Avenue. 

With the family retaining ownership of the 

Steel Distributors, Inc. building and grounds, 

John, Jr., was responsible for its maintenance 

until the building sold. The neighborhood 

kids, along with John, Jr.’s four sons, used 

the vacant lot adjacent to the building as 

a baseball field. To ensure the grass was 

always trimmed, John, Jr., instituted a rule 

that each player must make one lap with 

the lawn mower before taking his turn 

at bat. 

John, Jr., remained with Creusot-Loire as 

an outside salesman until 1982 when he 

resigned to take a position with Pennsylvania 

Steel Company. Just four years later, John, Jr., 

had the opportunity to purchase Industrial 

Spring Steel, located at 7345 Milnor Street. 

Like his father, he too owned a steel 

company. His role moved from a salesman to 

a sales representative. His salary now was 

based on sales results. He sold Industrial 

Spring Steel in 2013 to friendly competitor 

Lapham-Hickey Steel, headquartered in 

Chicago. John, Jr., remained with Lapham- 

Hickey as a sales representative, retaining 

fifteen of his accounts. 

Today Industrial Spring Steel is located 

at 2656 Salmon Street in Philadelphia and 

continues to service companies with an 

extensive steel inventory and exceptional 

customer service. Stock includes cold rolled 

annealed, tempered, and blue polished steel 

and Industrial Spring Steel’s capabilities 

include edging and cutting to the customer’s 

specifications for their individual needs. 

Products made possible by Industrial Spring 

Steel range from blades for doctor’s scalpels 

to gun mechanisms and valves. There is no 

job too large or too small. 

@ 

Opposite: Steel Distributors, Inc. rulers 

were distributed to customers and vendors. 

With measurements up to fourteen inches 

and the original telephone exchanges and 

numbers on the front; the back of the 

ruler featured both decimal and 

gauge equivalents. 

Above: In 2013, John Maguire, Jr., (left) a 

Villanova University 1961 graduate, sold 

Industrial Spring Steel to Lapham-Hickey 

Steel. Brian Hickey, general manager at 

Lapham-Hickey, graduated from Villanova 

University in 2001. 


143

@ 

Above: The original Stockwell Elastomerics’ 

office and warehouse were located on 

Sixth and Arch Streets in Philadelphia. 

Below: Stockwell Elastomerics installed 

its first water jet cutter in 2001. 

Elbridge F. Stockwell, Jr., Scott Shrey, 

and Jay Hough observing initial cuts. 

STOCKWELL ELASTOMERICS, INC. 

Our fourth generation, privately held 

business provides custom gaskets and 

engineered solutions for the fast-paced and 

demanding technology equipment sector— 

where service conditions may require silicone 

rubber gaskets and special components that 

must function in harsh environments, 

temperature extremes, and perform for years 

in remote locations. Our products can be 

found in outdoor LED lighting; analytical 

instrumentation used to test food and drugs; 

medical diagnostic equipment; and aerospaceand 

defense-related equipment. 

While many other manufacturers were 

outsourcing production or setting up facilities 

in Asia, Stockwell Elastomerics chose to 

remain in Philadelphia. It was not easy! We 

“doubled down” by changing our business 

model to support the low volume/fast turn 

requirements of the customers in our niche 

markets, yielding the market for high volume 

and commodity components to low cost 

global producers. 

Frederick Elbridge Stockwell founded 

Stockwell Rubber Company in 1919, an 

era when Philadelphia was considered the 

Workshop of the World. The company began 

as a distributor of belting, air and water 

hose, sheet rubber packing, and wholesale 

rubber products. The office and warehouse 

were located on Sixth and Arch Streets until 

1950. The building was demolished prior to 

the bicentennial celebration and the location 

is now part of a federal park. 

The business relocated to 1117-1121 

Shackamaxon Street in the Fishtown 

neighborhood, just north of the Benjamin 

Franklin Bridge. The business operated from 

three remodeled row homes to house offices, 

fabricating facilities, and inventory storage. 

During the 1950s the company was fabricating 

closed cell sponge gaskets used in the 

production of RCA color televisions assembled 

across the river in Camden, New Jersey. In 

the 1960s the customer base included the 

General Electric Re-Entry and Space Division 

as highly engineered materials and seals 

provided by Stockwell Rubber Company 

orbited the earth and landed on the moon. 

By the 1970s the space race concluded 

and RCA, along with other regional 

manufacturers, had left the area for the 

Sunbelt. The remaining Philadelphia rubber 

distributors and fabricators were fighting for 

market share in a shrinking market. In 1980 

the company expanded sales efforts far 

beyond the region, gaining opportunities for 

new business. As the need for enhanced 

production efficiencies became apparent, the 

search for a new location began. In November 

1980 a one-story manufacturing facility was 

purchased in Northeast Philadelphia, despite 

interest rates in the eighteen percent range 

and an uncertain economy. The business 

relocated to 4749 Tolbut Street, near the 

Academy Road exit off I-95 in March 1981. 


144

The company capitalized on the strategic 

defense build-up during the 1980s, providing 

many requirements for silicone rubber gaskets 

and cushioning pads in radar and surveillance 

apparatus, missiles, and solid fuel rocket 

motors. The company developed “core 

competence” in the fabrication and molding 

of silicone rubber during this period. As 

expenditures for strategic defense declined 

after the break-up of the Soviet Union at the 

end of the 1980s, the company faced 

challenging times. Fortunately, the discovery 

of new markets for its silicone materials and 

production capabilities in high technology 

commercial markets rejuvenated growth 

following a brief transition period. 

After purchasing a neighboring facility in 

1996, the business expanded its customer 

rubber molding operations and invested in 

liquid injection molding to serve a strategic 

market segment in the hand-held and 

portable technology sector. In 2001 the 

company invested in water jet cutting, 

enabling its rapid response capability for 

cutting prototypes for mechanical engineers. 

In 2005 the company changed its name to 

Stockwell Elastomerics, Inc. The product line 

continued to shift away from the traditional 

black rubber materials such as neoprene, 

Buna-N, and natural rubber that were the 

mainstay of the business for so many years. 

“Rubber” no longer seemed to fit. 

Seeing the signs of a recession on the 

horizon, the company invested time and 

resources learning lean business 

practices in 2007. Using the tools of 

Kaizen and Continual Improvement, 

the company learned to respond faster, 

enabling growth as the technology 

market recovered after the recession. 

The employees of Stockwell 

Elastomerics wish to acknowledge 

those who preceded us: founder 

Frederick E Stockwell served as 

company president until 1946; 

Frederick Ames Stockwell served as 

president from 1946 until his 

untimely death in 1948; his brother 

Elbridge Forrest Stockwell served as 

president from 1948 to 1965; and his 

son Elbridge F. Stockwell, Jr., served as 

president from 1965 to 1980. Elbridge’s son 

William B. Stockwell has served as president 

from 1980 until the present. All employees of 

the business wish to recognize Elbridge F. 

Stockwell, Jr., who recently passed away, for 

his many technical contributions and for 

modeling our principles of quality, integrity, 

service, and continual improvement. 

Thanks to our dedicated employees and 

our customers who have fueled our growth, 

the company is positioned for continued 

growth in its core markets and planning 

another facility expansion. 

@ 

Above: Mike Sisco and Mark Irizarry with 

silicone foam Gasket Tape. 

Below: Dean Swisher, Cole Robinson, 

and Gerald Wright are members of the 

lamination crew for Stockwell. 


145

PEACOCK 

LABORATORIES, 

INC. 

OPTIXTAL, INC. 

Peacock Laboratories and its sister 

organization, OptiXtal, Inc., combine 

traditional silvering technology used in 

the manufacture of mirrors with the 

development of high-tech supercapacitors 

used to power the growth of the Internet 

of Things. 

William Peacock founded Peacock 

Laboratories in 1930 and most of his early 

ventures involved technical improvements 

in mirror manufacturing. Until Peacock 

established his labs, all mirrors were made 

by hand, a difficult, time-consuming and 

dangerous process. He developed a way to 

safely and easily spray silvering compounds 

on glass and—equally important—fix the 

silver in place on the back of the mirror with 

a formulation especially developed to maximize 

the light reflected by the mirror and 

keep the silver from cracking and peeling. 

Peacock Laboratories’ leadership in silvering 

technologies captured the attention of 

Libby Owens Ford (LOF), which acquired 

the company in 1940. Peacock became independent 

again in 1950 and, since that time, 

the company has remained at the forefront of 

research and development in the fields of 

clearcoat lacquers, mirroring compounds and 

other related technologies. 

Peacock Laboratory has pioneered a variety 

of innovative mirror and electroplating 

techniques since it was established eighty-five 

years ago. These include non-electrolytic 

copper-backed mirrors, Galena blue mirrors, 

conveyorized silvering systems, double 

nozzle silver spray guns and instantaneous 

spraying methods, specialized sensitizers to 

silver coat non-glass surfaces such as wax, 

ceramics, plastic and ink, and ‘sludgeless’ 

silvering concentrates. 

Permalac, developed by Peacock Laboratories, 

is a leading clearcoat lacquer used to protect 

the surfaces of metal sculpture and architectural 

metal work. Building maintenance of the 

metal surfaces in elevators and other metal 

surfaces has become another significant application. 

The firm’s PChrome silver coating 

delivers a superior spray-on chrome-like 

mirror surface on a variety of metal, plastic, 

ceramic and other substrates. 

Peacock’s leading edge technology in 

mirror science earned it the contract for the 

mirrors used on the Hubble telescope as well 

as a variety of other specialty assignments 

such as the mirrors used for spectacular 

special effects in several Las Vegas shows. 

OptXtal, Inc., Peacock Laboratories sister 

organization, represents the next generation of 

high-tech manufacturing that grew out of the 

company’s tradition of innovation. OptXtal is 

committed to becoming the leading source for 

the trillions of sensors that will soon comprise 

the growing Internet of Things, a growing 

network of everyday objects—from industrial 

machines to consumer goods—that can share 

information and complete tasks while 

individuals are busy with other activities. 

OptiXtal, Inc. was founded in 2002 by Sagar 

Venkateswaran, PhD, the president of Peacock 

Laboratories, who capitalizing on Peacock 

Laboratories’ strong chemical experience and 

its manufacturing and marketing expertise. 

OptiXtal designs and manufactures supercapacitors 

that meet the precise power needs of 

the trillions of sensors projected to drive the 

Internet of Things. The growing deployment 

of self-powered sensors interconnected by 

Wi-Fi is the primary application. 

The supercapacitors store energy harvested 

from the environment, including photovoltaic, 

vibration and temperature changes, and handle 

hundreds of thousands of recharges and 


146

discharges. The supercapacitors are flexible 

and bendable, operate in a small space and 

eliminate the need for a battery. This results in 

more peak power, longer life, and smaller size 

and fills the power gaps left by batteries. 

OptiXtal’s first contract was with the U.S. 

military and this formed the foundation for 

much of the work that has led to development 

of the SuperXcapacitors. 

OptiXtal’s SuperXcapacitors were not 

originally designed to be implanted in the 

human body, but their small size, power, long 

life and ability to recharge through the skin 

have made them an excellent solution for new 

medical devices that provide nerve stimulation 

or diagnostic sensors for chronic conditions. 

To date, much of the work in perfecting 

OptiXtal SuperXcapacitors has been for the 

exacting requirements of military and industrial 

sensor applications. As the company moves 

forward, SuperXcapacitors are being customized 

to power specialized applications that 

range from implantable medical devices to 

millions of sensors to detect inventory levels 

on retail shelves. 

The plants, offices, research labs, manufacturing 

facilities and warehouses for Peacock 

Laboratories and OptiXtal, Inc. are located in 

a 15,000-square-foot building at 1901 South 

Fifty-Fourth Street in southwest Philadelphia. 

Although this neighborhood is no longer 

the manufacturing powerhouse it once was, 

Peacock is at the center of a bustling group of 

businesses determined to bring the area back 

to prominence. 

Looking to the future, Peacock Laboratories 

will continue to be a leader of specialty metal 

coatings with manufacturing firmly rooted in 

its Philadelphia facility. OptiXtal will continue 

to have research and development and hightech 

medical device manufacturing in its 

Fifty-Fourth Street location, with plans to 

expand high volume manufacturing lines in 

the Southwest Philadelphia area. 


147

@ 

JOWITT & 

RODGERS CO. 

Above: Jowitt & Rodgers Co. was originally 

located at 1017 North Front Street in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known today as 

northern Liberties. 

Below: From left, the Rodgers brothers— 

Arnold, Ernest, Fred V., and Fred, Sr. 

Jowitt & Rodgers Co., a manufacturer of 

industrial abrasives, is a privately held 

business that has a storied history steeped in 

family pride and dedication. Although the 

firm has grown from a seed planted in 

Philadelphia in 1951, its roots extend to an 

earlier time in England. 

George Jowitt worked as a knife grinder 

for the Joseph Rodgers Cutlery Co. in 

Sheffield, England, at the turn of the last 

century. He became fascinated by the 

introduction of artificial abrasive wheels that 

were beginning to replace those made from 

natural sandstone. Grinding with sandstone 

abrasives was a dangerous occupation as the 

wheels often broke apart, causing severe 

injuries, and the dust produced while 

grinding often led to silicosis. The new 

artificial abrasive wheels greatly reduced 

these dangers. 

In 1907, George, along with his two sons, 

formed a company to manufacture artificial 

grinding wheels and developed their own, 

proprietary resin bond to produce them. The 

company grew through the next several 

decades and during World War II an old 

family acquaintance, Fred Rodgers, whose 

family had immigrated to the United States, 

reconnected with the Jowitts while he was 

stationed in England. After the war, it was 

decided that they would pool their resources 

and start a company in the United States. 

Jowitt & Rodgers Co. was opened in 

Philadelphia in 1951. 

It started in a small, rented shop on Front 

Street manned by Fred, who was soon joined 

by his two brothers, Arnold and Ernie. Not 

long after, their father, Fred, Sr., joined them. 

In 1961 the growing firm moved to its 

present location on State Road. Since then, 

the company has prospered and the building 

has been expanded several times to keep up 

with the company’s growth. It has grown 

from four individuals in 1951 to roughly 

sixty dedicated employees today. 

In 1991, Jowitt & Rodgers Co., recognizing 

the need to expand its product line into the 

growing field of super-abrasives, purchased 

Syntech Abrasives of Charlotte, North 

Carolina. Super-abrasives use natural and 

synthetic diamond and CBN (cubic boron 

nitride) as the cutting agents. These 

materials, although far more expensive, have 

superior cutting ability and expanded the 

market for Jowitt & Rodgers into new 

industries and applications that require 

grinding to much higher precision and speed. 

The next major transition for Jowitt & 

Rodgers Co. occurred in 2002 when the 

interest held by the Jowitt family was 

purchased by a small group led by the 

Rodgers family as its major stockholder. 

The Rodgers family, now into its third 

generation, has steered the firm since then 

and the company has continued to expand 

and prosper. Jowitt & Rodgers is a dominant 

player in its specialized field of abrasive 

products. It has focused on supplying 


148

products that are custom designed to meet 

each customer’s unique requirements. Its 

products are not mass produced, but made in 

small batches to a unique, customer specific 

formulation and design. The focus is on 

quality, not quantity. Jowitt & Rodgers has 

earned ISO 9001:2008 quality certification and 

also has been awarded customer quality awards 

such as Ford’s Q1 and Q101 accreditations. 

Jowitt & Rodgers products are used in a 

diverse array of industries. Among them are 

manufacturers of automotive and automotive 

parts, aerospace, bearings, cutlery and hand 

tools, industrial knives and blades, steel, 

ceramic, and concrete building blocks just to 

name a few. 

As Jowitt & Rodgers looks to the future, it 

continues to focus on growth, expansion, and 

innovation. It will strive to provide its 

customers with the products that they need 

to improve their manufacturing processes to 

stay competitive. It will continue to maintain 

close association with designers of grinding 

equipment to provide them with new tools 

to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 

of their equipment. Jowitt & Rodgers is 

determined to remain a viable force in the 

expanding, global marketplace. 

@ 

Above: In 1961, Jowitt & Rodgers Co. 

moved to its current location at 9400 State 

Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Below: Syntech’s super-abrasive products 

have superior cutting ability and expanded 

the market for Jowitt & Rodgers Co. 


149

HARRY MILLER 

CORP. 

@ 

Right: Left to right, Founders Harry Miller 

and Charlie Haas. 

Below: Harry Miller. 

Since its incorporation in 1936 the Harry 

Miller Corp. has grown into a multimillion 

dollar enterprise serving the steel and metalworking 

industries with proprietary specialty 

chemicals. The company’s quality products 

include acid inhibitors, rust preventatives, 

coolants, lubricants (i.e.-stamping and forming 

compounds), cleaners and many others. 

The company is recognized within its industry 

for offering excellent customer service, 

exacting technical expertise, superior quality 

control and cost effective solutions for client’s 

metalworking and manufacturing needs. 

Harry Miller Corp. was founded by Harry 

Miller and Charles Haas on December 3, 1935. 

Both principals had previously worked 

together for a local specialty chemical producer 

and decided to strike out alone, albeit in 

the depths of the Great Depression. The company, 

originally known as the Haas-Miller 

Corporation, formulated and produced chemical 

specialties for the textile, leather and 

paper trades that dominated local industry in 

the 1930s. The company’s products were sold 

primarily on the eastern seaboard. 

With the advent of World War II, the 

industrial climate transformed into a hot-bed 

of steel and metal-working and the company 

changed its focus to meet those needs. Sales 

efforts expanded to include a region west of 

the Mississippi, with a concentration on the 

industrial cities of the Midwest. 

The two founders parted in 1946 and the 

name of the company was changed to the 

Harry Miller Corp. Miller’s son-in-law, John 

Entwisle, joined the company after his return 

from service in WWII and directed the 

company’s marketing efforts through, among 

other efforts, the imaginative use of direct mail, 

featuring the well-known ‘Miller Memos.’ 

Entwisle took the company helm when Harry 

passed away in late 1967. 

As sales grew through direct sales and 

marketing, the steel industry in the Midwest 

was booming and management decided to 

enter the pickling inhibitor market. The 

company’s pickling inhibitors utilized an 

entirely new chemistry that not only drastically 

reduced the steel industry’s cost of 

pickling; they ultimately drove the dominant 

competitor from the market. Harry Miller 

Corp. enjoys the leadership position in this 

niche market even today. 

The company experienced rapid growth 

during the 1960s and 1970s and earned a 

reputation for making innovative products 

while operating as an ethical and qualitydriven 

enterprise. 

Entwisle’s son, Bruce, joined the company 

as the Cleveland-area salesman in October 

of 1983. In 1986 he was transferred to 

Philadelphia to run the local territory, and in 

1989 was promoted to national sales manager. 

He assumed the position of president/CEO 

when John retired in 1994. 

This third generation, under the guidance 

of Bruce, has moved the company into the 

international arena, selling its Activol ® line 

of acid inhibitors and Hamico ® rinse aids 

throughout the world through a network of 

strategic partners and sales agents. 

The Harry Miller Corp., located at 4309 

North Lawrence Street in Philadelphia, has 

seventeen full time employees plus six 

independent representatives. The company 

now sells more than 400 active products to 

thousands of end-users, producing annual 

revenues between $8 to $10 million. 

For more information about the Harry 

Miller Corp., visit www.harrymillercorp.com. 


150

Today manufacturing matters, now more 

than ever! As our manufacturing economy 

shifts from high volume, low margin to 

low volume, high margin it remains a 

vital component of this nation’s prosperity 

and security. The Philadelphia region has 

a vibrant, robust and advanced manufacturing 

community capable of delivering a 

staggering variety of products to market. 

The Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia 

is proud to be its resource, its voice and 

its facilitator today and into the future…and 

our manufacturing future is a bright one! 


(MAP) began as a project of the Urban Industry 

Initiative (UII)—a nonprofit started in 1998 

to help attract and retain manufacturing 

jobs in Philadelphia. On November 28, 2006, 

CEOs from ten of Philadelphia’s largest manufacturing 

companies came together and met 

with members of city council. On that day, 

the Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia was 

born. This was the first time in over seventy 

years that manufacturers came together to 

influence how government interacted with 

the manufacturing sector. MAP was later 

organized as a 501 (c)(6) nonprofit trade 

association—similar to the old Manufacturers 

Club of Philadelphia, which had been prominent 

in city, regional and national politics 

during the late 1800s. 

In January 2013, Philadelphia Mayor 

Michael Nutter signed an Executive Order 

creating a Manufacturing Task Force to conduct 

a threat assessment of the sector across 

the region. Shortly after this study, MAP 

became a regional trade association focusing 

on the five southeastern Pennsylvania counties. 

Dues paid by member companies now 

help to keep the important work of preserving, 

promoting and advancing manufacturing 

in the region alive. After seventy years 

without a manufacturing trade association, 

the Philadelphia region finally has its manufacturing 

sector represented once again. 

Over sixty percent of all manufacturing 

companies in the region are companies with 

twenty employees or less. This region has 

always been characterized by small manufacturing 

firms, producing a wide diversity 

of products. Small companies often have 

THE MANUFACTURING ALLIANCE 

difficulty attracting attention from policymakers 

in their municipalities or state 

because of their size. All companies, both 

small and large, benefit from an association 

because they simply do not have the time, 

ability, resources or critical mass on their own 

to resolve issues, influence policy or generate 

meaningful change. 


brings the power and influence of more than 

4,000 companies located throughout the region 

to the table. We are their voice—only louder! 

“The Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia 

is a nonprofit trade organization created to 

give voice to the owners and employees of 

this important sector in the Philadelphia 

region. The Alliance addresses issues of policy, 

legislation, economic development, job training 

and other topics relevant to the growth 

and economic well-being of the industry. 

Its members are manufacturing and allied 

industry groups who work in collaboration 

with government and other agencies to 

resolve challenges that might harm the sector.” 

–Steve Jurash, MAP President & CEO 

OF PHILADELPHIA 


151

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

J ACK 

M C C ARTHY 

Jack McCarthy is a longtime Philadelphia-area archivist 

and historian who has held leadership positions at several 

area historical organizations and directed a number of 

archives and public history projects. A certified archivist, he 

currently directs a major project for the Historical Society of 

Pennsylvania focusing on the collections of the Philadelphia 

region’s many small archival repositories. Jack is particularly 

interested in Philadelphia music history and regularly 

writes, lectures, and gives walking tours on the subject. 

He served as consulting archivist for the Philadelphia 

Orchestra’s 2012 Leopold Stokowski centennial celebration and for the award-winning 2014 

radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. Jack is also active in Northeast 

Philadelphia history. He is co-founder of the Northeast Philadelphia History Network, president of 

Friends of Northeast Philadelphia History, and director of the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame. 


152

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ISBN: 978-1-944891-04-6

In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

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