Worcester Business Journal

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 19 1822-1921 Works, which sold to textile makers during the Civil War, providing uniforms & blankets to troops. As the volume of manufacturing grew, so did standardization of both machinery and job functions. In Worcester's first century, skilled manufacturing had begun as an apprenticeship- based system and artisanal status; low-level manufacturing had occurred in isolated, home-based manual labor. Successful businesses were the least capital- and labor-intensive. In the second century that changed. Capital investment prioritized manufacturing expansion rather than basic real estate. e exception were manufacturing facilities available to rent, giving small businesses space to develop their businesses and ideas. e American patent system gave momentum to the development and protection of intellectual property. Real property also needed protection. Fires too oen decimated business space, most notably an 1854 fire, which destroyed a Merrifield-owned manufacturing space-for-rent complex, displacing dozens of tenants. e insurance business would take hold in Worcester to protect local property and business continuity. What likely made this easier was the concentration of business property in the hands of a few property owners, making it easier to provide coverage to well-documented assets. As the workforce grew, so did labor unrest. Standardization of labor, redefining jobs into specific repetitive tasks rather than the multi-step skills that had provided job mobility in the past triggered the 1915 machinists' strike. Worcester's reputation as non-union-friendly became entrenched during this period. e growth of manufacturing resulted in additional demand for improved shipping methods. e opening of the Blackstone Canal in 1828, at a cost of $750,000, twice the original estimate, gave Worcester a 45-mile waterway to the Atlantic Ocean in Providence. But the canal would freeze in the winter and its water level would sink too low for shipping during summer droughts. In 1835, the first railroad came to the city, providing year-round shipping and transportation. Boston business interests wanted to protect their overland access to Worcester as they saw it start to grow, and the result was an energetic rivalry among railroad lines for access to what had been considered an outpost only a few decades prior. Business attracts business. In its second century, Worcester became a business magnet. e challenges it would face in its third century were yet to come. — Christina P. O'Neill Drawing of Worcester circa 1835-1838 that portends a growing population as manufacturing expands. Union Station under construction in August 1910 Worcester County communities incorporated between 1822-1921 Webster .........................1832 Blackstone .....................1845 West Brookfield .............1848 Clinton .........................1850 Hopedale .......................1886 Millville ........................ 1916 East Brookfield ..............1920 Sources: Each community, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Image | Worcester Public Library Image | Worcester Public Library

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