B. F. Stevens was in business from about 1850. Benjamin Franklin Stevens was directly descended from Benjamin Franklin himself. His product line consisted of metal-working lathes and box-making machinery.
Stevens was born in Dracut, across the river from Lowell. By 1891 he had 15 to 20 employees, and had revenues of about $18,000 per year from his 40x75 shop on Arch Street.
Information Sources
- Listed in the 1874 work, Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States: "B. F. Stevens - Saw mill and other machinery."
- Listed in the 1891 book, Inland Massachusetts Illustrated, which says that B. F. Stevens had been in business "over 40 years". It also gives the business statistics for that year.