1918

The firm was established in 1875 as C. H. Cowdrey. By 1878 Cowdrey was manufacturing the Waymoth variety lathe. By 1884 the product line had expanded to a larger line of woodworking machinery, including table saws. The company operated for many years. In 1919 they started making production machinery for the Dixie Cup Co., and in 1946 Dixie acquired Cowdrey and renamed it to Dixie-Cowdrey Machine Corp., which stayed in business until at least 1955.

Apparently some of Cowdrey's machines, notably their variety lathes, were similar to those from the nearby Goodspeed Machine Co. There was probably an OEM relationship between the two firms.

Information Sources

• Established 1875, according to information at Lafayette University in their Dixie Cup Co. archives.
• Information at the Dixie Cup Co. archive says that the Dixie Cup Co. acquired C.H. Cowdrey Machine Works in 1946; Cowdrey "had been making Dixie cup machinery since 1919; the company would be callled Dixie-Cowdrey Machine Corp. as a wholly owned subsidiary; in 1955 it relocated to a less urban section of Fitchburg, Massachusetts".
• Ad in the 1878 Worcester City Directory, featuring the Waymoth variety lathe.
• Large product poster with 1884 postmark: "C. H. Cowdrey Machine Works - Manufacturers of High-Grade Wood-Working Machinery / Contractors, Builders and Designers of Special Machinery. Estimates furnished on complete plants. / We make all kinds of saw benches to order."
• Ad in January 1901 The Wood Worker for "C. H. Cowdrey Machine Works".
• The Fitchburg Historical Society has some items in its collection. Their collection is only partially entered into a database, but here is what we found:
  • "Photo of old brick building housing the Fitchburg Steam Engine Co.; C.H. Cowdrey Co., Union Machine Co., Rollstone Machine Co."
  • Worcester County Directory for 1878-79, published by Briggs & Co., including
    • C. H. Cowdrey ad
    • Listing under "lathe manufacturers": C. H. Cowdrey (improved Waymoth)
    • Under "machinists and machinery manufacturers": Stephen Heald & Sons (planing machines), C. H. Cowdrey (Waymoth lathes, etc.)
    • Waymoth lathe manufacturers: C. H. Cowdrey