Holyoke Screw Machine Company (1946-1986)

It was post-World War II, and many servicemen had fulfilled their military obligations, returning to the domestic workforce or starting new ventures. This is a story of the latter, as two former Precious Blood students who went on to Holyoke Trade School decided to start their own business.

In April 1946, George H. Girard of Pleasant Street and Albert Gourde of Park Street purchased the Hampden (Massachusetts) Screw Machine Company and moved its equipment to Holyoke. The company installed 5 screw machines and 3 lathes.

Mr. Girard was previously employed by the Worthington Pump Co. and the Army Corps of Engineers. In addition to his time in the armed service, Mr. Gourde was employed by Pratt & Whitney in Hartford and East Longmeadow.

The machines used by the company were designed to efficiently produce large quantities of precision parts. The parts were generally produced for the automotive and manufacturing industries. The machines were capable of threading metals to produce nuts, bolts, crews, and other fittings.

The pair rented a 76-by-40-foot basement space in the Rackliffe Building at 9 Suffolk Street. This was formerly the home of the Bullard Thread Company. The Rackliffe building was also home to the former Suffolk Theater.

The company had received orders from Eastern Screw Machine in Chicopee, Noma Electric Company and Soundrite Company in Holyoke.

In 1948, Albert Gourde left the company and teamed with his brother, Raymond, to purchase property at the southeast corner of Jackson and Main Streets for the construction of a gas station. Three years later, they purchased property at the northeast intersection of Main and South Canal Streets with plans to build a restaurant. 

George Girard continued on as a sole proprietor, operating the Holyoke Screw Machine Company at 9 Suffolk Street. On February 28, 1961, his three-year lease expired. He moved his business to 2 Bowers Street, the site of the former Richardson Train Station.

On April 18, 1983, a fire that was determined to have been set by arson severely damaged the business and the building. 

The business was incorporated on March 27, 1984, with George Girard named as President and Treasurer. According to the Articles of Incorporation, the company produced parts for transformers and other machines; manufactured screws, nuts and bolts; made components for other machines. 

The business was sold in 1986 to Holyoke Screw and Bolt Inc., operated by John Thaddeus Lech and John Kucinski, both of Holyoke. The business operated until 2003, when a liquidation sale of its assets was held.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

1959 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Holyoke, Massachusetts

Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts

Rackliffe Building- 1959 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 

of Holyoke, Massachusetts

John T. Hunter Harness Shop (1882-1920)

A vintage late-19th-century photo shows the eastern side of Main Street, looking north from near Dwight Street. The center of the photo shows the light color of the Whiting Street building, which was significantly used by small businesses and upstarts.

Today’s installment centers on the building in the foreground with the partially obscured sign, which identifies this as a harness shop. The question becomes: whose shop was this, and what background do we have on the owner? Hopefully, further research will determine some additional history surrounding this building.  

On April 1, 1868, the Holyoke Water Power Company (HWPCo) sold the land, which later would become 40-42 Main Street, to Eli and Alzene Newton for $4,640. On November 14, 1871, the Newtons granted Holyoke Savings Bank a mortgage on the property securing a $7,500 loan. The mortgage instrument only identified the property as land. 

On August 12, 1882, a foreclosure sale resulted in Joseph N. Prew purchasing the property for $7,930. Mr. Prew went on to own the property into the 20th century. Under whose ownership the building was constructed remains a mystery. The building does not appear on the 1877 Bird’s Eye View of Holyoke Map. However, the subsequent 1881 map shows all spaces filled on that segment of Main Street.

With a bit of the real estate’s history now explained, it’s on to the story of the harness shop. John T. Hunter, whose shop is captured in the photo, was born in Sand Bank Hollow, New York, on May 25, 1854. His father, Thomas Hunter, learned the saddle trade at an early age and pursued it for the rest of his life. Thomas passed along the skills of the harness maker’s livelihood to his son John, who was one of the 9 children in the family.

John T. Hunter relocated to Holyoke, where he started his own saddlery and harness-making business around 1882. He was located at 44 Main Street, and in 1888, the address was listed as 42 Main Street. He sold harnesses, collars, whips, blankets, fly nets, halters, brushes and other accessories. He also performed repair work for customers.

He continued to work at his business for 30 years, until he died in 1912. He was one of New England’s oldest harness makers. John T. Hunter’s son, Roy John Hunter, had been taught the saddlery trade, and a partnership under the name John T. Hunter & Son was previously formed. Upon his father’s death, Roy J. Hunter continued the shop at 42 Main Street until 1920. 

In 1921, the business relocated to 56 Suffolk Street and was renamed The Luggage Shop. The store carried a line of auto tops, harnesses, trunks, luggage, and many accessories. Times were changing, as motor vehicles became more prominent, replacing horses as the primary mode of transportation. 

The business closed in 1925, and at the time, was situated at 277 Maple Street. Roy J. Hunter, then age 40, moved with his family to the Berkshires, where he worked as a car salesman in Lee and Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts

1877 Bird’s Eye View of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Poole, Beck, Stoner & Pauli, Madison, Wisconsin

1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Holyoke, Massachusetts

1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts

40-42 Main Street ~ 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 

40-42 Main Street ~ 1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts

April 1, 1868, Holyoke Water Power Co. deed conveying the land at the future 40-42 Main Street 

to Eli and Alzene Newton for $4,640

1871 Recorded mortgage for the $7,500 borrowed by the Newtons

 from Holyoke Savings Bank

George M. Wolcott (229-231 High Street at Dwight)

An 1890s photo of the intersection of High and Dwight Streets, looking south, shows a vibrant downtown area with electric streetcars and awning-draped retail spaces. Several aspects of the corner location piqued my curiosity. Who owned this parcel of land when this building was constructed? What type of business did Griffin operate at the corner and for how long? What other businesses, if any, occupied this space in the nineteenth century? 

Most of these questions will be answered throughout this blog installment.    

The story begins with George Morris Wolcott, who was born in Southampton, Mass., on December 12, 1925. He was educated in the town’s schools as well as in Easthampton. In 1847, he arrived in Holyoke and opened a grocery store near the Patch, where there were approximately 200 shanties. This assembly was approximately located on the far west side of today’s Pulaski Park.

He moved his grocery store to the Exchange Block, where he opened a shoe business. In 1851, his interest turned to gold mining in California, but this did not suit him. He soon sold his interest and returned to Holyoke. He went to work maintaining the books for the Holyoke Water Power Co. (HWPCo), and then returned to the shoe business.

In 1877, a news article noted the difficulties of developing the land parcels south of High and along Dwight Streets for commercial use. At the time, the business district in Holyoke centered on High Street, north of Dwight Street. Many opined that customers would never cross over Dwight Street to shop.

It was between 1874 and 1877 (see maps below) that George Wolcott, who believed in the growth of Holyoke, defied the naysayers and constructed a building on a 90-foot-deep lot with 24 feet of frontage on High Street at the corner of Dwight Street. The lot was originally acquired by Cyrenius B. Wolcott from the Hadley Falls Company on November 1, 1848, and subsequently transferred to George M. Wolcott on March 10, 1862. 

When built, it became the only commercial building on the entire western length of High Street south of Dwight Street. It didn’t take long for others to follow, with a massive building surge that filled the entire west side of High Street between Dwight and Suffolk Streets by 1884.

The first newspaper sighting of commercial use was in September 1880, when a music school opened in the Wolcott building. George Wolcott’s shoe and boot store is shown in the 1882 City Directory. He had been in business at 209 High Street. Due to failing health, including hearing impairment, he gave up the shoe business. In 1883, E. F. Osborne, Jr. operated his shoe and boot store from the 229 High Street location.

H. H. Gridley, a gas-saving regulator retailer, moved into 229 High Street in December 1885. 

The mystery of the store name “Griffin” appearing above the awning in the photo above was solved on April 5, 1892, when Michael J. Griffin applied to the city for a license to sell intoxicating liquors for medicinal, mechanical, or chemical purposes, given that August F. Glessman opened his drug store at 229 High Street on December 5, 1894; the photo likely was taken between these two dates. Mr. Glessman continued to conduct business here until the early 20th century, when he relocated to 329 High Street.

As an aside, in 1911, the McAuslan-Wakelin Department Store expanded to include this property location.

 Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts: publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

1870 Atlas of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Beers, Ellis & Soule, New York

1874 Map of the City of Holyoke, Published by Loomis & Kirtland, Holyoke, Massachusetts

1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, George H. Walker & Company

1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Richards Map Company, Springfield, Massachusetts

The view is in a southerly direction

1874

1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map