Asa Emerson built a dam on the creek bearing his name sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century; the creek apparently lost its ability to drive a mill and the improvements were abandoned; this spot is near the present Emerson Building on lower Silver Street. The site, including the dam and unused buildings, was purchased in 1833 by Joseph P. Fairbanks of St. Johnsbury, Vt., he being of the Fairbanks Scale Co. family. The Waterville Iron Works was thus established. Fairbanks' partner in this was Arba Nelson; together they set up a new dam and a foundry on the old Emerson property. This was Fairbanks, Nelson & Co.; the "and company" denote two other members of the Fairbanks family.

John Webber, born in Danville, VT, in 1810, came to Waterville, ME, in 1841 as a Fairbanks employee.

The Waterville Iron Works manufactured plows, stoves and small domestic ironware. The business had two stockholders and directors who purchased the rest of the company in 1843 and renamed it The Waterville Iron Manufacturing Co. These men were John Webber and Frank (Fred) P. Haviland. In 1871 C. T. Haviland and Frank B. Webber, sons of the owners, purchased a one-half interest in the company. F. B. Philbrick bought an equal share in 1873. The Company was known as Webber, Philbrick & Haviland until 1882 when Haviland retired and his name was removed.

Here is a summary of the company names and approximately when they were in use:

• Fairbanks, Nelson & Co. (1833—1843)
• Webber & Haviland (1843—1 July 1875)
• Webber, Haviland & Philbrick (1875—1882)
• Webber & Philbrick (1882—1910).

The 39 year partnership of Joseph Webber and Fred Haviland ended in 1882 with the death of the elder Webber; he had also been a Director of the Portland and Kennebec R. R. and for many years the President of People's Bank. His son, Frank Webber was born in Waterville on 22 April, 1848. He married Emma F. Kelley on 13 September of 1870.

After the Civil War the Company employed 25 men, and for many years was the only foundry in the Waterville area. The Company had remained small until 1881 and then grew to its largest size in the '80s and '90s. Its officers were listed as F. B. Philbrick, President; H. F. Webber, Treasurer; and M. F. Bartlett, Clerk. No other mention of Mr. Bartlett is found. (I realize the initials don't always add up.)

Before the Civil War, Webber and Philbrick have their business listed as Machinists; after the War it was listed as Foundry. The original plant burnt down in August of 1895 and was subsequently rebuilt in 1896 on the banks of the Kennebec River 1/8 mile north of Temple Street. The new plant had 30 employees and an annual payroll of $17,000, and 25,000 square feet of buildings in 1900. Their two major functions were listed as

1. Any type of machine work
2. A complete line of wood room machinery for sulphite, soda and ground wood pulp mills.

As of 1902 the facility was powered by a 20 horsepower electric motor and was mainly manufacturing for the pulp mill market.

By 1910 the Company had 40 employees and an annual payroll of $22,000. I do not find them listed in a directory for 1911 and have no idea what became of them.

The plant is listed as being on the lower Messalonskae River and it is said that the Union Gas and Electric Co. now occupy the site of the Webbber and Haviland Foundry. I do not know the date for this claim.

The Roulsted Engine Lathe

Between 1916 and 1920—and likely for longer—Waterville Iron Works manufactured the "Roulsted" brand 20-inch heavy engine lathe, which was exclusively distributed by Hill, Clarke & Co.. Only Hill, Clarke & Co. advertised these lathes and the ads did not mention the maker. An article in a 1916 issue of Canadian Machinery explicitly names the maker, plus we have seen a couple of reports of surviving machines bearing the Waterville Iron Works name.

Information Sources

• Most of the above history is courtesy of Don England, who got his information via research at the Waterville Public Library.
• Additional information on the Philbrick family is courtesy of various members of The Philbrick/Philbrook Research Group. Al Philbrick reports that Frank Philbrick was actually Benjamin Franklin Philbrick. He and his father, John White Philbrick, were machinists, and Al indicates that it is possible that the father may have been the one who started the business.
• The "Roulsted Twenty" lathe was featured in the September 1917 issue of Boston Blue Bulletin from machinery distributor Hill, Clarke & Co.
• A ca. 1869 jointer is labeled in several places as "Waterville Iron Works". A ca. 1900 bandsaw is labeled with the "Webber & Philbrick" name. Rather than creating separate entries for Waterville Iron Works and each of the various operating companies we have elected to have a single entry for the Works that encompasses machinery labeled with any of the names.
• In the early part of the 20th century there was a Philbrick Cutter Head Co. of Seattle, WA. There does not seem to be any direct connection with Webber & Philbrick, but it is plausible that the founders of the Seattle firm originally hailed from Maine. Please contact us if you can provide any information.