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W o r c e s t e r 3 0 0 : C i t y o f I n n o v a t o r s 33 1822-1921 Phelps & Bickford 1810 Textile machinery Samuel Flagg 1810 First tool builder in city William A. Wheeler 1811 Founders came from Brookfield; plant closed in 1947 omas E. Daniels 1835 Received first U.S. patent for wood planer J.H. Fay & Co. 1836 Wood-working machinery Samuel Flagg & Co. 1839 L.W. Pond bought out the company's other partners in 1847 C. Whitcomb & Co. 1840 Founded by Carter & Alonzo Whitcomb S.C. Coombs & Co. 1845 Founded by R.R. Shepard, Martin Lathe, and A.A. Whitcomb Pierson Cowie 1845 Chain planer manufacturer Woodburn Light & Co. 1845 Engine and hand lathes, planning machines, perpendicular drills Wood, Light & Co. 1852 Machine tools, drill presses Shepard Lathe & Morse Co. 1853 F. E. Reed Co. and A. F. Prentice assumed control in 1915 L.W. Pond Co. 1855 Iron planers, engine lathes, and punching and shearing machines Richardson, Merriam & Co. 1862 Richardson was Edward Jocelyn's nephew. Name was sold to Western agents about 1862 Lathe & Morse Co. 1864 Sold to Wm. F. Draper in 1891 P. Blaisdell & Co. 1865 Founded by P. Blaisdell, S. Hildreth, J. Jones, Enach Earie, C. Hildreth & Wm. Blaisdell Whitcomb Mfg. Co. 1871 Metal planers, shears, punches, and copying presses A.F. & Vern Prentice 1872 Sold half interest to F.E. Reed Pond Machine Tool Co. 1875 L.W. Pond bought out his father's business in 1875 and his company became the largest machine tool manufacturer in Worcester. In 1883, the firm incorporated under the Pond Machine Tool Co. name. It moved to Plainfield, N.J. in 1887. F.E. Reed Co. 1877 Iron-working machinery and power transmission equipment. Frederick Reed, who apprenticed at Wood & Light Co., bought an interest in A. F. Prentice and Co. in 1875 and two years later bought the company. In 1877, it employed six men and produced about 150 machines a year. In 1912, he owned eight buildings, employed 1,000 men and produced 2,000 machines a year. (Source: Manufacturers Index) Prentice Bros. 1881 Reorganized in 1881 as Prentice Bros. Currier & Snyder 1883 Drill press manufacturer J. E. Snyder & Son 1889 Drill press manufacturer J. A. Fay & Egan Co. 1893 Acquired Childs Tainter & Co. 1853 Draper Machine Tool Co. 1893 Acquired Lathe & Morse Tool Co. in 1891 Whitcomb-Blaisdell Machine Tool Co. 1905 Combined Whitcomb and P. Blaisdell & Co.; merged Draper Machine Tool Co. same year. Reed-Prentice 1912 Merger of Reed Co. and Prentice Co. Reed-Prentice Corp. 1922 Merger of Whitcomb-Blaisdell Reed Prentice & Becker Milling Mch. Co. of Hyde Park Key Worcester tool manufacturing firms, 1810-1922 Charles Hildreth created the basis for this historic table in 1932. Many multi-generational families in Worcester have relatives that worked in these shops, which had ample upward avenues for capable employees. ey reportedly moved freely among shops before some established their own independent businesses. Company Founded Specialty/history An adaptation of "Historical Chart, Worcester Machine Tool Pioneers," compiled by Charles E. Hildreth in 1932, with additional research added. SOURCES: Worcester Historical Museum; vintagemachinery.org