This foundry and machine shop, operated as a partnership of Solomon Cole and William B. Cole, traces its roots back to 1854, with the father-and-son partnership beginning in 1866. The made mill machinery, including sawmills and planers, and also had a specialty in trip hammers.

The connections, if any, between this firm and two other New Hampshire makers, Cole, Davis & Co. and Cole Manufacturing Co., are unknown.

Information Sources

• The New Hampshire Register, Farmers' Almanac, and Business Directory, for 1882 mentions S. Cole & Son as machinists and makers of water wheels and millwork in Lebanon. Solomon Cole of Lebanon was mentioned as a local justice.
• The 1883-04-28 issue of Mechanics has this item:

  Messrs. S. Cole & Son, iron founders and machinists, of Lebanon, N. H., have made extensive additions to their buildings the past year, and now have one of the most complete foundries and machine shops in New Hampshire. They make a specialty in the building of trip-hammers for scythe and other forging shops, and have recently put several of them in the scythe works at New London.

• Gazetteer of Grafton County, N. H., 1886, in their summary of Lebanon, mentions "On the west side is the machine shop and foundry of S. Cole & Son, who do a large amount of mill work, and furnish machinery and castings." One Asa Chase is listed as a pattern maker for S. Cole & Son, "employed in the same shop 31 years", i.e., back to 1855. Also listed as employees is John Byrne (machinist). The entry for S. Cole & Son says "(Solomon and William B.) founders and machinists, and dealers in lumber, Mascoma." Another entry in this rather messy book reads, "S. Cole & Son's iron foundry and machine shop, on Mascoma street, manfuacture mill-irons, shafting and castings of all kinds, and also do a general jobbing business in machinery fittings. They give employment to about thirty-five men."
• The Native Ministry of New Hampshire, by Nathan Franklin Carter, 1906, has the following biography.

  Solomon Cole, Free Baptist, son of Solomon and Sally (Howland) Cole, was born July 8, 1821. Labored in a foundry, Manchester, 1842-3, Nashua, 1843-54, and Lakeport, 1854-66. Preparatory studies "among the stumps and stones of Northern New Hampshire, and later among the melted iron pots." Licensed to preach, 1870. Ordained, Canaan, June 20, 1876. Never settled, but a successful itinerant, revivals following his preaching, especially, in Canaan, Hanover and Piermont. Had charge of the Hanover and Canaan churches. Labored more or less in Dorchester and South Wentworth. Held over 3,000 religious services and traveled 25,000 miles with his own team from 1871 to 1896. Began labor in an iron foundry at 58 cents per day, with gradual increase till receiving $5 per day. Member of the firm of S. Cole & Son, iron founders and machinists, Lebanon, 1866-1900. Member of the Legislature from Gilford, 1861-2, and from Lebanon, 1875. Celebrated his golden wedding, Nov. 5, 1896. Died, Lebanon, April 3, 1900.

• The 1908 book, History of Lebanon, N. H., by Charles A. Downs, reports on a great fire that hit Lebanon in 1887; listed among the losses are $50,000 for S. Cole & Son's machine shop and contents, the second-largest business loss in the fire.
• No useful information was found in searches of the University of Michigan and Cornell University "Making of America" archives.
• A posting in the oldwwmachines forum mentions a 24" planer from this maker.