Putnam Horse Shoe Nail Company
Dorchester Illustration 2673
Silas S. Putnam Nail Company began the manufacture of curtain fixtures, horse shoe nails and other types of hardware at the end of the Port Norfolk peninsula in 1859. Today’s illustration includes an image of the property and factory in 1872 and another image of the enlarged operations in 1893.
Putnam’s Horse Shoe Nails were adopted for general use by the U.S. Army as the “Government Standard Horse Nail.” In 1860, thirty-three tons of horse shoe nails were manufactured. In 1872, Mr. Putnam’s factory in Neponset used a 200 hundred horsepower Corliss engine to drive his machinery, and the company employed more than 200 employees to make nails. In 1891, nearly ten tons were produced per day by more than 400 employees.
The company lasted at least to the beginning of the 20th century. The automobile had decimated the market for horse shoes. The 1910 Bromley atlas shows the business at this site to be the Magnesia Co. of Massachusetts. This company only lasted a short time. The Lawley Shipyard took over the site about 1910 and produced luxury yachts, converting to the production of naval vessels during the first and second World Wars. Later, Seymour’s Ice Cream was manufactured in one of the buildings.