In 1880, a charter is granted to establish the Textile Manufacturing Company. Organized in the village of Thompsonville in Enfield, Conn., the company did not move to Westfield’s North Elm Street building until 1900. It was moved there due to plans that began in 1887 when demand for their products exceeded the company’s resources in their Enfield location.
The company produced coffin and casket hardware, and they were known to have been sold all throughout the United States. They also manufactured silver toiletry sets and other novelties that were reported to have had superior craftsmanship with elegant designs. The initial stock of the company amounted to $10,000 and was divided into 400 shares of twenty-five dollars each. The company had several major stockholders from the start. One shareholder named Henry W. Ely served as the company’s first president in 1880. By 1891, the company joined forces with the American Casket Hardware Company.
Other companies appeared on the scene around this time and truly lived up to the economic boon seen in America’s Industrial Revolution. The Hampden Toy Company was established by Myron A. Gilman in 1884. He started his business by manufacturing toys in the back kitchen of his house on 113 Franklin Street. He began traveling door-to-door, taking orders, and then returning home to make the products. By 1900 the business expanded and started selling toys and other items to every corner of the country.
Other businesses attempted to take root in the town at this time, especially the automobile industry. The Lozier automobile was first manufactured here, but the company was soon converted into a factory for manufacturing bicycles. The company would gain much success from the production of bicycles due to the high demand abroad during the First World War. Although the auto industry did not permanently settle and prosper in Westfield, the town still made history. Around the turn of the 20th century, Mr. Gilbert J. Loomis of Westfield bought the first auto insurance policy in the country from Travelers in Hartford.
March 28th, 1668: Westfield’s first tavern opened on Little River Street.
March 29th, 1676: Citizen John Lee was “whipt on the naked body with 15 strypes for resisting a constable.”
