Gardner’s Pioneering Industrialist
It was largely a result of Levi Heywood's
pioneering manufacturing skills that Gardner became known as the "Chair
City of the World." Levi Heywood, the grandson of one of Gardner's first
settlers, was born in Gardner five years after the town's incorporation. While
in his early twenties Heywood leaned towards education as a career and took
teaching positions in both Gardner and Winchendon. But soon he became engaged
in several business enterprises: a country store in Gardner, a chair store in
Boston and a mill in Charlestown.
In
1835, Levi Heywood entered into a partnership with his brother Walter, who
along with others, had been engaged in the manufacturing of chairs at the
corner of Central Street and Woodlawn Avenue. When a fire destroyed the plant
in 1861, it was Levi who insisted that the operation be moved to where the
Heywood-Wakefield complex is now located. Heywood foresaw that this location,
on a brook created by an outlet from Crystal Lake, would offer a continuous
supply of water power in years to come. However, when steam power became more
common he was quick to adapt the factory to this new power supply.
During
the first few years of operation at the new location, most of the manufacturing
of chairs was done by hand, with the only machinery being circular saws and
turning lathes. Soon Levi became more insistent on the use of machinery
especially adapted to the various aspects of chair manufacturing. He
continuously searched for better tools and improved methods of production, such
as band saws and new processes for bending wood. As Levi began applying these
innovative methods, his early and more conservative partners left the firm in
dismay, and they were eventually replaced by his youngest brother Seth and
other generations of the Heywood family.
It
was Levi who first determined that there was a greater market for the chairs
that were being manufactured locally, and consequently he offered the company's
products for sale in Boston. This desire to reach a larger market area,
combined with a realization that Gardner should keep pace with the national
rate of industrialization, brought about his determination to provide railroad
service for the town. As a result, Heywood became a major influence in ensuring
that, in 1854, the Fitchburg Railroad laid its tracks through Gardner rather
than northward as originally planned, and 20 years later he became instrumental
in ensuring the construction of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad.
Apparently,
Levi Heywood had the stern but personable relationship with his employees that
led to a successful business enterprise. He was a man who was impatient with
workers who watched the clock and at one time was constantly reprimanding his
machinists who washed up early so they could leave the moment the plant's
closing whistle blew. A story is told of how one day he found the men lined up
in the machine shop five minutes before closing, ready to leave. The workers
expected an angry outburst, but instead he sternly stated, "I'm going to
play a hell of a trick on you men one of these days. I'm going to tell the
engineer to blow the whistle 10 minutes ahead of time."
It
was that form of leadership along with innovative manufacturing skills that
allowed Levi Heywood to become a guiding force through five successful
partnerships in his company, beginning with B.F. Heywood and Co., which was
started in 1835. The partnership of Heywood and Wood was set up in 1844,
followed in 1849 by the Levi Heywood and Co. partnership; then in 1851, the
Heywood Chair Manufacturing Co. was organized, and finally the Heywood Brothers
and Co. which was formed in 1861. Of course, Levi Heywood was long deceased by
the time the Heywood-Wakefield Co. was established in 1921. By the early 1980s,
Heywood-Wakefield was phasing out its production operations in Gardner and
selling its branch operations in other parts of the country.
During
his lifetime, Levi Heywood always maintained a community interest and spirit.
In 1851, he served in the lower house of the General Court, and in 1853, he
represented Gardner at a convention to revise the state constitution. He was
also a director of the Gardner National Bank and a trustee of the Gardner
Savings Bank. Always a contributor to benevolent causes, he gave liberal
financial support to the Congregational Church and provided land, along with
financial support, for a recreational area along Crystal Lake. One interest
that was never realized during his lifetime was the creation of a public
library. However, in 1886, four years after his death, the Levi Heywood
Memorial Library was dedicated in his honor.
