this is one of the Heywood Boot & Shoe Company that was probably part of the industrial revolution that Worcester was once famous for.

Who says paint doesn't last?

You're probably correct with the date. Although Most of these buildings and the companies were a product of the 1800's. I'm now interested in finding out the history of this company.

[ February 07, 2002: Message edited by: Cam Bortz ]

[ February 07, 2002: Message edited by: Mike Kelly ]

quote:

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The late 19th century was the state's greatest industrial period. Massachusetts was a national leader in the production not only of textiles and shoes but also of textile and shoemaking mach inery, silverware, machine tools, glass, paper, rubber products, locomotives, guns, and fire en gines. From 1900 to 1910, however, many factories, which had become increasingly obsolescent, closed. Textile companies established new mills and new corporate headquarters in the southern states. The tenements of the mill cities were aging and unable to meet the most modest health and building standards.

Service industries, however, were beginning to assume a new role in the Massachusetts economy. Banking and insurance, important in the era of industrial expansion and transportation growth,reached out for new markets in the West. Retailing and wholesaling expanded to serve the new urban populations. Many office and clerical jobs were created in cities like Boston, Worcester, and Springfield.

The Depression of the 1930s was especially severe in those communities already hard hit by the closing of textile and shoe factories. World War II temporarily reversed this trend ans the state became a leading producer of war materials. The traditional industries of shipbuilding and machinery were greatly expanded, along with local development of new products such as radar, sonar, and jet engines.

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[ February 08, 2002: Message edited by: FranCisco Vargas ]

http://community.webshots.com/album/27204368ZJJMweylmB

[ February 08, 2002: Message edited by: FranCisco Vargas ]

[ February 08, 2002: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]

If anyone was following or interested in the history of this building, I got a call from the historical museum today.

It seems as if Heywood started a shoe business with a man named Houghten ( sp ) in 1863, in 1864 they moved to this building, in 1867 they dissolved the partnership and Heywood went forward on his own. In 1887 they incorperated as Heywood Boot & Shoe company. Somewhere around 1914 they celebrated their 50th Anniversary. Not much info was found between then and the 1950's. In the 1950's they were running as a shoe store only, then closed.

Cam made a good point that it probably was not repainted in the 50's as the industry was gone and they probably did not have the funds or the reason to redo it.

still a real good test of time.

Sounds like a sneak field-trip during MASS MAYHEM!

The shoe industry in New England was already dying out by the time the US entered WWI in 1917. Another Army contract might have kept them going into the Twenties, but whatever shoe and textile firms had survived that long were killed off by the Depression. A lot of changes in the labor market - unions, the restriction of immigration (the majority of mill workers were immigrants) had driven these companies out of business, or to move to the South. Of course, all of this is conjecture in regards to the actual history of this particular firm.

What's all this have to do with the sign? I'm thinking that HB&S was very likely struggling, financially, by the turn of the century. The sign up on the wall was still quite legible, so there wasn't a lot of incentive to pay for a repaint. Other problems would have taken precedence. Based on this scenario, the fact that the sign was on the North wall and got very little sunlight (a big factor in fading) and that only two colors, black and white, were used (or at least are still visible), I'm guessing this sign may well date from the 1870's or 1880's.