Founded in 1857 as the Randolph Steam Engine Co. by Samuel J. Benedict, Ezra B. Lake, Dominicus Thoma & Henry Smith. They located their firm in the former Randolph Foundry and Machine Shop premises which had been in business since 1848. By 1870, the firm had reorganized as Benedict & Lake. In 1873, Ezra Lake died and the business became S. J. Benedict. Benedict relocated the firm to Salamanca, NY in 1895 after a large and disastrous fire had swept through the old East Randolph plant. He bought the Salamanca Engine & Iron Works and the firm became the Benedict Mfg. Co. Benedict died in 1904 and his heirs ran the company until it succumbed in 1910.
Information Sources
- The Complete Guide to Stationary Gas Engines, by Mark Meincke, 1996 page 97
- Engineers & Engines Magazine, Article by Tom Ball, Dec 2015-Jan 2016 issue, pgs. 31-33