
Did you know that
Longmeadow once had a thriving spectacle
and thimble manufacturing industry? From
1830 through 1861, at least 38 men in
Longmeadow made gold or silver
spectacles and thimbles for a living.
According to an account in the archives
of the Longmeadow Historical Society
four manufacturing shops were in town;
they were run by: Jacob Colton and
Gilson Hollister; E. K. Colton and
George Ferre; Sumner W. Gates; and
Samuel Burbank.
Jacob Colton began
making spectacles and thimbles in the
early 1830s and all sources point to him
as the founder of the Longmeadow
industry. Dimond Chandler, who had
learned to be a silversmith in New York
City, was also an early craftsman. He
sold his business to Jacob Colton in
1847 or 1848.

New-York Daily Advertiser, Sept. 14,
1821
Jacob Colton enlarged
his business, partnering with Lester
Noble (his nephew) from 1844-1847 and
then with Gilson Hollister from
1847-1860, and the Longmeadow Historical
Society archives contain five account
books from these partnerships. In
reviewing these books, names of almost
all of the Longmeadow spectacle makers
appear as either apprentices or
employees, documenting the training that
Jacob Colton provided to his fellow
townsmen.
So, what supplies do
you need to make spectacles and
thimbles? The account books document
purchases of silver, gold, convex glass,
and steel tops. Why steel tops? Thimbles
made solely of silver were too soft and
could be easily punctured by sewing
needles; steel tops greatly increased
the useful lifetime of the thimble.
Records reflect that, in addition to
bars of silver and gold, Jacob purchased
old gold coins and old silver to melt
down to make his products.
Manufacturing shops
were located up and down Longmeadow
Street, often in small buildings which
had previously served other purposes.
For example, the E. K. Colton and George
Ferre shop had previously been a
schoolhouse. After the spectacle shop
closed, the building moved to Williams
Street and became the first Catholic
church in town-
St. Mary's RC Church.
In 1848, Dimond
Chandler purchased 776 Longmeadow Street
(where The Spa on the Green resides
today) and began his button
manufacturing business. The button
business flourished and it moved next
door to 19 Chandler Avenue. Dimond
Chandler was a true entrepreneur and
today’s Chandler Avenue is named for
him. In the 1850s, Dimond sold the
button business to his son-in-law,
Nelson Newell, and Nelson's brother.
Newell Brothers soon outgrew its space
in Longmeadow and the business relocated
to Springfield around 1863. To learn
more about the button manufacturing
enterprise, please see this article-
Buttons, Buttons, Everywhere.... by
Michael Gelinas, former president of the
Longmeadow Historical Society.
After buttons ceased
to be made at 776 Longmeadow Street, at
least part of the building became a shop
to manufacture spectacles and thimbles.
A dry goods store occupied the front
part of the building and a shop in the
back of the building (visible in the c.
1885 image below, but not longer
standing today) was a spectacle shop. E.
K. Colton, a former spectacle
manufacturer, operated the general store
in the front and William W. Coomes
operated the spectacle shop in the
back.

776 Longmeadow Street circa 1885
The account books
show that Jacob Colton sold spectacles
and thimbles to over 60 stores from
Boston to New York. William Rogers & Co.
in Hartford was a frequent customer.

Hartford Daily
Courant, Mar. 5, 1845
And, the industry was
lucrative. A number of Jacob Colton’s
apprentices accumulated enough capital
during their employment with him to
start their own shops. In 1860, Jacob
Colton sold $15,000 worth of spectacles
and thimbles and Sumner W. Gates sold
$6,000 worth of spectacles.

1860 Nonpopulation Schedule
Manufacturing
[click image to enlarge]
This booming business
came to an abrupt halt in 1861. The
uncertainties at the start of the Civil
War caused many customers to cancel
their orders. And, many of the
technically-trained men working in the
shops found other employment.
Springfield Armory ramped up armament
production and many of these skilled men
were enticed to Springfield to make
rifles. And, at least eight of the
former spectacle makers were drafted
into the U.S. Army to use these rifles
in the Union Army.
Former spectacle
makers, Lester Noble and his brother,
Henry Bliss Noble, utilized their skills
in working with gold when they became
dentists. Both started their dental
practices in Washington, D.C.; Lester
later moved to Longmeadow and opened a
practice in Springfield. You can read
more about both men in this article:
Drs. Lester Noble and Nathan Cooley Keep.
Jacob Colton, who
never resumed his business, sold his
company to one of his employees, William
W. Coomes. Mr. Coomes continued working
in the spectacle shop behind the general
store until he died in 1893, the last
remaining spectacle maker in Longmeadow.
With such an
abundance of precious metals in
Longmeadow, I was surprised to find only
one account of theft. According to an
article in the Springfield Republican,
both the store and the spectacle shop
were robbed in December, 1888. The
burglars blew open the safe and
absconded with a bar of silver and 4
pieces of gold, and gun play ensued as
James W. Coomes, the nephew of William
W. Coomes, chased the wounded burglar
down Longmeadow Street.

Springfield Republican, Dec. 22,
1888
Although there are
few tangible reminders of spectacle and
thimble manufacturing in today’s
Longmeadow, the collections of the
Longmeadow Historical Society include
some of the spectacles that were created
here.


Sources
- Longmeadow
Historical Society Archives
- Springfield
Republican, Dec. 22, 1888
- New-York Daily
Advertiser, Sept. 14, 1821
- Hartford Daily
Courant, Mar. 5, 1845
- U.S. Censuses: 1850, 1860, 1870
- Massachusetts Census: 1855,
- 1865 U.S. Nonpopulation Schedule
Manufacturing 1860
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