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22-503: Barnabas Eldredge was an industrialist connected with the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts , a firearms manufacturer that also produced sewing machines with Eldredge. Ames sold off its sewing machine dies and equipment to Eldredge, who went to Chicago . There he joined forces with the existing June Manufacturing Company , founded in 1879 by F. T. June ; June Manufacturing already produced

44-605: A few years, but by about 1892 or 1893, the two companies had a serious falling out. The two companies first brought lawsuits against each other for thousands of dollars. Then they began competing head-to-head for the sporting goods market. The Spalding company started making their own line of bicycles in their own factory in Chicopee Falls, and the Overman company entered the sporting goods market with baseballs, bats, Indian clubs , footballs, and boxing gloves, "everything in

66-622: Is a complex of connected industrial buildings, the oldest of which dates to 1847. Most of the older elements are brick in construction and range in height from one to four stories. This complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The largest surviving buildings have been converted into residences. Overman Wheel Company Overman Wheel Company was an early bicycle manufacturing company in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts from 1882 to 1900. It

88-550: The Locomobile Company of America in 1904 and the cars became Locomobile's fist gasoline automobiles.. Albert H. Overman was born in Fulton County, Illinois, on March 21, 1850. He started experimenting with wooden human-powered vehicles in his youth. He graduated from Illinois State Normal University . In 1881 he left Chicago and moved east. Albert married Millie E. Benton in 1873. The Overmans lived in

110-890: The United States Capitol and Daniel Chester French 's Minuteman statue at the Lexington-Concord bridge were cast at the Ames company. Other statues included large equestrian statues of George Washington (at the Boston Public Garden and in Washington, D.C. ), a statue of Benjamin Franklin ( Boston ), and a statue of Major John Mason . When the Mexican–American War broke out, the foundry's primary output switched to armament. Upon

132-572: The " Jennie June " model. The "Jennie June" was eventually replaced by a superior model designed by Eldredge. Eldredge took over the company in 1890 on the death of June, renaming it National Sewing Machine. Eldredge led the company until his death in 1911. He was succeeded by David Patton. Harold D. Neff headed up the Vindex toy division between 1916-1951; Vindex was the name of a product line of National's washing machines. National Sewing Machine Company and Farm Mechanics magazine partnered up, with

154-466: The Ames brothers were leaders in the new community. Upon the death of Nathan P. Ames in 1847, ownership of the company turned to younger brother James Tyler Ames. By 1835, the company was creating works in brass and bronze, and in 1845, an iron foundry was added. The company used the foundries for casting statuary and producing military cannons and cannonballs. The bronze doors of the East Wing of

176-467: The Ames family. Brothers Nathan P. Ames Jr. and James T. Ames moved their tool and cutlery business to a new industrial town on the Chicopee River near Springfield, Massachusetts in 1829. They were invited by Edmund Dwight , who owned textile mills nearby. The Ames company began manufacturing swords for the federal government and state militias. As the town of Chicopee was formed in 1848,

198-674: The Stevens Arms & Tool Co. of Chicopee Falls, MA in 1900. As early as 1899, Overman was turning his attention to automobiles. In 1901 Overman reorganized as the Overman Automobile Company , which sold a vehicle called the Victor Steam Carriage . Sales were not very high, and Andrew L. Riker designed an 8-hp 2-cylinder gasoline car, and a 16-hp 4-cylinder car which he partnered with Overman Automobile Company to produce. Overman merged with

220-488: The Victor were offered; five heights for men, two heights for women, and a racer which was available in five different heights. The 1895 Victoria Ladies' Bicycle sold for US$ 100. The Overman Wheel Company was a pioneer in using testing equipment to measure things like bicycle power output and tire elasticity. This gave Victor bicycles a significant weight advantage over competitors of the time. The Overman factory complex

242-490: The company, facing bankruptcy, was in debt for over a half-million dollars, their shops closed, and hundreds of employees were thrown out of work. Creditors extended a last-minute effort to revive the company on January 1, 1898. By May 1899, the company was desperately trying to regain market share by slashing bicycle prices down to $ 40. A fire broke out at the Overman factory on November 23, 1899, creating considerable fire and water damage. Overman sold his bicycle business to

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264-662: The declared secession and formation of the Confederate States of America , the United States Army lost access to its southern arsenals. Independent arms manufacturers became crucial to the success of the U.S. Army. Ames was one of the U.S. Army's most important manufacturers of side arms, swords, and light artillery and the third largest producer of heavy ordnance. In addition to producing military equipment for many years, including swords, cannons, and cannonballs, it produced sewing machine and bicycle parts in

286-472: The end of 1887. Despite its higher price, Overman's safety bicycle quickly became a sensation. Overman soon followed up with innovations such as a hollow core "cushion tire ." By 1893, Overman's Victor bicycle was considered an elegant, premium machine, the "highest grade bicycle of 1893". It was correspondingly priced at the high end of the market. The Overman factory made the complete bicycle, including tires, saddles, rims, etc. By 1895, eight models of

308-623: The first American manufacturers of the safety bicycle . In 1888 the company began making its own bicycles, with a staff of about thirty men. At its height, the factory employed about 1,400 men in five buildings. The factory produced 80,000 bicycles per year, the only bicycle factory at the time which made the entire bicycle. The flagship product of the Overman Company was the Victor Bicycle. The Victor Bicycle made extensive use of interchangeable parts, an innovation which allowed

330-532: The later 19th century. The company was a major supplier of bicycles to the Overman Wheel Company from 1883-1887. The sword manufacturing business was formally separated into an independent company in 1881. By 1907, the Ames foundries had been purchased by Chicopee's A.G. Spalding Company . The historic Ames Company factory, located at 5-7 Springfield Street in Chicopee, Massachusetts ,

352-628: The magazine offering Vindex toys as incentives to children to sell magazine subscriptions. In 1953 National merged with the Free Sewing Machine Company but was unable to compete with the imported Japanese sewing machine models and the National Sewing Machine Company closed in 1957 This article related to a manufacturing company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ames Manufacturing Company Ames Manufacturing Company

374-446: The owner to make minor repairs, without bringing the bicycle to a professional mechanic. The metal parts of the Victor bicycle were all steel; it was the first bicycle to use no cast metal parts. It was also one of the first bicycles to use a hollow pneumatic tire. The first Victor bicycle, introduced in 1883, was a three-wheeled bicycle produced in Chicopee Falls. It was the first American-made three-wheeler. Three-wheelers were at

396-575: The sporting goods line that the Spaldings made." Spalding wasn't the only new competition faced by Overman. In 1896, there was simultaneously a bicycle craze and an economic slump , such that hundreds of manufacturers got into the bicycle business. People were buying bicycles, "whether they could afford them or not". This created a massive over-production, followed by a crash in bicycle prices. Despite this competition, Overman held firm to its $ 100 bicycle prices, which hurt sales. By December 1897,

418-464: The time considered a safer alternative to the high wheeler bicycle and started to gain in popularity. Overman also manufactured some high-wheelers in the 1880s. By 1886-1887, new safety bicycles , introduced by John Kemp Starley , were becoming popular in England. While most American manufacturers stuck with the traditional high-wheel bicycles, Overman rushed a safety bicycle to production before

440-629: Was a manufacturer of swords, tools, and cutlery in Chicopee, Massachusetts , as well as an iron and bronze foundry. They were a significant provider of side arms, swords, light artillery, and heavy ordnance for the Union in the American Civil War . They also cast several bronze statues, which can be found throughout New England. The Ames Manufacturing Company has its origins in a factory established in 1774 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts by

462-441: Was known for bicycles of higher quality and lower weight than other bicycles of its time. Despite a nationwide bicycle craze in the late 1800s, the company was undercut by lower-priced competition, nearly went bankrupt in 1897, and never recovered from an 1899 fire. The company was sold in 1900. Albert Overman started the Overman Wheel Company in 1882 in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts with an investment of $ 62,000. Overman were

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484-572: Was made up of three buildings, and was located in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts . It was considered the "most complete bicycle plant in the United States." The company had offices in Boston, New York, Detroit, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. Overman had contracted with the Spalding sports equipment company as their sole bicycle distributor. This worked well for

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