LB2007.1.122802

LB2007.1.122802

Belfast, Maine. Dana's Sarsaparilla / Duplex Roller Bushing at foot of Main Street under demolition in 1917. Consumers Fuel sign. BUILDING CHRONOLOGY 1876 A new foundry, 180 feet long, was commenced by William Williams Castle, on Front Street. 1888 The success which had attended a sarsaparilla compound, formulated and patented by Dr. Gustavus Clark Kilgore, resulted in establishing a laboratory on Bridge Street, where the next year, with Edgar Filmore Hanson as promoter, the manufacture of the article upon a larger scale was undertaken 1889 Dana's Sarsaparilla organized November 28, 1891 The Belfast Foundry and Machine Works enlarged the foundry building on Front Street by the addition of a third story and hip roof (not hip-gambrel) 1891 Dana's purchases foundry building 1891 Dana's sells 300, 000 bottles of Sarsaparilla 1892 Dana Sarsaparilla Company's storehouse and power house 1892 The controlling part of the stock was disposed of to a Boston syndicate for $300,000. 1893 Dana's flourishes 1894 Dana's begins to decline due to headquarters shifting to Boston and dissension amongst stockholders. 1895 Dana's a, thing of the past. 1896 The Dana's property was sold at auction by the sheriffs to satisfy the claim of a New York creditor. 1896 To promote the general prosperity of the city, a number of citizens formed a corporation called The Belfast Industrial and Real Estate Company, and purchased the Dana Sarsaparilla Building for $10,500. This they rented to the Legro & Spalding Shoe Company, a corporation established for the manufacture of shoes. A portion of the stock in the latter was taken here. After being in operation for a year, the Shoe Company failed. 1902 New creamery in the Dana Sarsaparilla building on Front Street 1903 Duplex Roller Bushing Co of Camden purchases Belfast Machine & Foundry Co. in April along with some adjoining properties. The former foundry and machine shop were remodeled, a new building 75x40 feet was built on the lot opposite the foundry and the plant went into operation in May. 1904 Duplex Roller Bushing Co buys the Dana Sarsaparilla building in April and will occupy two floors. The machine shop and wood shop, now in the foundry building will be moved to the Dana building and the foundry will be enlarged to occupy the whole building. The Foster-Estabrooks clothing factory will continue to occupy the two upper floors of the Dana building. 1909 Vice President H. H. Wood Petitions for a Receiver in September. The petitioner is vice president and the largest stockholder of the corporation who sets forth that in the past six years he has loaned the corporation various sums from time to time, aggregating $91,000. He asks for an injunction to restrain the corporation from further business. 1909 In December H. Holton Wood of Boston, vice president of the company, purchases the property of the Duplex Roller /bushing Co. from the receivers for $40,000. 1910 Duplex Roller Bushing Co. closes in September. 1913 The building basement has been full of the season's sardines are shipped. Pearl Brook Farm leases the building to use the first floor for cigar manufacturing and the third floor to dry onions and dry tobacco for the cigars. 1916 G. C. Raincoat Co. of Boston leases the building through the Board of Trade for six months as a trial period to make raincoats. 1917 Pejepscot Paper purchases and takes over the Duplex Roller Bushing property at the foot of Main Street in February and turns it into a pulp yard. 1917 Pejepscot tears down Duplex Roller Bushing factory in May and sells it to the Charles E. Bicknell & Co. of Rockland. Trestles are built to extend the railroad track for moving the pulp logs to the wharf. In August, the smoke stack is felled. 1921 Pejepscot burns in large waterfront fire. 1922 Pejepscot moves to Bath BELFAST FOUNDRY 1876 A new foundry, 180 feet long, was commenced by William Williams Castle, on Front Street. DANA SARSAPARILLA COMPANY In 1888, the success which had attended a sarsaparilla compound, formulated and patented by Dr. Gustavus Clark Kilgore, resulted in establishing a laboratory on Bridge Street, Belfast, where the next year, with Edgar Filmore Hanson as promoter, the manufacture of the article upon a larger scale was undertaken, followed by the organization of a stock company with the above title, having a capital of $25,000. By judicious advertising and enterprise, the business increased beyond the most sanguine expectations of its originators, and two dividends, one of twenty and one of a hundred per cent, were declared. The Dana Sarsaparilla Company was organized November 28, 1889, and produced hundreds of thousands of bottles of an elixir formulated by Dr. Gustavus Clark Kilgore, a Belfast physician, that was said to cure all ills. Edgar F. Hanson (ten term mayor of Belfast) became the manager of the Dana Sarsaparilla Company turning it into one of the nation's three dominant patent medicine concerns through innovative marketing of its product. Hanson became wealthy from his involvement with Dana and when the company was sold in 1894 at a profit of 1300% for its investors, he built a lavish mansion on Northport Avenue across from what is now the City Park. A year later he was elected to his first term as mayor of Belfast. In 1891, 300,000 bottles of the medicine having been sold, more extensive accommodations were required, and the foundry building on Front Street was purchased and enlarged. During the first six months after removal the sales reached half a million bottles. Such good fortune soon attracted outside parties, and in July, 1892, the controlling part of the stock was disposed of to a Boston syndicate for $300,000 cash. The holders thus received twelve hundred per cent on their original investment, besides the previous dividends of one hundred and twenty per cent. Nearly all of this remained in Belfast. Arrangements for placing immense quantities of the article were at once entered upon. The importation of ingredients by the ton, the establishment of a printing-press costing $30,000, and the circulation of millions of advertising sheets which doubled the revenue of the Post-Office, constituted some of the new features. The concern flourished during 1893, but the next year, owing to the transfer of its headquarters to Boston, resulting from a change of management, and dissensions among the stockholders, it began to decline, and the following year became a thing of the past. In June, 1896, its whole property was sold at auction by the sheriffs to satisfy the claim of a New York creditor. Such was the rise and fall of a corporation whose career is remarkable in the history of patent medicines. THE DUPLEX ROLLER BUSHING COMPANY The Duplex Roller Bushing Company arrives from Camden in 1903 and occupies the old Dana Sarsaparilla Company factory building at the foot of Main Street. It closes in 1909. Roller bushings were used in many factory processes important to the growth of an industrial city. The heavy machinery was moved to Camden and the huge waterfront factory building lay empty until 1913 when Pearl Brook Farm set up tobacco drying for the successful cigar industry on the east side. The Duplex Roller Bushing Co. was organized in 1890, with a capital stock of $300,000, to manufacture and sell a roller bushing for vessels' blocks invented by Willard F. Wellman, formerly of Belfast, now of Belmont. This bushing has two rows of balls , instead of one as in the common "patent blocks" in general use aboard merchant vessels, and has proved much easier to operate, as well as more durable than any former invention. Mr. Frank C. Pitcher has been president and general manager of the company from its organization and has worked industriously and successfully in introducing the bushing to the best customers, namely, the governments of the United states and other nations possessed of warships , revenue vessels, etc. The Wellman duplex roller bushing is patented in twenty-one foreign countries, and is in use in the navies of a number of them. The U. S. Navy uses it on all its war vessels, revenue cutters and light-house steamers. The contract for the navy vessels has been running for seven years. This bushing was adopted by the Navy Department after a rigid competitive examination in which all the blocks used were run until completely ruined. The Wellman bushing stood the test and did good service long after all competitors were rendered useless. Many of the larger companies in the merchant marine business have adopted the Wellman bushing. The large vessels of the Crowley fleet are equipped with it throughout. The bushing has been made under contract by Knowlton Bros. of Camden, but the company recently decided to equip a plant and do its own work. The plant of the Belfast Machine & Foundry Co. was bought, together with its patent rights, patterns and franchises. The latter company manufactured the Hege rotary saw mill, the Holmes stave jointer, The Hall granite polishing machine, and a number of improvements for plows, ship and quarry machinery, etc.. There is a well -equipped machine shop and iron foundry for general job work and patterns for a great variety of castings. The Duplex Roller Bushing Co. will continue these lines of business as well the manufacture of the bushings. In addition to the Wellman bushing the company also has a patent on a bushing designed to meet the popular demand , for use in the merchant marine, a bushing that can be sold at as low a figure as any in the market, and one that is perfectly reliable , easy working and very durable. The building just to the left was then the offices of Consumers Fuel Co.