The woodwork added to City Hall, along with the City Hall construction and leadership, as overseen by the previously stalled project, were significant accomplishments in the story of Watson Ely.
His son, Franklin W. Ely, joined the firm around 1871. The firm was renamed as Watson Ely & Son, a lumber and building concern, about 1880. The company operated in the Willard building at 122 Front Street. The mill had access to the rail line in 1882, which passed in front of the building and led to the Connecticut Valley Lumber Company, a couple of miles up the Connecticut River.
The 1880 U. S. Federal Census shows Watson Ely and his family living at 289 Maple Street in Holyoke. His son, Franklin W. Ely, and his wife, Hattie, both aged 24, also lived in this home.
In 1883, Watson Ely & Son announced they planned to erect a 4-story building on High Street south of City Hall. The land was purchased in 1873 from A. & A. B. Allyn, and the storefront would be addressed as 274 High Street.
Also in 1883, Watson Ely & Son were contracted to do the woodwork for the extensive C. B. & J. A. Davis stables at the corner of Cabot and Elm Streets.
Watson & Ely were the selected contractors to build the 90-foot by 25-foot building for W. B. L'Esperance at the corner of High and Suffolk Streets. It was described as having a "handsome architectural facade {which} will be a real ornament to the street."
James Allyn awarded the contract for a new building on High Street to Watson Ely & Son.
Watson Ely was one of the initial nine subscribers to the new Holyoke Street Railway in 1884.
Frank W. Ely purchased A. S. Alden's home at the corner of Maple and Essex in 1884.
In 1885, H. M. Cook of Holyoke Monument Works completed the monument for Watson and Mary Ely's burial site at the Third Parish Cemetery (now Elmwood Cemetery).
Bids for the construction of the $60,000 brownstone building for Whiting Street on Main Street were opened on June 4, 1885. Watson Ely & Son were awarded the contract for all the woodwork. Southern Pine would be used in its construction, and 25 carpenters were assigned to this project. E. A. Ellsworth was the architect.
By 1887, the company was sending workers to complete projects in Chicopee, Westfield, Northampton, Pittsfield, and other locations away from Holyoke.
In 1887, H. H. Gridley sold a building lot to Watson Ely, who would build a new residence for H. K. Hawes on the property. This would be numbered 223 Elm Street.
The three primary lumber dealers in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1887 belonged to the Merrick Lumber Company, E. Chase & Sons, and Watson, Ely & Son.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations include Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram, and Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, with publication dates and pages shown.
Holyoke Today: Penned and Pictured, J. E. Griffin, Publisher, 1887
Picturesque Hampden, Charles Forbes Warner, 1891
Illustrated & Descriptive, Holyoke, Massachusetts, William S. Kline & Co. Publisher, no year shown.
Holyoke Daily Transcript, 30th Anniversary, 1882-1912, The Transcript Publishing Company, 1912
1891 Ely Lumber Company location at Cabot and Canal Streets (3 photos)
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