User:RGKMA/sandbox/H. Harwood & Sons Baseball Factory
| Harwood Baseball Factory | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Alternative names | H. Harwood & Sons Factory |
| General information | |
| Location | Natick Center Historic District |
| Address | 12 Walnut St. |
| Town or city | Natick, Massachusetts |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 42°17′10″N 71°20′52″W / 42.2862°N 71.3479°W |
| Year(s) built | 1858 |
| Closed | 1976 |
| Known for | World's first baseball factory |
The H. Harwood & Sons Baseball Factory (also referred to as the Harwood Baseball Factory) was the first world's factory to manufacture baseballs. The factory was in operation from 1858 to 1976 and is located in Natick, Massachusetts.
History
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Harrison Harwood was born October 18, 1814, in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.[1] He attended Westminster Academy before going into business in Adrian, Michigan. At the age of 25, he returned to Massachusetts and lived in Oakham, Fitchburg, and Winchendon before settling in Natick in 1858.
factory for the manufacture of baseballs of the regulation pattern, and a tannery to produce a quality of leather suitable to be used as a covering
Harrison Harwood was a Natick businessman who built the factory in 1858
Harwood died August 27, 1882, in Natick.
John W. Walcott and Col. William A. Cutler
Across the street from Natick Center station
World's first baseball and softball manufacturer
https://www.natickhistoricalsociety.org/harwood-baseball-factory [2]
https://www.milforddailynews.com/story/news/local/2020/07/23/natick-home-to-former-hp-harwood-and-sons-first-baseball-factory-in-us/114536662/ [3]
https://harwoodbaseball.com/harwood-baseball-timeline/
http://www.milb.com/milb/info/museums.jsp?mc=_massachusetts
https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nat.105 [4]
The Harwood factory was erected by Harrison Harwood for the manufacture of baseballs in 1858. It is reported to be the oldest factory of its kind in this country. His three sons later became partners in the firm and "Harwood and Sons" have employed local townspeople throughout the years. The League ball, used by professional cubs in this country, has been manufactured here.
Harwood was a leading businessman and citizen in Natick after settling here in 1858. He served as a selectman in 1871–72, and for twelve years served as a county commissioner of Middlesex County. He was also co-founder of the Natick National Bank (now the Trust Company), and one of its directors.
Architecturally the building is a simple 4-story factory of wood, with a hipped roof. It has intrinsic value to the overall Nineteenth-Century townscape as a "punctuation mark" of the northern end of the compact urban setting of Main Street.
https://archive.org/details/historyofmiddles01hurd/page/564/mode/2up?q=harwood [5]
https://archive.org/details/historyofmiddles01hurd/page/n773/mode/2up?q=harwood
https://archive.org/details/historyofmiddles01hurd/page/558/mode/2up?q=%22h+harwood++sons%22
Base-ball factory.—Firm of H. Harwood & Sons. Established 1858 by Harrison Harwood; later as above. Different grades are made, the best covered with horse-hide; the cheaper with sheepskin. The balls are wound at the factory, the covers are put on by women at their homes. Great quantities are made, that are shipped to all the cities and larger towns of the United States and Canada. he League ball is the ball of the prominent professional clubs throughout the country.
The wound core for a more resilient baseball was developed by John W. Walcott and combined with the figure-eight stitching devised by Col. William A. Cutler. It was manufactured by the firm of H. Harwood & Sons in their factory built in 1858 – the first plant in the world for the manufacture of baseballs. In 1988 the H. Harwood & Sons factory was converted into baseball factory condominiums
The Past
The figure-eight stitched baseball cover was first developed by Ellis Drake in the 1840's. It was then mass manufactured in 1858 by H. Harwood and Sons of Natick, MA, the first baseball factory in the United States and even used at times by the Cincinnati Red Stockings during their 1868 and 1869 tour.
The Present
America's first baseball factory was converted to twenty condominiums and one commercial unit in 1989. Over the years downtown Natick has grown up around this historic building - and today the baseball factory is in the heart of downtown Natick.
http://www.baseballfactory.org/aboutBFC.html
William Cutler of Natick, MA reportedly designs the Figure 8 cover. The design was sold to Harrison Harwood.
Harrison Harwood develops the first baseball factory (H. Harwood and Sons) in Natick, Massachusetts. Baseballs that are manufactured at this facility include the Figure 8 design as well as the lemon peel design.
https://protoball.org/The_Evolution_of_the_Baseball_Up_To_1872
https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/433658592/?terms=%22harrison%20harwood%22%20baseball&match=1 [6]
https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/433483220/?terms=%22harrison%20harwood%22%20baseball [7]
https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/119509388/?terms=%22harrison%20harwood%22%20baseball&match=1 [8]
https://archive.org/details/ancientmiddlesex00goul/page/104/mode/2up?q=%22harrison+harwood%22+natick
https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/338652460/?terms=%22harwood%20official%20league%22&match=1 and https://www-newspapers-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/image/507804235/?terms=%22harwood%20official%20league%22&match=1
- Ball image
https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4806:tm84gw.2.4
https://patents.google.com/patent/US397303A/en?q=(harwood+base+ball)&oq=harwood+base+ball&sort=old
https://patents.google.com/patent/US397362A/en?q=(harrison+harwood)&oq=harrison+harwood&sort=old
https://patents.google.com/patent/US923762A/en?q=(harrison+harwood)&oq=harrison+harwood&sort=old
References
[edit]- ^ Gould, Levi S. (1905). Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biological Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Officially Since Its Settlement. Somerville, Mass: Somerville Journal Print. pp. 104–107 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Natick's Harwood Baseball Factory". Natick Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ Schwan, Henry (July 23, 2020). "Natick sewn into baseball history". The Milford Daily News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ "Historic Building Detail: NAT.105 – Harwood, Harrison Baseball Factory". MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, William F. Galvin. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ Hurd, D. Hamilton (1890). History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co. pp. 559, 564–565 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Hurwitz, Hy (March 30, 1958). "Invent a Machine and You'll Be a Millionaire—52,000 Dozen Baseballs Made Yearly In Natick, Every One Hand Stitched". The Boston Sunday Globe. Vol. CLXXIII, no. 90. Globe Newspaper Co. p. 61.
- ^ "First Baseballs Manufactured in Natick Plant". The Boston Sunday Globe. Vol. 187, no. 171. Globe Newspaper Co. June 20, 1965. pp. 228–229.
- ^ "How a Baseball is Manufactured—Harrison Harwood Designs the Cover and Starts To Make Spheres In 1855". The Courier-Journal. Vol. CIV, no. 13, 318. June 18, 1905. p. 19.