Incorporated in 1889, Meriden Machine Tool Co. manufactured forming lathes, a horizontal tapping machine, special machinery, and dies. Their lathes were named Yankee, Meriden, and Superior in 1910. The tapping machine was described in the book Thread-cutting Methods in 1918. The firm was located at 102 Britannia St., Meriden in 1906.
The company president in 1890 was Mr. Henry Wales Lines, who was also president of building construction and lumber companies and held political offices. His company built Yale University's Sprague Memorial Hall and many other buildings in several states. It appears that his involvement with Meriden Machine Tool Co. may have been limited to the title and probably a financial stake, since he was not an engineer, machinist, or otherwise in manufacturing.
Information Sources
- Connecticut of To-day : Its Chief Business Centres by Acme Publishing & Engraving Co., 1890, pg. 153
- Motor Cycle, Motor Boat & Automobile Trade Directory, 1910, pg. 424
- Thread-cutting Methods by Franklin Day Jones, Industrial Press, 1918, pg. 193
- Meriden Hall of Fame Inductees has a biography of Mr. Lines.
- The web site Lathes.Co.UK has a page on Meriden Machine Tool Company and its forming lathes.