Not many may know this, but the Transveyor was invented and patented in Holyoke. I didn't know this, and I wondered what a Transveyor was and why the Liberty Bell was resting atop. Well, the story of the Cowan Truck Company will answer these questions and offer a glimpse into the business that operated in Holyoke for nineteen years.
The Cowan Truck Company bears the name of Herbert W. Cowan, who was a Superintendent of the White & Wyckoff mill on Water Street. Mr. Cowan was originally from Lewiston, Maine, and lived in Holyoke from 1892 to 1922.
It was around 1910 that George P. Taylor of Brown Avenue invented and later patented the Transveyor, a five-wheeled commercial hand truck capable of lifting the stock placed upon it. The goods could then be wheeled to another location in the plant.
With the idea in hand, in July 1911, Herbert Cowan partnered with the officials at White and Wyckoff (W & W) and formed the Cowan Truck Company, which initially operated on the third floor of the W & W plant. Arthur L. Lewis of Boston was selected as plant manager.
By 1914, the company employed 40 mechanics and 23 sales personnel. Demand for the product was increasing, and more production space was necessary to fulfill the growing orders. The company celebrated its third anniversary of production, and was known throughout the United States and Europe. Over 3,000 manufacturers had purchased the Transveyor.
At a trade show held in 1914, the company displayed a new hydraulic device capable of handling up to 5,000 pounds of material. It also had previously made an edition that could transport weights lighter than the original Transveyor.
In August 1915, the Transveyor was selected above many competitors to transport the Liberty Bell at the Panama Pacific Exhibition held in San Francisco. The Cowan device was such a success that the government adopted this method of transporting the 2,080-pound bell. Previously, the bell was moved by a large derrick.
In 1916, the company, aiming to expand, purchased the Reese & Hammann Machine Company in Florence to produce some of its smaller parts. The thought was that once Cowan had its own building, the Florence operation would be discontinued and absorbed in Holyoke.
At this juncture, the officers of the Cowan Truck Company were H. W. Cowan, President, J. L. Wyckoff, Vice-President, E. N. White, Treasurer, and R.F. Lyon, General Manager.
On March 7, 1916, Holyoke Water Power sold a parcel of land adjacent to White & Wyckoff. P. J. Kennedy was selected as the contractor to build the 100 x 200-foot, 2-story mill building for the Cowan Truck Company. The building, containing 40,000 square feet, was constructed with a foundation capable of supporting three additional stories.
The company planned to develop a motorized hydraulic lift for its Transveyor.
Groundbreaking for the new factory occurred on April 8, 1916, with completion anticipated by mid-summer of that year.
In 1917, Herbert W. Cowan sold his interest in the company to Messrs. White and Wyckoff. Joseph A. Skinner was elected the company's Vice-President.
In 1919, a gathering was held to celebrate the opening of the two additional stories added to the Cowan building by the Casper Ranger Construction Company. More than 1,000 attended the event, which took place in the new third story of the factory.
The new self-loading industrial electrical truck was demonstrated at the Holyoke Auto Show in 1921. The show was held in the Charlton building at the southwest corner of Suffolk and Elm Streets. Also in 1921, Cowan Truck Company purchased the property on which its mill was operated.
In 1925, the company merged with the Stuebing Truck Company of Ohio. This is the company that engaged in a second patent battle with Cowan Truck Company from 1917 to 1924.
White and Wyckoff purchased the Cowan mill in 1926.
The new Stuebing-Cowan Company moved to the former American Thread Carding Room in 1928. This was a two-story building on Canal Street leased from the Holyoke Gas & Electric Company.
In 1929, the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company acquired the Stuebing-Cowan Company. There were 60 employed in Holyoke at the time. The parent company closed the Holyoke operation and moved it to Philadelphia in December 1929.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts
Assessors' Office, Holyoke, Massachusetts
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