During the latter part of Mr. Comee's life, Mr. Ezra Baker, then living upon the west side of Crystal Lake, constructed a small dam, near the house of Mr. G. W. Bickford, on Kneeland Brook, for the purpose of securing sufficient water power to carry a turning lathe. Mr. Baker bought timber of his neighbors, partly prepared, by being sawed into suitable length and rounded somewhat upon the corners, for turning in this lathe driven by water power, it being then thought impossible to turn a perfectly square stick. Subsequently, Mr. Baker, thinking he might as well prepare his own lumber, for turning, introduced a small circular saw, which was also driven by water power. The stock thus turned, by Mr. Baker, was sold to Mr. Comee, and in this way greatly facilitated the manufacture of the chairs made and sold by him.

Sometime, about 1827, Deacon Asa Perley constructed the shop now standing near the house of Deacon Samuel Clark, where he manufactured chair stock upon a scale so much more extensive than did Mr. Baker, as to make it unprofitable for the latter to continue the business as formerly. During these years, Mr. Elijah Brick built, for himself, a shop about threefourths of a mile north of the common, where, for several years, he employed a number of men in chair making. There was also a shop built and conducted by Mr. Walter Heywood, now of Fitchburg, upon the site where stands the house of Asher W. Shattuck. Mr. Heywood employed, in his chair business, from fifteen to twenty hands. This shop was burned in 1834, and was never rebuilt.

Sometime, previous to the erection of these two shops, first. named, Mr. Merrick Wallace began the turning of chair stock, upon a somewhat extensive scale, upon the site now occupied by the shops of Heywood Bros. & Co., having purchased a water privilege of Deacon Noah Fairbanks, who had already deepened the channel leading from Crystal Lake, for the purpose of obtaining a better supply of water, for his grist mill, then standing upon the site now occupied by the chair shop of L. H. Sawin & Co. The shop erected by Mr. Wallace, for this

purpose, was about forty feet in length by twenty-five feet in width. With the increased facilities, thus obtained, Mr. Wallace was able to furnish a partial supply of turned stock, for the several shops then in the business of chair making, in this town.

There was also, about the same time, a shop erected by Mr. Elijah Putnam, upon the site now occupied by the house of Mr. Charles Scollay. Here Mr. Putnam employed horse power for a while, in preparing stock for his chairs, till subsequently he purchased the water privilege now owned by J. A. & I. J. Dunn, to which place he moved his shop, which now forms a part of the chair shop of the above-named firm. About the year 1830, a company composed of Messrs. Levi Heywood, Benjamin F. Heywood, Walter Heywood and William Heywood, under the firm name of B. F. Heywood & Co., bought out Mr. Merrick Wallace and erected a larger shop, where they carried on the manufacture of chairs till 1837, when Mr. Levi Heywood bought out his brothers, and continued the business alone till 1842, when he formed a partnership with Mr. Moses Wood. The two continued the business together till 1847. Mr. Wood then retired and a new company was formed, called Levi Heywood & Co., which continued from 1847 to 1851, when the Heywood Chair Manufacturing Company, was formed, which was a joint stock company, in which, some of those employed in the shop, held shares.

This arrangement continued till 1861, when the shops, owned by the company, were burned. In 1862 a new company was formed consisting of Messrs. Levi Heywood, Seth Heywood, Charles Heywood and Henry C. Hill, called Heywood Brothers & Co. This company continued till January 1st, 1868, at which time, Messrs. Charles Heywood and Henry C. Hill retired, and Messrs. Henry Heywood, George Heywood-sons of Seth Heywood-and Alvin M. Greenwood — son-in-law of Levi Heywood-and subsequently Amos Morrill, entered the firm, continuing the old firm name, which is still known as Heywood Brothers & Co.

In 1876 Mr. Charles Heywood, re-entered this firm of which he is now a member.

Mr. Jonas Brick, brother of Elijah Brick, began the manufacture of chairs upon the site, now occupied by the lumber mill of Mr. Marcus Wright, in South Gardner. The date at which the chair business was commenced, in this place, cannot be definitely recalled. About the same time, Messrs. Stephen Taylor, George Whitney, Ephraim Wright and Gen. Moses Wood, were engaged, individually, in the manufacture of chairs, at the South Village.

The chair shop, now owned and conducted by Mr. Sylvester K. Pierce, stands upon the site formerly occupied by Mr. Stephen Taylor, who purchased an old potash shop, standing upon the premises, which he enlarged and supplied with a wheel. He afterward sold his business to Mr. Pierce, who had been employed, for several years previously, by Mr. Taylor, as one of the workmen, in his shop. Mr. Pierce, since purchasing the above named premises, has erected new and commodious shops, as his constantly increasing business, has from time to time, demanded, using both water and steam power.

The shop where now Messrs. Wright & Read are employed, in the manufacture of chairs, stands upon the site where formerly stood a wool carding mill, which was used for that purpose until sometime, between 1830 and 1840, when a company was formed for the manufacture of pine furniture, particularly washstands, known by the firm name of Goodspeed & Baker. This furniture was extensively sold in California. Afterwards Messrs. Greenwood & Wright bought out this company, and built a large shop, where they carried on the chair business for several years. Afterwards a new company was formed, called the South Gardner Manufacturing Company, of which Messrs. Greenwood & Wright were members. This company was subsequently dissolved, Messrs. Greenwood & Wright purchasing the property. They afterwards dissolved partnership, Mr. Wright retaining the business, having admitted as partners, Messrs. John M. Moore and Charles F. Read. These gentle