Photo of the Month
February, 2005
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RICHARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
The photograph shows fifty-two men in 1900 who worked at the Richard
Manufacturing Company in Bloomsburg. The plant consisted of several
buildings on Ninth Street between Catherine and Iron Streets. Some of
the company products included wire and tube drawing machines, equipment
for drawbridges, winches for dock purposes, and equipment for making
sheet metal items. During the time when the Panama Canal was being
built, it received government contracts for equipment used in building
the Panama Canal. The company employed sixty people in 1902, eight-five
in 1910, and one hundred in 1915. At the turn of the century, the
Richard Manufacturing Company was one of twenty industries that provided
a strong economic base for Bloomsburg that had a population of 6,170..
The company president, Frederick J. Richard, a native of the New York
City, moved to Bloomsburg in 1891. Prior to establishing the Richard
Manufacturing Company, he had been involved with the Brass and Copper
Company and the Bloomsburg Manufacturing Company. He took an active role
in Bloomsburg’s civic affairs by serving as a member of the Town
Council in 1896 and 1897. |
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