Roots Of Waltham's Nickname

Waltham is called the Watch City, for obvious reasons, not yet discussed in this column.

It’s about time.

Waltham Watch Factory and the Boston Manufacturing Company are the biggest and most impressive pieces of Waltham’s history.

There are many books and ancient magazine articles, but Patch is sticking with Edmund L. Sanderson’s “Waltham Industries,” published in 1957 by the Waltham Historical Society. It seems to contain the most accurate information.

Luther Goddard, of Shrewsbury, and the Pitkin Brothers, of East Hartford, made watches by the old hand methods of the early 1800s. They couldn’t keep up with the English and Swiss imports and went out of business.

“It has, therefore, been generally conceded that the system of American watch manufacture as creed on today is due to Aaron Lufkin Dennison, a man of vision and skill,” Sanderson writes.

By the time Aaron was 13, he was helping his father in his shoemaking business, doing odd jobs and studying at night in hopes of keeping up with his former schoolmates.

Fortunately for us, he hated shoemaking. Luckily for him -- and Waltham -- in 1830 his father apprenticed him to James Carey, a local watchmaker.

He did like and enjoy watch making so, in 1833, he went to Boston’s Currier & Trott and apprenticed there. He became so skilled he “took a window for himself at the corner of Washington and Milk streets,” Sanderson writes.

It wasn’t successful because he moved on to Jones, Low & Ball and worked under Tubal Hone, considered one of the best watchmakers of the time. (Coincidentally Hone worked for Luther Goddard from Shrewsbury.)

He went to New York to become more familiar with the Swiss and English watchmakers. Sanderson writes that he learned quite a bit about fine watch making there. He came back to Boston in 1839 and joined forces with George E. Adams and J. C. Farnsworth. They formed Dennison, Adams & Company and opened a shop in Boston.

There are no details, but it’s safe to surmise that something occurred or changed, because Dennison moved to 205 Washington Street with Nathan Foster, a new partner and became A. L. Dennison & Company. In the next few years his father and brother helped him build jewelry boxes for his watches. But Aaron Dennison had no interest in this business and turned it over to them, creating the Dennison Manufacturing Company of Framingham.

Interestingly enough, Dennison predicted that mass manufacturing of fine watches would and could be made for one-half the price of English watches. With Edward Howard of Hingham, he would make that prediction come true.

Howard wanted to collaborate with Dennison, but he wanted to make steam fire engines. Dennison, charming and persuasive, talked Howard into watches instead. It is interesting that Howard wanted to create steam fire engines when he owned Howard & Davis Clock Manufacturers. There he made watches, sewing machines, bankers’ scales, leather splitters and – yes, fire engines.

They started making Dennison’s type of watches in 1849 in a small room in Howard’s factory, presumably in Hingham.

The watches passed every test and Howard was convinced. During the next few months relatives and supporters began pouring money into the venture.  They built a factory in Roxbury and Dennison’s brother moved to Waltham to work in the mercantile industry. (Yes, he was probably connected to our mills.)

Dennison again schooled himself. He went to England to get supplies unavailable here and to learn all he “could about springs, dials, hands, etc. and about the process of gilding,” Sanderson writes.

The first building didn’t work “in either size or design. Dust from adjoining streets, especially in summer was detrimental to delicate parts.”

Dennison visited a site at Stony Brook in Waltham, but was unimpressed. He learned from a friend at Boston Manufacturing that Bemis Farm, on the south side of the Charles was available. Dennison decided it was perfect. Twenty two building and a century later, it’s apparent everyone agreed.

Naming the company proved problematic. Dennison didn’t want anyone to know what they were doing until they were well underway. The first name was American Horologe Company. It changed to Warren Manufacturing Company. By the time the watches became available for sale in 1853 the company’s name was the Boston Watch Company.

Yes, we’ve all seen the signs that state: “Home of Waltham Watch 1850.” It’s true, but it wasn’t called Waltham Watch then and they officially were offered in 1853. The company formed a board and divided the company into shares and the deed prohibited using the buildings for anything but watch making.

Next week’s column: By 1855 success meets trouble. By 1857 Boston Watch Company takes another name -- and owner.