This sawmill machinery maker was established in 1857 by Scottish immigrant Alexander Rodgers, Sr. Within a few years he took on some partners (whose identities are currently unknown) to fund further expansion of the business. In 1864 Rodgers bought out his partners and expanded the business again. In 1867 he reportedly sold his interests to his sons but seems to have remained active in the business. At some point before 1875 the name changed from Muskegon Iron Works to Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Co. The business survived until at least 1911.

From October 1872 Lumberman's Gazette

This maker was in the midst of the flourishing Michigan lumbering region and the great majority of Muskegon Iron Works' business was in supplying the big lumber mills of the area. For example, the brothers Esau Tarrant and John Torrent both owned mills in Muskegon. The brothers both invented new types of sawmill machinery; one of Esaue's patents, granted in 1868, was for machinery to turn the log on the carriage. After the patent was issued, it was assigned to Alexander Rodgers. A few years later, John Torrent invented a mechanism that improved his brother's invention by also moving the log onto and off of the carriage. Rodgers tried to claim the invention as his own, leading to a lawsuit that went to the S.S. Supreme Court. See below for more information on the lawsuit.

Information Sources

• Business Listings from the Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1867-68 lists Alexander Rodgers as the proprietor of the Muskegon Iron Works.
• A Rootsweb page reproduces a front-page obituary from the Muskegon Enterprise, Friday, 17 March 1871, "Death of Mrs. Alexander Rodgers", who had died on March 11, 1871, at 2:30 p.m. She died from a fall while adjusting a window curtain. Age 42, she was the wife of Alexander Rodgers, who was the proprietor of the Muskegon Iron Works.
• Patent records provide all information on the products made by this firm. Based on patents, the following were likely employees: Esau Tarrant; John Lowe; David McLaughlin; D. C. McLaughlin; Libbie Warner; George M. Hinkley (who went on to work for E. P. Allis & Co.); J. B. Smith; L. Swenson; William Chrystal; Thomas Cleghorn; E. S. Latimer; John B. Smalley; Gilbert Mee; Robert E. Bunker; Hubbard Parker; H. L. Delano; Jennie Rodgers; Isabella M. Laughlin; Fred Sutcliffe; C. L. Houseman; Katie Delanty.
• Advertisement for Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Co. in the 1875 Compiled Statement of the Lumber Trade.
• The 1880 book The Industries of the City of Muskegon.

  Rogers Bros.
  Foundry and Machine Shop.

  THE ROGERS BROTHERS began business under this firm name in 1867, having succeeded their father who founded the business in 1857. They give steady employment to about sixty hands, the most of whom are skilled mechanics.

  This firm employ more men, and their works are larger than any other manufacturing establishment in Muskegon outside of the lumber mills.

  It is the only institution of the kind in the city that has succeeded so great a length of time. They have been constantly gaining strength and the confidence of the commercial world. Alex. Rogers, Sr., conducted the business with great skill and enterprise ten years, gaining daily in public favor and patronage, until he sold out to his four sons in '67. They in turn are following closely the route marked out by their father, who gave each one a thorough practical knowledge of the business in all its details, there being no part of the business but what either one can do in a genuine workmanlike manner.

  They make a specialty of manufacturing the Torrent Log Turner, and the Muskegon Spike and Roller edger, both articles possessing intrinsic value. They also manufacture engines, saw mill machinery, brass and iron castings- cut files, and do a general jobbing business. They are now engaged in enlarging their works in order to keep up with their demands.

• The 1884 book Muskegon and Its Resources.

  RODGERS IRON MANUFACTURING CO.

  Born with the city and forming one of its most prominent business enterprises is the Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Co. In 1858, when Muskegon was a mere village, Alexander Rodgers, Sr., came here from Scotland and united his fortunes with the struggling village. With the good judgment he has always exhibited in his business ventures he decided that Muskegon with its saw-mills and growing manufacturing interests would eventually be a good place for a foundry and machine shop, and, being himself a skilled machinist, he decided to make the trial, He erected a rough frame building 25x50 feet at a convenient point on the lake front and there conducted for a time the entire business of engine building, foundry and repair shop, and did the work with his own hands.

  Business, however, soon increased to such an extent that he required enlarged facilities, and for the purpose of making the proper increase he took a couple of partners who remained with him for some time, but finally in 1864 Mr. Rodgers again became sole proprietor and then erected new and more commodious buildings, put in new machinery and further systemized the business by separating it into departments.

  Mr. Rodgers is the patentee of several important articles of machinery used in the saw mill business, the most important among them being his celebrated "Spike Roller Edger" and his "Tooth Bar Log Turner," "Rodgers' Patent Head Block," and many others.

  In 1868 the entire business was reorganized and incorporated under the name of the Muskegon Iron Works and continued to operate under this title till January, 1883, when it was again reorganized under the name it now bears, viz.: The Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Co., with Mr. Alexander Rodgers, Sen., as president.

  The ground occupied by the works consists of two and one-half acres, a large proportion of which is covered by their buildings.

  Their authorized capital stock is $90,000 and $80,000 are paid in, so that their capital is sufficient for the demands of their extensive business. The value of their manufactured product per year is about $116,000 and they give employment to from seventy-five to one hundred and ten men, a very large proportion of whom are skilled mechanics, and their weekly pay roll runs from $1,000 to $1,200.

  This concern keeps abreast of the times in whatever is new and improved in machinery and is prepared to contract in furnishing anything in the line of iron work from a complete outfit for any kind of a mill or factory, steam tug or steamboat, to any of the smaller implements or machines into which iron is or may be made.

  Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Company is one of the largest establishments of the kind in western Michigan and one of the most reliable.

• Advertisement for Rodgers Iron Manufacturing Co. in the December 1911-04-15 St. Louis Lumberman.
• The brothers Esau Tarrant and John Torrent, both lumber mill owners, played a significant role as customers and inventors.
  • Esau Tarrant received sawmill machinery patents spanning 1867 through 1882. The earliest of those patents was witnessed by "John Tarrant", probably John Torrent.
  • John Torrent received several sawmill machinery patents. The earliest one we have found is from 1871, and the latest is from 1902. One 1873 patent was assigned to Stearns Manufacturing Co. of Erie, PA.
  • In his reminiscences, William M. Ferry of the Ottawa Iron Works mentions "Esau and John Torrant" among the people of that part of Michigan who advanced the state of the art of sawmill machinery.
  • The Newaygo County Historical Archive site has a transcription of a book, Lumbering in Newaygo County, that says the following during a discussion of the events of 1869:

    Another event of much interest to lumbermen occurred. This was the invention of the "rigger," a device used to turn logs over for sawing. This work previously had been done by hand. In "History of Lumbering in the Northwest" by Hotchkiss, one page says the invention was made by Alex Rodgers while the next page says Esau Torrent was the inventor. The probability is that both men worked on it and that Rodgers manufactured them as he had a big machine shop and did most of the machine work for the Muskegon mills. Esau Torrent had a mill in Muskegon at the time.

    In a discussion of the Ives Lumber Co., the book says that it "was operated by John Torrent in 1878". Another mention of John Torrent:

    It was in 1873 that John Torrent, of Muskegon, invented the "bull chain" to draw logs up into a sawmill from a pond. This was an endless chain to which "dogs" were attached. It carried the logs in an endless procession into the mill. This invention was adopted by all large mills having storage ponds for logs.

    In another section the book says, "John Torrent bought all the logs marked on the Muskegon River, which means this gave him ownership to all the deadheads in the river." The context does not provide any clues as to when this occurred.
  • A lawsuit between Torrent & Arms Lumber Co. and Alexander Rodgers went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found against Rodgers. It's a bit confusing, so pay attention.
    
    In 1868, Esau Tarrant was granted a patent for a log-turning machine. This invention was a major advance because before that time logs on a sawmill carriage had to be rotated by hand. The patent was subsequently assigned to Alexander Rodgers. In 1873 John Torrent patented an improvement to the design that used a toothed bar to roll logs onto and off of the carriage; this also represented a significant improvement because the original design only moved the log in place on the carriage. But just before Torrent's patent was issued, Rodgers was granted a reissue of the 1868 patent that added mention of a toothed bar to roll logs onto and off of the carriage. Torrent's patent was applied for in January of 1873, and Rodgers' reissue was applied for in June of 1873.
    
    Rodgers then sued Torrent's lumber company for infringing on his reissued patent. Rodgers won a settlement of $960, but Torrent appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and won; Rodgers was ruled to have wrongfully expanded the scope of the 1868 patent in the reissue, and Torrent was ruled not to have infringed on the reissued patent.
  • In a page about Muskegon-area water transportation, the following quote is found: "Many Muskegon mills maintained fleets of vessels on which their products were transported. John Torrent owned the schooner H. B. Moore, steam barges R. McDonald and Nellie Torrent and the tug North Muskegon. The Farr Lumber company had the schooner Westchester and tug John Torrent and at one time the ferries Minter and Centennial."
  • Several web pages mention John Torrent's house, once occupied by Mercy General Health Partners: "Built in the early 1890s, this 32-room granite mansion was once owned by lumber baron John Torrent and was located on the corner of Third and West Webster Avenues." Another site says, "This thirty-one room mansion, built for $250,000 in 1891-92, was the home of John Torrent (1833-1915), pioneering lumberman, alderman, justice of the peace and Muskegon mayor for three terms. A successful entrepreneur, Torrent owned shingle, saw and lumber mills in Muskegon, Manistee, Ludington, Whitehall, Traverse City and Sault Ste. Marie, equipping them all with the most modern machinery. Over the years, this structure also housed a mortuary, hospital and the local Red Cross headquarters. In 1972, the city purchased the house to prevent its demolition." Yet another site mentions that the house is listed on the National Register for Historic Places.
  • A cemetery listing lists Esau Tarrant as born on 1826-03-24 and died 1882-12-28. John Torrent is listed as being born in 1833 and died on 1915-10-21.