This company is noteworthy for being the only full-line woodworking machinery builder in Fitchburg, a town better known for its machine tool makers (although some, such as Putnam Machine Co., made a few woodworking machines as well.) Founded in Fitchburg in 1867 by James Goodrich, and possibly Henry J. Colburn, although Colburn may have arrived on the scene a bit later.
The company appears to have grown out of James Goodrich & Co., because some lines of machines are common between the two.
Advertisement from an 1875 issue of Manufacturer & Builder
In 1879, the name changed to Rollstone Machine Co. By the early 1880s, Goodrich was out of the picture and the company was owned by Henry F. Coggshall and C. F. Crocker; an 1881 Colburn patent is partially assigned to those two men, so the ownership change probably had occurred by then.
An 1884 catalog for the Rollstone Machine Co. has 126 pages of woodworking machinery, a surprisingly large line for a small company operating out of a small building. It is not known whether they made all their own castings, or if they bought castings - or complete machines - from other makers.
In 1890 the company relocated to Anniston, and was sold or disbanded shortly thereafter.
Information Sources
- The Massachusetts corporate registry database lists Rollstone Machine Works' first registration as 1867-11-13. We did not find a listing for Rollstone Machine Co.
- Ads in 1872-1876, 1883 Manufacturer & Builder. Mentioned in 1873 and 1882 Manufacturer & Builder. Articles in 1873 and 1880 Manufacturer & Builder.
- Listed in the 1874 work, Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States: "E. G. Miles, President; C. T. Crocker, Treasurer. General machinery, planers, etc. Works has large orders, and ran full time during the panic."