The Lovell Manufacturing Company was founded by Melvin Newton Lovell
and his three stepbrothers in 1881. The company was originally located
at 523 and 526 French Street, mainly producing spring beds. By 1882,
Lovell had secured patents for other spring products, including mouse
and rat traps. The following year, the company constructed the first
segment of their factory at French Street, and began producing corn
shellers, dynamos, folding wood chairs, and hammocks. The company was
successful until Lovell died in 1895. Three years after his death, the
company filed for bankruptcy, but was able to reemerge as a stronger
company after gaining more control of its production.
In the following two decades, the Lovell Manufacturing Company
manufactured a limited range of products. By World War I, they had
added a three-story annex to their factory complex, and were capable of
producing three hundred clothing wringers per day. In November 1914,
The Lovell Manufacturing Company was brought before the Federal Court
at Pittsburgh. They were accused of violating the Sherman Anti-Trust
Law in regards to their control of clothing wringer production. The
company was convicted and fined, but continued production after paying
their debts. By 1921, the plant had doubled its size, filling up an
entire downtown Erie block. The plant had added a rubber department
solely for the production of wringer rolls. The company would later
produce wringers from cast iron and cast aluminum rather than wood. The
wood department would continue to produce new commodities, including
hockey sticks and klacks, which are wood-soled sandals worn by workers
in coke ovens. The Lovell Manufacturing Company managed to maintain
production levels despite the Great Depression due to the high quality
of their goods. In World War II, they were tasked with making
unspecified parts for the American war effort. Like many industries
during World War II, the Lovell Manufacturing Company’s employee
numbers and production levels peaked. The company would continue to
thrive as one entity until the 1960s.
In 1967, the Lovell Manufacturing Company became a subsidy of the
Paterson-Erie Company. Lovell began manufacturing parts for machines,
rather than whole products. Now making metal casings for humidifiers,
televisions, computers, fax machines, and a plethora of other
technological items, the company was operating as it did in the
nineteenth century. In 1974, the company ceased production, and by
1980, the building was being used by a realtor and a technology
company. Quinn Machine and Tools began using the building in 1990,
which prompted a major revitalization project for the entire property.
In October 1990, Steve McGarvey purchased the entire building, and
sublet sections of the building out to various businesses for office
space, manufacturing space, and storefronts. The property was added to
the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. In 2016, the entire
complex is now referred to as Lovell Place, and has been renovated into
apartment units and offices.
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