BOILER EXPLODES AT HITCHCOCK MANUFACTURING COMPANY

A 100-HORSE POWER BOILER IN HITCHCOCK MANUFACTURING CO.'S WORKS EXPLODES--THREE EMPLOYEES KILLED AND SEVERAL INJURED.

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, June 3, 1887.

A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION.

A 100-HORSE POWER BOILER IN HITCHCOCK MANUFACTURING COMPANY’S WORKS EXPLODES—THREE EMPLOYEES KILLED AND SEVERAL INJURED.

   At twenty minutes past nine o'clock last Monday morning, people who were on the streets of this village, were startled by a loud, rumbling noise, apparently coming from the east part of the town. A moment later, immense columns of smoke and steam arose above the buildings and all who saw the strange sight felt that something uncommon had happened.

   At precisely 9:30 the fire alarm was sounded and messengers announced that one of the boilers in the Hitchcock Manufacturing Company's shops on Elm street had exploded. The streets were filled in a trice with men, women and children, all hurrying to the scene of the catastrophe.

   Immediately after the explosion occurred the frightened workmen ran out of the adjoining shops and one glance told them what had happened. They at once set to work to find their co-laborers who were known to have been at work near the boilers but a moment before. Frank Scott, a mason, who had been at work laying brick in a trench, was found jammed against a wall, and surrounded with brick and mortar up to his waist. His face and hands were badly scalded and there were fearful gashes in his head. His skull was crushed in on the left side and he was unconscious.

   Drs. Jewett, White and Higgins attended him and he was taken to his home corner of N. Main street and Arthur Ave., where he lingered in great agony until 6:30 P. M., when death put an end to his sufferings. Scott had been a resident of this place for several years, and married a daughter of Mr. Lee Burgett, now of McGrawville, but formerly of this place, about a year ago. His wife was taken with convulsions on learning the sad news and fears were entertained that she would not recover. She was sufficiently improved however to be taken to the home of her father on Wednesday afternoon soon after the funeral of her husband had been held.

   William P. Ballard who was assisting Scott for that day, was found among the debris nearby with his left hip crushed and the leg broken in two places, his left arm broken and unjointed at the elbow, a severe cut on the back of his head and badly scalded on the right side. He was taken to his home on the west road to Homer and was attended by Drs. Dana and McNamara. Death came to his relief at 12:15.

   Mr. Ballard was 40 years of age and leaves a wife and an adopted son. He was the eldest son of the late Augustus Ballard, who resided on the farm now owned by L. J. Fitzgerald on the west road to Homer. For six or seven years past he was station agent at Dalton, Mass., but the climate not agreeing with his wife he returned to this town a year ago and purchased a small place a few rods south of the old farm. He had only been at work in the factory about six weeks and usually worked in the wood shop. Two years ago last December his only brother, Augustus L. Ballard, who was a locomotive engineer on the Great Western Railway, was instantly killed near Meadville, Pa., while running into a station. His train had been signaled and he put his head out of the cab window to learn the cause, just in time to be struck by a box car that had been left standing too near the track on a switch. His mother and two sisters live in Illinois, and two married sisters live in Michigan. His funeral took place on Wednesday afternoon.

   Clifford Fuller, fireman, was badly scalded and had several severe cuts about the head and face, but was otherwise uninjured. He was taken to his home on the extension of Lincoln Ave., and Dr. Hughes called, who dressed his wounds. Fuller says that he and Webster were sitting on a scat near the front of the boiler and that Webster was thrown one way and he another. Although nearly blinded by the steam and dust he managed to crawl behind a partition, and had presence of mind enough to let off the steam in the boiler under his charge. The doctor thinks he will recover.

   Richard Couch, who lives near the railroad crossing between this village and Homer, received several severe cuts and bruises from flying bricks. He was taken to a barn nearby and his injuries were dressed by Drs. Bennet, Nash and Hoag after which he was taken home. The doctors think he will recover.

   But there was still one man missing after those named had been found, who was known to be near the boiler at the time of the accident and that man was Henry A. Webster, the assistant fireman. Willing hands at once went to work removing the pile of brick, mortar and other rubbish near the place where the front of the boiler had stood. The bricks were hot and every few minutes they were drenched with water from a hose attached to one of the street hydrants. At 10:15 o'clock and after an hour’s hard work in removing the three or four feet of brick and mortar that had pinned him to the earth, his dead body was taken from the ruins, crushed and bruised into an almost unrecognizable mass. Besides the brick and mortar, one end of a large beam lay across his body, the other end standing nearly upright. The funeral services were held at McGrawville on Tuesday.

   Webster formerly resided in Virgil and was a farmer and Justice of the Peace of that town. A year ago he was one of the Justices of Sessions and sat on the bench during every term of Court held in this village. A year ago last spring he moved to Cortland and kept a sale stable in rear of the Dexter House. He had only been at work in the shops a few weeks. Webster was a large man weighing about 265 pounds, and was about 35 years of age. He leaves a widow but no children.

   William Howard, the engineer, who had general charge of all the boilers, says that he had just left the boiler room when the explosion occurred and that the steam gauge showed 75 pounds of steam and that there was plenty of water in the boilers. His foot was considerably injured by flying brick and he was otherwise injured although not seriously.

   Several workmen other than those named who were in the buildings were slightly injured, and several more report hairbreadth escapes from total annihilation. Had the explosion occurred on almost any other day, the loss of life must have been appalling. On account of its being Decoration Day, many of the men took occasion to lay off and undoubtedly by failing to report for duty, saved their lives.

CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION.

   It is doubtful if the cause of the explosion will ever be known. Many rumors have been afloat since the accident happened. Some have asserted that the boiler was a second hand boiler when it was purchased and had already been condemned, and that it had also been recently condemned by the boiler inspectors. But it has been impossible to trace these rumors to any reliable foundation. All these reports seem to be hearsay, and no one so far as we can learn, has been found who would take the responsibility of making any such statement upon themselves.

   Both Mr. Hitchcock, the President of the Company and Mr. Gleason the Superintendent, were in Indiana at the time of the explosion, but they arrived home on Wednesday morning, and we took the opportunity to interview Mr. Gleason at once. He assured us that the boiler was bought new of B. W. Payne & Sons, boiler makers, of Elmira, two years ago, and that it was a part of the contract, that the boiler should be inspected by the Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company's inspector, and that they were not to take it unless it passed such an examination. It was so inspected and passed the examination and was pronounced all right. If this is true, and we have no reason to doubt Mr. Gleason's statements in the absence of proof to the contrary, it ought to put at rest forever the many damaging reports that are being circulated to the detriment of the officers of the company.

INCIDENTS OF THE EXPLOSION.

   The boiler was one of three that were set side by side and was rated at 100 horse power. One end was lifted high in the air and landed in the end of a shed 250 feet to the north of the boiler room. The iron was wrenched off almost as true as if it had been cut. A large pear tree stood in front of the building near the side walk. A large number of the flues of the boiler struck this tree and were bent nearly double. The tree was broken over and looked as if it had been cut smoothly off near the ground. If this tree had not stood in the way, the flues must have struck the residence of Floyd Hitchcock across the way. One can only imagine what the result would have been.

   A four inch iron pipe, six feet long, was thrown in the air and landed on the picket fence on the east side of Dr. H. G. Ingalls’ residence, smashing the fence and ending over it gouged a large hole in the gravel driveway, the other end landing against the railing of the stoop where it was found. Dr. Ingalls house is on Elm street at least 30 rods west of the boiler room. The pipe is a good lift for a strong man and it must have been thrown very high in the air to have escaped the many residences that line that side of the street.

   A piece of the hood of the boiler weighing some two hundred pounds, went up in the air, passed completely over the blacksmith shop on the south and landed on the south side of Venette street, making quite a hole in the ground. One of the flues of the boiler went in the same direction, but passed over the houses on the south side of Venette street and landed on top of a new board fence between the office and barn of Dr. Bolles on Railroad street. The fence was cut in twain as if it had been chopped down with a sharp axe.

   A large iron pipe with the safety valve attached, struck within a few feet of L. D. Boyce's residence on the north side of Venette street, and entered the ground for at least two feet.

   Nearly every house on Venette street was struck with brick, scraps of iron and other rubbish, but fortunately none were seriously injured. Bricks were found scattered around on Elm street as far west as the Congregational church, some fifty rods distant from the boiler house, and the door yards of the residences on both sides of the street were littered with brick and scraps of iron. Bricks lined Greenbush street as far south as Railroad [street], and for several yards north of its intersection with Elm. The yards of private residences all along this street were strewn with like mementoes of the disaster.

   The railroad tracks for at least ten or twelve rods north were strewn with brick and other fragments. The side of the wooden building on the east was crushed in and the clapboards, on the end of the building standing on the west side of the yard, were broken by flying missiles. The front end of the boiler was sent crashing into the blacksmith shop south, and landed 30 feet away against a tire furnace on the south side of the shop. The middle section of the boiler was torn apart and fell in the road in front of the building.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS.

   The building on the right as shown in the above engraving [top of page--CC editor], was the old Methodist church, in which Mr. Hitchcock first commenced the manufacture of wagons and sleighs. The building in the rear, which is partially obscured by the broken bridge, is the blacksmith shop. The building on the left is the new wooden building, put up by Mr. Hitchcock three or four years ago, and which extended for 300 feet along the railroad track south reaching to Venette street.

   The engine and boiler room was the only brick structure in this group and stood in the corner of the yard and adjoining the long building on the east and the blacksmith shop. It was 20x45 feet and mainly three stories high. At the northwest corner of this building, where the cut shows the brick walls torn away, stood a brick chimney 90 feet high, which fell towards the west making the huge pile of brick seen in the engraving. The little hose house seen on the left stood near the chimney and was moved forward several feet and near the side walk. The hose cart in this building was sent cavorting out of the building but was uninjured.

   The Company have in their office the certificate of the inspector of the American Steam Boiler Insurance Company of New York, showing that from an external examination of the boilers on March 7th, 1887, they were in good condition and well managed. The other boilers were inspected internally March 18th, but the boiler that exploded was not. The certificate says: "Difficult to keep boilers clean as water is from an artesian well, very bad. Looked under No. 1, found blister on 2d fire sheet, could not tell how bad as boiler was in use.”

CORONER'S INQUEST.

   Coroner Geo. D. Bradford of Homer, empanelled the following jury on Monday afternoon: Foreman Emmett A. Fish, J. L. Watrous, D. W. Bierce, J. D. Schermerhorn, S. E. Welch, C. P. Walrad, J. Ireland, H. F. Benton, L. D. Boyce, B. S. Conger, Faron Maxim, I. W. Brown.

   After administering the oath to the jury, and viewing the body of H. A. Webster, the inquest was adjourned to Monday, June 6th at 10 A. M

   Mr. Hitchcock estimates his loss on buildings and machinery at $10,000, upon which he has an insurance of $7,000 in the American Steam Boiler Insurance Company. Mr. Tower, the chief engineer of this company, was in town on Wednesday and after inspecting the remains of the boiler sent a piece of it to New York to be tested. He gave no opinion as to the cause of the explosion. The boiler inspector of the company arrived in town on Thursday, and after an examination of the fragments, stated that he thought the boiler was made from defective iron. He further stated that it was difficult to tell good iron from poor after it was put into a boiler, and that while it might appear to be good on the surface the interior might be poor. The iron of which this boiler was made was of an inch in thickness.

   It will probably be three or four weeks before the shops will be able to resume work in all departments.

Hitchcock Mfg. Co. was located at this location. The Google Earth map was aligned in the same direction as the old drawing below. Touch or left click on this map to enlarge. CC editor.

On the newspaper map, the Boiler Room is near center, next to Main Building. (Vinette Street is south, Elm Street is north, Greenbush Street is west, and Syracuse & Binghamton R. R. is east of Hitchcock factory buildings.) On the map the chimney is in Yard, at northwest corner of Boiler Room and the pear tree is above the 'E' in Elm Street. The hose building is located above the last 'T' in Elm Street. CC editor.

   The above diagram in connection with the cut will explain the situation of the wreck fully. The star (*) in the boiler room indicates as near as may be, the spot where Webster's body was found. The dagger (+) is the location of the brick chimney, the double dagger (+) the spot where the pear tree stood and the section mark (§) the place where the hose building was left by the explosion. Elm street runs east and west and the buildings are located on the south side of the street.

   We are under obligations to Mr. Clark, of the Standard, for the use of the engraving at the head of this article. We had made arrangements for a cut of our own, but when it came late Thursday evening, it was found to be worthless. The kindness of our neighbor, under the circumstances, is duly appreciated.

Addendum:

Smith’s History of Cortland 1885--Manufacturing Interests: 

   C.B. Hitchcock's Buggy and Cutter Works.--In the spring of 1877 C.B. Hitchcock came to Cortland from Cincinnatus and began the manufacture of cutters on Port Watson street. He was a practical carriage painter and had been proprietor of a carriage manufactory in Cincinnatus, whence he removed to satisfy his ambition to do a larger business. In the first of his trade in Cortland he made and sold 100 cutters, from which moderate success grew his belief that the business could be almost indefinitely extended. To this end he purchased the old Methodist Church building which had been removed to the corner of Elm street and the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York railroad, and in the following year turned out 250 cutters and 100 buggies. Additions were made to the works in 1879 and the product increased to 550 cutters and 200 buggies. Since that time annual extensions have been made to the buildings, to meet the necessities of the rapidly increasing sales, which reached in 1883 about 10,000 cutters and 2,000 wagons. The works now comprise a wood working shop and engine house, 60 by 100 feet in dimensions; blacksmith shop, 30 by 150 feet; painting and stock building, 100 by 120 feet; a five story building, 30 by 300 feet, occupied by the repository, trimming and shipping departments; and other smaller buildings. This is now the largest cutter manufactory in the world and the business has grown from $4,000 in 1877 to about $500,000. On the 1st of January, 1884 a stock company was organized, with $150,000 capital. It is the intention of the company to greatly extend the works and begin the manufacture of agricultural implements. The officers C.B. Hitchcock, president; H.L. Gleason, secretary and superintendent; H. C. Henry, treasurer.


   Smith's History of Cortland County 1885--Biographies: CALEB BARDANO HITCHCOCK, the subject of this sketch, is one of the representative business men of Cortland county. His grandfather, Noah Hitchcock, was among the pioneer settlers of Homer, N.Y. His father, Caleb Hitchcock, moved to Dryden, N.Y., where Caleb B. was born March 30th, 1839. In 1841 his father died, leaving his mother with six children, of whom Caleb was the youngest, being only two years of age. Mrs. Hitchcock then removed to Homer with her young family, and by her own industry and economy secured to her children the advantages of a good education. When thirteen years old, Caleb B. went to Venice, Cayuga county, and worked on the farm of Jesse Tillet for two years, attending the winter terms of the district school. Returning to Homer at the end of this time he attended the academy four terms, which completed his school education. Thus, at the age of seventeen, he started out to begin the battle of life and to win a position among men. Two years later found him an employee in the then celebrated carriage factory of S. W. Cately, at Tully, Onondaga Co., N.Y., where he obtained a thorough knowledge of all parts of carriage work.
   At the end of three years' service he went to Cincinnatus and worked in the shop of Larabee & Gee, where, a year later, with the earnings which his frugality had enabled him to save, he purchased an interest in the business, afterwards becoming the sole proprietor.
    After a time he disposed of his carriage shop and opened a furniture, undertaking and livery business, in which he remained until about 1877. During this time he occasionally finished a few cutters and conceived the idea of the large manufacturing interest which now bears his name.
    Recognizing the limit and inconvenience placed upon business in an inland town, and observing the growing impulse for extensive manufactories developing in Cortland, he removed there in the spring of 1877, to attempt to put into practical execution some of the plans he had been maturing to build up a large wholesale manufactory for cutters and sleighs. To this end he rented the Gee property on Port Watson street, and the first year, having five employees, made and sold one hundred cutters---a business not exceeding four thousand dollars. The following season he purchased what was then known as the old church property on Elm street, and each year thereafter more than doubled the business--buying lot after lot and putting up building after building of immense proportions, until the business, of four thousand dollars in 1877, reached nearly half a million in 1884.
    Mr. Hitchcock is emphatically a self-made man. Being a good judge of human nature enabled him to gather about him as employees men well fitted to aid him in his great enterprises. During his business career he has made no misstep through defect of his own judgment. He is an expert buyer, and it is this superior quality, perhaps, more than any other, that has enabled him to keep pace and even surpass many older and more experienced manufacturers.
    Believing in the justice and equity of giving an interest to those who aided him while building up his large business, he organized, in March, 1884, as his successor, "The Hitchcock Manufacturing Company," with a capital of $150,000, and a charter for fifty years with C. B. Hitchcock as president, H. L. Gleason, secretary, and H. C. Henry as treasurer. This company, on the first day of January, will have built and sold 3,500 wagons and 10,000 sleighs, shipping in the busiest times a sleigh every five minutes, and are fully sustaining their well earned reputation of building the largest number of cutters of any factory in the world. It is their intention next year to build 5,000 wagons and 15,000 sleighs, thus pushing the business close to a million dollars.