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The Life and Influence of
Henry Disston
By Louis M. Iatarola
Henry Disston was born in Tewkesbury, England on May 24, 1819,
the third child of Thomas and Ann Harrod Disston. When Henry
was about four years old, Thomas Disston moved the family
to Derby, in Nottinghamshire, where he began to manufacture
lace machines and eventually invented a unique machine which
produced a rare, fine type of lace. As Henry grew up, he was
instructed by his father about the business and the general
principles of mechanics.
Thomas Disston's unique lace machine
was so impressive that, in 1833, a group of businessmen made
him an offer to bring his machine to the United States and
establish a mill at Albany, New York. Able only to take along
with him his daughter, Marianna, and son, Henry (as a machinist
apprentice), Thomas Disston embarked on a 60 day voyage to
Philadelphia. Unfortunately, three days after landing in America
at Philadelphia, Thomas died of apoplexy.
Upon his father's death in Philadelphia,
Henry Disston began to seek work, keeping in mind his father's
advice that a skilled toolmaker could always earn a good,
honest living. Henry answered an advertisement for a sawmaker's
apprentice at the Philadelphia firm of Lindley, Johnson, and
Whitcraft. There he learned to make saws and the tools related
to their manufacture and first experiments with machine-making.
By 1840, at the age of twenty-one, Henry
Disston had accumulated enough savings, tools, and raw material
to leave the firm and start his own business. His total capital
at the time was approximately $350.00. He rented a small basement
at 21 Broad Street near 2nd and Market Streets and built his
furnace himself. He borrowed a wheelbarrow and wheeled his
own coal from the Delaware River to his shop a mile away,
where he assembled hand-made saws with two young assistants,
David Bickley and Isaac Roberts.
Henry Disston had many obstacles to overcome
in making his saw business a success. Foremost he had to break
down a prejudice against American made saws in favor of those
made in England. He knew his saws had to be superior in order
to gain any sort of competitive edge over British saw-makers.
Although his hand-made saws were indeed of a superior quality
than his British competitors, he was forced to sell his product
at such a narrow profit margin that for three or four years
his business could barely stay afloat.
During this period Henry married Amanda
Mulvina Bickley. After a year of marriage, Amanda give birth
to twins, a boy and a girl, both of whom died within hours.
Tragically, Amanda became severely ill and also passed away
shortly thereafter.
On November 9, 1843, Henry Disston wed
Mary Steelman, a direct descendent of Daniel Leeds, who was
significant in New Jersey's early stages of development. By
the following year Henry had been able to rent space and borrow
the capital to erect the first steam powered saw machinery
in the country. Unfortunately for young Henry, this equipment
was confiscated by the Sheriff for his landlord's back taxes.
After outfitting another shop with steam powered saw machinery
in the vicinity of Front and Laurel Streets, fire destroyed
this properly in 1849. It was then that Henry Disston decided
never to rent shop space again. He purchased the adjacent
lot to the fire damaged site and built his first factory.
Two stories handed down from Disston
history exemplify the dedication and honesty with which Henry
conducted his business. A hardware dealer recalls a young
Mr. Disston entering his store and asking to see a carpenter's
saw. Upon observing it Henry said, "This is good for
nothing," and broke the saw with a strike to the counter.
He then laid down one of his own saws and said, "I defy
you or any other man to break this Disston saw with similar
treatment." The dealer mentioned that he and others like
him were forced to purchase Henry Disston's saws because of
their superiority. Another hardware merchant related a story
that, upon delivering an order of saws to his hardware store,
Henry noticed that one of the blades was soft and insisted
that the whole order be returned. While the merchant preferred
that some saws be left because he needed them to sell, Henry
refused saying that the whole order was manufactured together
and he could not risk having inferior saws bear his name.
By 1850, after ten solid years of overcoming
crisis and through much hard work, the Disston trademark was
recognized as a symbol of high quality and dependability.
In 1855, Disston became the first American saw manufacturer
to bring steel workers from Sheffield, England and open a
crucible mill. To gain a competitive edge, he used his family
connections in England to keep informed of steel making trends.
As a result, he was able to ascertain the use of a unique
device which enabled him to recycle steel scraps and eliminate
significant costs.
The Civil War provided a large boost
to Disston's enterprise. The War, as well as a tariff on foreign
saws and tools increased the sale of Disston products and
by 1864 the business had increased to $35,000 per month. When
a fire fiercely destroyed his factory at this time, Henry
Disston responded in a calm and decisive manner. He assured
his workers that they would soon be busier than ever. Henry
instructed them to clear away the bricks while they were still
hot, purchased an adjoining lot and covered cleared acres
with awnings while setting up new machinery. Fifteen days
after the fire, the Disston Saw Works was in full operation,
doubling its previous output to approximately $70,000 per
month. Henry Disston's Laurel Street plant eventually covered
eight acres.
By 1871, after further expansion precipitated
by a recognition and acceptance of his products in England
(thanks to the marketing talent of his nephew, Henry, son
of older brother William) and the application of the bandsaw
in the manufacturing process (which Henry Disston purchased
on a trip to Paris), it was obvious that the Laurel Street
plant was in need of enlargement. The already congested and
unhealthy surroundings of his Kensington plant combined with
a lack of available, affordable ground prompted the founder
to seek alternative sites for his growing saw works.
After considering several sites, Henry
Disston chose as the future site of his thriving business
Tacony, a healthy and country-like village which was at the
time a vacation spot for wealth Philadelphians and local farmers.
Tacony was unofficially established as a village in the year
1846, when William H. Gatzmer secured a charter for the Philadelphia
and Trenton Railroad. Because the residents of Kensington
refused to allow the railroad to pass through their community,
Tacony became the railroad terminus where passengers had to
board a boat to the Walnut Street warf from what is now Disston
Street at the Delaware River. Mr. Disston eventually purchased
390 acres of land on both sides of the railroad terminus.
At the time the village consisted of the Buttermilk Tavern
on the river, a railroad hotel, and approximately twelve houses.
Tacony was chosen for its transportation
sources (railroad and dock already in place) and for the fact
that this mostly undeveloped area would facilitate profitable
building lots for workers, even if areas and monies were set
aside for residents' needs such as streets, sewers, and a
school. Disston visualized an ideal working class community
where workers would not only be given a chance to live in
homes with ample open space but also given a chance to own
their own houses. This paternalistic outlook, exemplified
by Disston's eagerness to fulfill his workers economic, social,
and cultural needs, has its roots in Victorian England where
paternalists viewed the employer/employee relationship as
reciprocal and voiced opposition to the greed which permeated
many commercial operations with their ruthless management
and unhealthy, disorganized shops.
In 1872, construction began on the Tacony
plant and by 1876 construction of homes commenced on the carefully
designed lots, with much attention given to light and air.
Examples of Henry Disston's paternalistic views were evident
as time progressed. Tasteful homes were constructed for workmen
who were brought over from England with the assistance of
Henry's nephew, William. Funds to purchase these homes were
made available through a Building and Loan association established
by the Disston Firm. Henry Disston was ready to grant any
assistance needed to see to it that his workers could purchase
a home, even if advances needed to be made. Payments were
made on such terms as were easiest to the buyer including
renting, if necessary, a 5 or 6 room residence for less than
$10.00 per month.
Other examples of Henry Disston's fatherly
influence on the community was evident in everyday Tacony
life. He refused to use water from the Delaware River and
built a pumping station which fed water to large water tanks
near what is now the Disston Recreation Center and, in turn,
fed the pipes down Longshore Avenue via a gravity process.This
gave Tacony Philadelphia's purest drinking water. In bringing
to Tacony skilled workers from England the culture of the
English heavily influenced life in nineteenth century Tacony.
For example, at the Southwest corner of Unruh and Hegerman
Streets, was the Washington Tea House (see photo at left),
which served the British custom of tea drinking. To meet employees'
cultural needs a hall and a library was built on State Road
by another party with Henry Disston agreeing to pay a fixed
sum towards its maintenance. The library contained about two
thousand volumes. The reading room was stocked with trade
publications and a smoking and conversation room was often
used for games. In 1885 the Tacony Music Hall was erected,
also with the assistance of Disston money, which was located
more centrally at Longshore Avenue and Edmund Street and served
a more populous Tacony.
Like the Tacony Music Hall, many of Disston's
contributions to Tacony are still evident today. He and his
family aided liberally in the building of many of Tacony's
houses of worship. His wife, Mary, built Disston Presbyterian
Church in honor of Henry Disston, who was a devout Presbyterian.
The community park, which extends just west of the railroad
along Keystone Street through all of old Tacony. was purposely
laid out in such a way by Henry Disston. This stretch of greenery
provided a scenic barrier between the residences and the industries,
symbolized cleanliness and orderliness, and, with spring flowers
in bloom, became a pleasant Tacony attraction. As enduring
as Disston Park has been, so have the deed restrictions placed
on any land within the 390 acre Disston Estate:
No tavern or building for the sale or
manufacture of beer or liquors of any kind or description
and no court house, carpentry, blacksmith, currier or machine
shop, livery stables, slaughter houses, soap or glue-boiling
establishment or factory of any kind whatsoever where steam
power shall be used or occupied on the said lots, tracts or
piece of land or any part thereof.
These restrictions were felt to improve
the quality of life in Tacony and provide a superior standard
of living for those who live there. Eventually the Disston
family provided a school, fire house, library, scientific
society, and newspaper to Tacony.
By 1877, Henry Disston had fallen ill
and never truly recovered. By early 1878 he had suffered a
stroke which was followed by his death on March 16, 1878.
This came only one and one half years after seeing his products
receive the highest honors at the great Centennial Exhibition
in Philadelphia. His vision of a working class community and
the completion of the transfer of his enormous saw plant was
carried out by his wife, Mary, and his sons.
Upon his death, Henry Disston was memorialized
in the following manner by the Public Ledger:
Although the great establishment founded
by Henry Disston will continue to occupy the front rank it
has won among the workshops of the world, it is still a serious
loss to Philadelphia that he is no longer among her living
citizens. He had the unwavering good will of his workmen and
they had in him a friend as well as employer, always devoted
to their welfare, always interested in their comfort, health,
and happiness, always ready with his kindly word of cheer
and encouragement...The production of work will go on, now
that he has passed away, just as it did while he was living,
for he has given the impulse, shown the way, and lighted the
track a long way into the future.
Nine years later, in its annual report
on Industrial Statistics, the Secretary of Internal Affairs
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, upon studying the Disston
industrial operation, reported:
Mr. Disston and his sons have ever been
mindful of all the needs: pecuniary, physical, mental, moral
of their workmen and their families. They have tried to deal
fairly and kindly with them, to encourage home life and good
citizenship. That they have succeeded in an eminent degree
can not be questioned. A visit to this well ordered and healthful
village, a peep into the homes of workingmen, an inspection
of the factories, the evident attention to light, air and
other sanitary arrangements, the fair treatment which the
employed have always received, these things must convince
the visitor that at Tacony sure progress has been made in
solving "the labor question."
In 1950, upon addressing the Newcomen
Society of England in North America on the life of his grandfather,
Jacob S. Disston stated:
In the brief space of 38 years, Henry
Disston rose from the very bottom of the ladder to the pinnacle
of success. Although the fulfillment of his plans for Tacony
and for his great manufacturing plant was not for him to see,
yet he found great happiness in his five sons who had taken
their places in the management of his enterprise while he
still lived...America still can learn lessons from the kind
of man Henry Disston consistently was. Integrity of character
is the greatest asset of a man or of a business.
In conclusion, Henry Disston was a man
whose influence was felt far beyond Tacony. The courage this
man had in overcoming adversity, and the inventiveness he
displayed in revolutionizing the saw industry was what made
him so revered in his day. The lumber industry, and the many
others which revolutionized modern society during the Industrial
Revolution, owed its progress to Disston's development of
better saws, files, tools, and manufacturing processes. His
creation of a "Utopian Victorian Village" is still
evident in the many attractive homes, public buildings, and
churches which line Tacony's streets today. Increasing pride
of ownership, which has been evident over the past few years,
would truly make Henry Disston proud. For the greatest tribute
Tacony's residents could give its founder is through the preservation
of the structures and ideals upon which the community was
founded.
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