One unsuccessful venture was to establish the Cushman Telephone Company to compete against Bell Telephone Company. Leighton Pine took and active role in community affairs. He continued to live in South Bend, but died in 1905 while on a business trip to Scotland. Eventually, Pine became general manager of all Singer cabinet factories in Cairo, IL Kilbourne, Scotland Wittenberg, Germany Floridsdorf, Austria and Podolsk and Moscow, Russia. While working for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, Pine became involved with, at least, two other South Bend business ventures, the Economist Plow Company and the Spring Curry Comb Company. In November 1879 he returned to Singer and stayed with the firm until his death in 1905. In 1875 Pine left Singer and became a general manager at the South Bend Ironworks. During the first year in South Bend, the plant employed 168 men and made $10,000 worth of cabinets. After the plant was built he did most of the office work himself. In 1868 he established the South Bend plant and supervised its construction. In the mid-1860s he entered the employ of Singer was a cabinet worker. During the Civil War he was a photographer. Leighton Pine, who established the Singer cabinet works in South Bend, was born in New York in 1844. Eventually, all funds were raised and Singer came to South Bend. Grettner had not even raised all of the funds of his subscription yet, some of which was coming in $.25 pledges.
This offer was sent to the officials who had returned to New York and it was accepted.
Singer sewing machine models by year free#
Sherland for the South Bend site by subscription from South Bend citizens, and persuaded Miller & Greene, proprietors of the East Race water power, to offer free power to Singer. Grettner decided to raise the money to pay Mrs. The officials decided to accept the offer and even directed Grettner to move his distribution center to Mishawaka. The town of Mishawaka, wishing to obtain the factory for their city offered Pine and the other Singer officials who had come to inspect the South Bend site, better water power, factory site, and 20 additional acres, all free. Sherland, which was purchased for $2,500. He selected a site on the East Race, owned by a Mrs. In 1868, Leighton Pine came from the New York Singer office to establish a Singer cabinet factory in the South Bend area. All those approached refused to bid Grettner implied that they did not want such small work.īecause South Bend was the center of black walnut production it was an excellent location for furniture making. This would include tables, box covers, and drawers. Price, Smith & Rilling, and Montgomery, for bids on 5,000 to 10,000 cabinets per month. Grettner approached several South Bend furniture makers such as: B.F.
Apparently at this time Singer sewing machine cabinets were not built by Singer, but on contract with other manufacturers. Fred Grettner, the South Bend agent, and the Chicago agent thought that they could get local furniture factories to bid on cabinet construction (because the sewing machines were installed in a wooden case with a foot pedal for operation). In 1872 the main plants were moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey.Īround 1864, the western agents of the Singer company were having trouble getting machines from the Chicago distributor. In 1858 the plants in New York were established in an area surrounded by Mott, Spring, Delancy, and Broome Street.
In 1853 he moved his operations to New York City. Singer established his Singer Company in 1851 in Boston.
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