From 1864 to 1876 Albert T. Nichols operated a machine shop and foundry in Williamsport, as A. T. Nichols, and, by 1875, A. T. Nichols & Co. In 1866 he acquired the West Branch Iron Works of Williamsport

Information on Nichols' business is exceedingly scanty but it appears that he manufactured steam engines and woodworking machinery. After he went bankrupt in 1876 it appears that most or all his products were acquired by Rowley & Hermance Co., which continued to manufacture several of them.

Information Sources

• 1866-09-12 Clearfield, Pa., Raftsman's Journal, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. "Eagle Shingle Machine—Sale by A. T. Nichols. / EAGLE SHINGLE MACHINE—The subscriber is manufacturing at the West Branch Iron Works, in Williamsport, the best and most durable Machine for making 24 and 18 inch shingles ever used in this country, also the EMPIRE MACHINE, which will cut 18 inch shingles much faster, smoother and more from the same timber, than any machine in use; also the best Saw Sett Mill Dues for Gate and Mulay Mills, ever used in this section. A. T. NICHOLS. Williamsport, Pa. May 5, 1866"
• 1873 book, Atlas of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, published by A. Pomeroy & Co. "On the 19th of December, 1864, Mr. [J. B.] Hall sold the works to A. T. Nichols, who added the large one-story building now used as the machine-shop, "setting-up room," and blacksmith-shop, situated next west of the office built by Mr. Hall. Its size is ninty by eighty feet; he also put in more machinery. While Mr. Nichols owned the works, this place was visited by the highest flood yet known, on the 17th of March, 1865, being higher than the destructive one of 1847—nearly eightenn years before. The establishment was again well washed out, and he was several weeks getting lear of the water. On the 30th of October, 1866, Mr. Nichols [sold] the works to Messrs O. Potter & J. H. Wonderly,... The death of Mr. Potter, in September, 1869, rendered it necessary for Mr. Nichols, who still held a large interest in the property, to resume charge of the works, and he is the present proprietor.
• An 1882 Rowley & Hermance catalog shows some machines that are visibly labeled as made by A. T. Nichols. The resaw on page 12 has the name scratched out but it uses the same patent mechanism as the resaw on page 13, which reads, "PATENTED AUG 28 [sic], 71 / Manufact'd by / A. T. NICHOLS". Page 14 shows Nichols' patent double edger, patented July 22, 1873 and Nov. 5, 1872. Page 15 shows the same machine with infeed and outfeed tables added and featuring the patent dates even more prominently. Page 16 shows Nichols' patent gang ripping or slitting saw, built to the same patents as the double edger. Page 27 shows a tenoning machine bearing a label that has been scratched out.
• 1892 book, History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, edited by John F. Meginness. "After the firm of John B. Hall & Company located in their new quarters, they increased their machinery by putting in several new lathes, planers, etc. In 1842 the firm dissolved and Mr. Hall did a large business for a number of years. During this time John A. Montgomery was a clerk for Mr. Hall and afterwards his partner. Mr. Hall sold the foundry to Bowman, Vanderbilt & Murray, and in one year bought it back again and continued the business until 1865, when he solt to A. T. Nichols, and it was finally merged into the Williamsport Machine Company..." Elsewhere in the volume: "Fred H. Sweet, general manager of the Williamsport Machine Company, was born...in 1844. ... He became foreman of the pattern shop of A. T. Nichols, with whom he continued until the failure of that gentleman. For the succeeding six years he had charge of the pattern department in the machine works of Rowley & Hermance, and in 1883 he associated himself with the Millspaugh Brothers, and organized the Williamsport Machine Company, of which he has since been the general manager..." "Oliver H. Young... working in the employ of A. T. Nichols until the fall of 1876, when he engaged with Rowley & Hermance, where he remained until he quit the business. He was the last named firm's first mechanical employee, and was superintendent of their works. In 1887 the firm of Mitchell, Young & Company was established, and Mr. Young has since taken an active interest in its affairs..."
• Notes and Queries, Historical, Biographical and Genealogical: Relating to Interior Pennsylvania, in a list of books and pamphlets from Lycoming County. "The Ingratitude of a Beggar. Facts, Not Fiction. By A. T. Nichols. Williamsport, 1876. 8vo, pp. 16.
• 1906-06-23 The Iron and Machinery World, Vol. 99, p. 86. "Fire destroyed the four buildings of they Seeleyville Iron works at Honesdale, Pa., a few days ago, causing a loss of $15,000, on which there is an insurance of $9,000. The plant was formerly the West Branch Iron Works, so called because of its location on the west branch of the Lackawaxen river, and was owned by an incorporated company. The buildings burned were the foundry, machine shop, blacksmith shop, and the woodworking department. Twenty men were employed. The plant will be rebuilt at once."